Indices snap two-day fall; Nifty closes above 24,300 mark

Indian equity benchmarks ended with gains of over a percent on Monday as a sharp rally in Energy, Oil & Gas stocks, and foreign fund inflows helped stock markets cut short two days of fall amid India-Pakistan border tensions. Sentiment was also underpinned as India's Minister of State for Commerce, Jitin Prasada, confirmed continuous dialogue with the U.S. on a bilateral trade deal.  

Some of the important factors in today’s trade:  

Sustain foreign fund inflows: Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 2,952.33 crore on Friday, according to exchange data. Foreign investors have infused Rs 17,425 crore in the country's equity markets last week, supported by a combination of favourable global cues and strong domestic macroeconomic fundamentals. 

Rising forex reserves: Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said that India's foreign exchange reserves rose $8.310 billion to $686.145 billion in the week that ended on April 18, extending gains for the seventh straight week.

RBI Governor Malhotra asks US industry to invest in India: Reserve Bank Governor Sanjay Malhotra has exhorted the US industry to invest in India, stressing that the country continues to be the fastest growing major economy supported by policy consistency and certainty.

Rupee rises against US Dollar: Indian rupee appreciated against the US dollar, supported by sustained foreign fund inflows, easing crude oil prices and a bullish trend in domestic equities.  

Positive global cues: European markets were trading higher with investors indulging in some brisk buying at several counters ahead of key earnings updates and some crucial economic data from the U.S. and Europe due this week. Asian markets ended mostly higher amid revived hopes for progress in trade talks and expectations of further stimulus from China.

Finally, the BSE Sensex rose 1005.84 points or 1.27% to 80,218.37, and the CNX Nifty was up by 289.15 points or 1.20% to 24,328.50.       

The BSE Sensex touched high and low of 80,321.88 and 79,341.35 respectively. There were 23 stocks advancing against 7 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices ended in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 1.34%, while Small cap index was up by 0.39%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Energy up by 3.02%, Oil & Gas up by 2.90%, PSU up by 2.09%, Capital Goods up by 1.93% and Auto up by 1.65%, while IT down by 0.09% was the lone losing index on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Reliance Industries up by 5.27%, Sun Pharma up by 3.08%, Tata Steel up by 2.42%, SBI up by 2.36% and Axis Bank up by 2.35%. On the flip side, HCL Technologies down by 1.89%, Ultratech Cement down by 1.05%, Hindustan Unilever down by 0.52%, Eternal down by 0.48% and Nestle down by 0.42% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the Engineering Exports Promotion Council (EEPC) has said that engineering goods exports from India reached its all-time high of $116.67 billion in fiscal 2024-25, surpassing the previous high of $112.10 billion achieved in fiscal 2021-22. The value of total engineering exports stood at $109.30 billion in 2023-24.

It states while the US remained the top destination for Indian engineering exports in 2024-25, significant export growth was also noted in the UAE, Singapore, Nepal, Japan, and France. Engineering goods exports to the US grew 8.7 per cent to $19.15 billion in 2024-25 from $17.62 billion in 2023-24.

Notably, engineering exports outweighed the broader merchandise exports in terms of growth as India's exports saw a marginal 0.08 per cent year-on-year increase in 2024-25. As a result, the share of engineering exports in India's overall merchandise exports increased to 26.67 per cent in 2024-25 from 25.01 per cent in the previous fiscal.

Pankaj Chadha, Chairman, EEPC India, said ‘The performance of Indian engineering exports was remarkable in 2024-25 as it came during a period of extreme global uncertainty following geopolitical disturbances and economic slowdown in major developed and emerging nations. This was further aggravated by US President Donald Trump's decision to raise import duty on dozens of its trade partners, including India.

The CNX Nifty traded in a range of 24,355.10 and 24,054.05. There were 39 stocks advancing against 11 stocks declining on the index.   

The top gainers on Nifty were Reliance Industries up by 5.07%, Sun Pharma up by 3.07%, JSW Steel up by 2.91%, Bharat Electronics up by 2.59% and Dr. Reddy's Laboratories up by 2.35%. On the flip side, Shriram Finance down by 5.13%, Eternal down by 0.92%, Ultratech Cement down by 0.89%, HCL Technologies down by 0.65% and Hindustan Unilever down by 0.63% were the top losers. 

European markets were trading higher; UK’s FTSE 100 increased 25.09 points or 0.3% to 8,440.34, France’s CAC rose 59.5 points or 0.79% to 7,595.76 and Germany’s DAX gained 141.36 points or 0.64% to 22,383.81.

Asian markets ended mostly higher on Monday amid rejuvenated hopes for progress in trade talks. The US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the Trump administration is working on bilateral trade deals with 17 key trading partners, not including China, and that the latter needs a de-escalation. Expectations of further stimulus from China, also aided market sentiments. China's finance minister Lan Fo'an said the country will take measures to achieve its annual economic growth target of around 5 percent despite escalating trade tensions. However, gains remained capped as China denied any talks with the U.S. over tariff exemptions, calling out Washington for 'misleading' the public. Japanese markets eked out modest gains ahead of the Bank of Japan's rate decision due later in the week, with no policy change expected. Seoul stocks edged up slightly in cautious trade as investors assessed interim progress in trade negotiations between Seoul and Washington.