Post Session: Quick Review

Indian equity markets ended in a positive terrain on Tuesday, with both the Nifty and the Sensex extending their winning streak for the sixth consecutive session, driven by gains in banking sector stocks. Indices made a slightly positive start but turned volatile in early session amid concerned about a global trade war while they await signs of progress from US President Donald Trump's trade talks. However, markets regained momentum and remined in positive territory throughout the session, supported by sustained foreign fund inflows and consistent buying in fundamentally strong stocks.

Some of the important factors in trade:

FIIs inflows in the domestic markets: Sentiment remained upbeat amid continuous foreign fund inflows and buying in blue-chip bank stocks. Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 1,970.17 crore on Monday.

India actively engaging with US: Traders took support with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s statement that India is ‘actively engaging’ with the new US administration and hopes to conclude the first tranche of the bilateral trade agreement ‘positively’ by fall (September-October) this year.

Key infrastructure sectors' growth slows in March: Traders overlooked report that the Ministry of Commerce & Industry in its latest data has showed the output of eight key infrastructure sectors slowed down to 3.8 per cent (provisional) in March 2025, as against 6.3 per cent growth registered a year ago.

Global front: European markets were trading mostly in red as U.S. President Donald Trump's remarks on Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell reignited concerns about Fed independence and political interference. Asian markets ended mixed following the broadly negative cues from US markets overnight, as traders remained cautious and concerned about a global trade war. 

The BSE Sensex ended at 79595.59, up by 187.09 points or 0.24% after trading in a range of 79253.44 and 79824.30. There were 14 stocks advancing against 16 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The broader indices ended in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.81%, while Small cap index up by 0.82%. (Provisional)

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 2.40%, FMCG up by 1.87%, Consumer Durables up by 1.43%, Healthcare up by 0.75%, Consumer Discretionary up by 0.72%, while Utilities down by 0.92%, TECK down by 0.90%, Power down by 0.86%, IT down by 0.60% and Telecom down by 0.45% were the top losing indices on BSE. (Provisional)

The top gainers on the Sensex were ITC up by 2.44%, Hindustan Unilever up by 2.29%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.82%, HDFC Bank up by 1.54% and Eternal up by 1.17%. On the flip side, Indusind Bank down by 4.73%, Power Grid down by 2.27%, Bharti Airtel down by 1.93%, Infosys down by 1.89% and Bajaj Finserv down by 1.63% were the top losers. (Provisional)

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Commerce & Industry in its latest data has showed the output of eight key infrastructure sectors slowed down to 3.8 per cent (provisional) in March 2025, as against 6.3 per cent growth registered a year ago. On a monthly basis, the growth rate in the production of these sectors was slightly higher than the 3.4 per cent (provisional) expansion recorded in February. The Eight Core Industries - coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertilizers, steel, cement and electricity - comprise 40.27 per cent of the weight of items included in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP).  

Coal production having 10.33 per cent weight increased by 1.6 per cent in March, 2025 over March, 2024 and its cumulative index increased by 5.1 per cent during April to March, 2024-25 over corresponding period of the previous year. Petroleum Refinery production having 28.04 per cent weight increased by 0.2 per cent in March, 2025 over March, 2024 and its cumulative index increased by 2.8 per cent during April to March, 2024-25 over corresponding period of the previous year. Fertilizer production having 2.63 per cent weight increased by 8.8 per cent in March, 2025 over March, 2024 and its cumulative index increased by 2.9 per cent during April to March, 2024-25 over corresponding period of the previous year.

Steel production having 17.92 per cent weight increased by 7.1 per cent in March, 2025 over March, 2024 and its cumulative index increased by 6.7 per cent during April to March, 2024-25 over corresponding period of the previous year. Cement production having 5.37 per cent weight increased by 11.6 per cent in March, 2025 over March, 2024 and its cumulative index increased by 6.3 per cent during April to March, 2024-25 over corresponding period of the previous year. Electricity generation having 19.85 per cent weight increased by 6.2 per cent in March, 2025 over March, 2024 and its cumulative index increased by 5.1 per cent during April to March, 2024-25 over corresponding period of the previous year.

The CNX Nifty ended at 24167.25, up by 41.70 points or 0.17% after trading in a range of 24072.00 and 24242.60. There were 20 stocks advancing against 30 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The top gainers on Nifty were ITC up by 2.54%, Hindustan Unilever up by 2.21%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.92%, HDFC Bank up by 1.80% and Jio Financial Services up by 1.70%. On the flip side, Indusind Bank down by 4.81%, Power Grid down by 2.33%, Hero MotoCorp down by 2.13%, Infosys down by 1.86% and Wipro down by 1.85% were the top losers. (Provisional)

European markets were trading mostly in red; France’s CAC fell 20.7 points or 0.28% to 7,265.16 and Germany’s DAX lost 38.6 points or 0.18% to 21,167.26, while UK’s FTSE 100 increased 30.6 points or 0.37% to 8,306.26.

Asian markets settled mixed on Tuesday due to escalating tariff-related worries, while the US President Donald Trump intensified his attacks on US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and warned that the US economy will slow unless interest rates are lowered immediately. Chinese and Hong Kong shares rose amid expectations that Chinese policymakers will unveil more stimulus in coming months, and China kept benchmark lending rates steady for the sixth successive month as expected. Meanwhile, Japanese shares declined as the yen hit a fresh seven-month high against the US dollar amid rising consensus that the Bank of Japan will continue hiking interest rates in 2025.