Indian equity benchmarks ended near day’s high points on Tuesday, marking a third straight session of gains, supported by strong buying in FMCG, realty and banking stocks. After making a cautious start, soon indices gained traction and remained higher throughout the session, amid rising hopes that the US and Iran may reach a resolution ahead of the ceasefire deadline.
Some of the important factors in trade:
India seeks preferential market access in US for domestic goods: Some support came as Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said a team of Indian officials, currently in Washington for talks on the first phase of the bilateral trade agreement, will discuss aspects related to preferential market access for domestic goods in the US.
India's economy likely to grow at 6.4% in 2026, 6.6% in 2027: Traders took encouragement as the United Nations in its latest report said that India's economy is projected to grow at 6.4 per cent this year and 6.6 per cent in 2027.
India’s outward FDI commitments see 27% surge in March: Investors took a note of the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) latest report stating that India's outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) commitments surged by 27.47% to $7061.60 million in March 2026 as against $5,539.75 million in March 2025.
On the global front: European markets were trading in green, while Asian markets ended mostly higher, amid hopes of resumption of peace talks between U.S. and Iranian officials in Pakistan and likely reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
The BSE Sensex ended at 79273.33, up by 753.03 points or 0.96% after trading in a range of 78522.96 and 79367.08. There were 23 stocks advancing against 7 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)
The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were FMCG up by 2.23%, Realty up by 2.17%, Bankex up by 1.46%, Telecom up by 1.14% and Consumer Discretionary up by 0.84%, while Capital Goods down by 0.06% was only losing index on BSE. (Provisional)
The top gainers on the Sensex were Hindustan Unilever up by 3.86%, Trent up by 3.82%, ICICI Bank up by 2.29%, Bajaj Finance up by 2.28% and HDFC Bank up by 1.99%. On the flip side, Bharat Electronics down by 1.32%, Titan Company down by 0.88%, Reliance Industries down by 0.57%, Power Grid down by 0.39% and NTPC down by 0.36% were the top losers. (Provisional)
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Commerce & Industry in its latest data has showed that eight key infrastructure sectors’ output growth slowed to 0.4% (provisional) in March 2026 as compared to 4.5% in the same month of last year (March 2025). The slowed down was owed to a contraction in the output of coal, crude oil, fertilizers and electricity. For the month of February 2026, the growth rate has been revised upward to 2.8% from provisional estimation of 2.3% (released in previous month). Further, the cumulative production in the infrastructure sectors grew 2.6% (provisional) during April-March 2025-2026 (FY26) against to 4.5% in the corresponding period of last year.
Coal production having 10.33% weight decreased by 4.0% in March, 2026 over March, 2025, while its cumulative index declined by 0.5% during April to March, 2025-26 over corresponding period of the previous year. Crude Oil production having 8.98% weight declined by 5.7% in March, 2026 over March, 2025, while its cumulative index declined by 2.8% during April to March, 2025-26 over corresponding period of the previous year. Fertilizer production having 2.63% weight declined by 24.6% in March, 2026 over March, 2025, while its cumulative index declined by 0.1% during April to March, 2025-26 over corresponding period of the previous year. Electricity generation having 19.85% weight declined by 0.5% in March, 2026 over March, 2025, while its cumulative index increased by 0.9% during April to March, 2025-26 over corresponding period of the previous year.
On the other hand, Natural Gas production having 6.88% weight increased by 6.4% in March, 2026 over March, 2025, while its cumulative index declined by 2.8% during April to March, 2025-26 over corresponding period of the previous year. Petroleum Refinery production having 28.04% weight increased by 0.1% in March, 2026 over March, 2025, while its cumulative index declined by 0.1% during April to March, 2025-26 over corresponding period of the previous year. Steel production having 17.92% weight increased by 2.2% in March, 2026 over March, 2025, while its cumulative index increased by 9.1% during April to March, 2025-26 over corresponding period of the previous year. Cement production having 5.37% weight increased by 4.0% in March, 2026 over March, 2025, while its cumulative index increased by 8.6% during April to March, 2025-26 over corresponding period of the previous year.
The CNX Nifty ended at 24576.60, up by 211.75 points or 0.87% after trading in a range of 24354.90 and 24601.70. There were 35 stocks advancing against 15 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)
The top gainers on Nifty were Nestle up by 8.43%, Hindustan Unilever up by 4.15%, Trent up by 3.83%, Bajaj Finance up by 2.30% and Tata Consumer Products up by 2.20%. On the flip side, SBI Life Insurance down by 3.46%, Bharat Electronics down by 1.32%, JIO Financial Services down by 1.01%, Dr. Reddy's Lab down by 0.97% and Reliance Industries down by 0.73% were the top losers. (Provisional)
European markets were trading higher; Germany’s DAX gained 167.9 points or 0.69% to 24,585.70, France’s CAC rose 30.15 points or 0.36% to 8,361.20 and UK’s FTSE 100 increased 17.04 points or 0.16% to 10,626.12.
Asian markets settled mostly higher on Tuesday, even as tensions between Washington and Tehran have escalated ahead of the April 22 ceasefire deadline. US President Donald Trump has signalled that he is unlikely to extend the truce with Iran if no agreement is reached before its expiry Wednesday evening, Washington time. He further threatened to destroy Iran's power plants and bridges if the deal is not finalized. Markets were awaiting the release of US retail sales data and a confirmation hearing for Federal Reserve chair nominee Kevin Warsh later in the day. Kospi shares surged over 2% to a record high after data showed South Korea’s exports grew 49.4% year-on-year in the first 20 days of April. The surge was driven by a sharp rebound in semiconductor shipments, which jumped over 180%, reinforcing optimism over the earnings outlook for the country’s key tech sector.
Asian Indices | Last Trade | Change in Points | Change in % |
Shanghai Composite | 4,085.08 | 2.95 | 0.07 |
Hang Seng | 26,487.48 | 126.41 | 0.48 |
Jakarta Composite | 7,559.38 | -34.73 | -0.46 |
KLSE Composite | 1,715.33 | 13.03 | 0.77 |
Nikkei 225 | 59,349.17 | 524.28 | 0.89 |
Straits Times | 5,014.96 | 10.89 | 0.22 |
KOSPI Composite | 6,388.47 | 169.38 | 2.72 |
Taiwan Weighted | 37,605.11 | 646.31 | 1.75 |
