Post Session: Quick Review

Indian equity markets ended with minor losses on Wednesday, despite continued foreign fund inflows and positive cues from the U.S. markets. After making a slightly positive start, soon markets altered between red and green territory throughout the day, as traders were cautious amid escalating geopolitical tensions between India and Pakistan, triggered by the recent terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam and reports of ceasefire violations at the border.

Some of the important factors in trade:

Private sector capex may decline by 25% in FY26: Traders were cautious as government survey projected that private sector capital expenditure (capex) is expected to decline by around 25% to Rs 4.88 lakh crore in FY26, down from Rs 6.56 lakh crore in FY25.

Reciprocal tariffs will exacerbate stress for MSMEs: Some concern came with India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra) stating that reciprocal tariffs will exacerbate stress for medium, small and micro enterprises (MSMEs) but mid-sized corporates have a greater cushion against unanticipated financial shocks.

FIIs inflows in the domestic markets: Traders overlooked exchange data showed foreign investors extended their buying streak to a tenth straight session on Tuesday, April 29, purchasing Indian equities worth Rs 2,385 crore. 

Global front: European markets were trading in green amid easing trade tensions, and on fairly encouraging quarterly results from big name companies. Asian markets ended mostly in green, as value of retail sales in Japan was up 3.1% on year in March. That missed expectations for an increase of 3.6% and was up from 1.3% in February. On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, retail sales fell 1.2%.  

The BSE Sensex ended at 80242.24, down by 46.14 points or 0.06% after trading in a range of 79879.15 and 80525.61. There were 15 stocks advancing against 15 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The broader indices ended in red; the BSE Mid cap index was down by 0.72%, while Small cap index down by 1.74%. (Provisional)

The few gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 1.80%, Telecom up by 0.94%, TECK up by 0.23% and Auto up by 0.06%, while PSU down by 1.40%, Industrials down by 1.20%, Basic Materials down by 0.93%, Power down by 0.89% and Utilities down by 0.88% were the top losing indices on BSE. (Provisional)

The top gainers on the Sensex were Maruti Suzuki up by 3.04%, Bharti Airtel up by 2.18%, Sun Pharma up by 1.41%, Power Grid Corp up by 1.12% and Hindustan Unilever up by 0.81%. On the flip side, Bajaj Finserv down by 5.44%, Bajaj Finance down by 4.99%, Tata Motors down by 3.22%, SBI down by 2.91% and Ultratech Cement down by 1.87% were the top losers. (Provisional)

Meanwhile, India and the Netherlands have discussed ways to advance bilateral trade and economic cooperation between both the countries during Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal’s visit to the Netherlands. The visit underlined India’s commitment to strengthening its economic engagement with the Netherlands, a key European partner. 

The visit of the Commerce Secretary yielded several tangible outcomes. It reinforced the strategic importance of the India-Netherlands partnership in addressing global economic challenges and fostering innovation-driven growth. The discussions at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Economic Affairs laid the groundwork for enhanced collaboration through institutional mechanisms like the JTIC (the Joint Trade and Investment Committee mechanism).

Besides, the CEOs Roundtable fostered new business connections, with Dutch companies expressing keen interest in India’s growing market and investment opportunities. The engagements at the Port of Rotterdam and ASML opened new avenues for cooperation in maritime infrastructure and semiconductors, aligning with India’s economic priorities. Commerce Secretary Barthwal’s visit has injected fresh momentum into India Netherlands partnership, setting the stage for deeper economic collaboration.

The CNX Nifty ended at 24334.20, down by 1.75 points or 0.01% after trading in a range of 24198.75 and 24396.15. There were 24 stocks advancing against 26 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The top gainers on Nifty were HDFC Life Insurance up by 4.01%, Maruti Suzuki up by 3.51%, Bharti Airtel up by 2.23%, SBI Life Insurance up by 2.06% and Power Grid up by 1.49%. On the flip side, Bajaj Finserv down by 5.58%, Bajaj Finance down by 5.04%, Trent down by 4.06%, Tata Motors down by 3.21% and SBI down by 2.94% were the top losers. (Provisional)

European markets were trading higher; Germany’s DAX gained 137.97 points or 0.62% to 22,563.80, France’s CAC rose 43.94 points or 0.58% to 7,599.81 and UK’s FTSE 100 increased 13.39 points or 0.16% to 8,476.85.

Asian markets ended mostly in green on Wednesday following positive cues from US markets overnight. There were also some positive developments on the trade front, with US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick stating that the Trump administration has reached its first trade deal. Meanwhile, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also said the U.S. is very close to a trade deal with India, has had substantial talks with Japan and has the contours of a deal with South Korea. However, Chinese market ended lower on growth worries after a survey showed China's factory activity contracted at the fastest pace in 16 months in April. The official purchasing managers' index came in at 49.0 in April due to escalating trade war with the U.S. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that China could lose 10 million jobs quickly if the U.S. keeps tariffs in place at the current level of 145 percent.