21-Apr-2026      15:57

Market rally for 3rd day; Nifty settles above 24,550 mark

The domestic equity indices ended with significant gains today, extending gains for third session, supported by optimism over potential peace talks between the US and Iran. Investor sentiment was further supported by easing crude oil prices. Meanwhile, market participants turned their focus to Q4 earnings, while tracking global developments for cues. The Nifty ended above the 24,550 mark.

FMCG, realty and private bank shares led the rally while pharma and consumer durables shares declined.

As per provisional closing data, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex jumped 753.03 points or 0.96% to 79,273.33. The Nifty 50 index advanced 211.75 points or 0.87% to 24,576.60. In the three consecutive trading sessions, the Sensex and Nifty jumped 1.65% and 1.57% respectively.

In the broader market, the BSE 150 MidCap Index gained 0.55% and the BSE 250 SmallCap Index surged 0.71%.

The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 2,536 shares rose and 1,756 shares fell. A total of 176 shares were unchanged.

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, dropped 6.69% to 17.53.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for June 2026 settlement tumbled 78 cents or 0.82% to $94.70 a barrel.

Economy:

India's Index of Eight Core Industries (ICI) fell by 0.4% in March 2026 compared to the same month last year, according to provisional data. Output declined in sectors such as fertilizers, crude oil, coal and electricity, pulling down overall performance. The overall growth of these core industries for the full financial year 2025'26 stood at 2.6% compared to the previous year.

Stocks in Spotlight:

E2E Networks hit an upper circuit of 5% after the company reported standalone net profit of Rs 6.43 crore in Q4 FY26 compared with net loss of Rs 5.69 crore in Q3 FY26. Revenue from operations jumped 36.59% QoQ to Rs 95.64 crore in Q4 FY26. On year on year (YoY) basis, the company's consolidated net profit declined 51.37% while revenue from operations surge 185.75% in Q4 FY26.

Meanwhile, the company's board approved the proposal to sub-divide each existing equity share of face value Rs 10 each into 10 equity shares of face value Rs 1 each.

Nestle India shares surged 8.20% after the company's standalone net profit rose 25.8% YoY and 9.4% QoQ to Rs 1,114.1 crore in Q4 FY26, compared with Rs 885.4 crore in Q4 FY25 and Rs 1,018.1 crore in Q3 FY26. Revenue from operations stood at Rs 6,747.8 crore, up 22.6% YoY and 19.1% QoQ, versus Rs 5,503.9 crore a year ago and Rs 5,667.0 crore in the previous quarter. The board recommended a final dividend of Rs 5 per equity share of face value Re 1 each for FY26.

Bank of Maharashtra rallied 5.74% after reporting a robust performance in Q4 FY26, with standalone net profit increasing 34.89% year-on-year to Rs 2,014.09 crore from Rs 1,493.08 crore in the same quarter last year. Total income for the quarter ended 31 March 2026 increased 12.79% YoY to Rs 8,693.04 crore.

PNB Housing Finance surged 8.35% after the company reported 19.2% rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 656 crore on a 10.8% increase in net interest income to Rs 813 crore in Q4 FY26 as compared with Q4 FY25.

Eris Lifesciences declined 4.26% after HALMED inspected the manufacturing facilities of company's wholly owned subsidiary, Swiss Parenterals located in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. HALMED (Agency for Medicinal Products and Medical Devices of Croatia) inspected the unit-1 (general liquid and dry powder injectables) and Unit-2 (betalactam dry powder injectables) from 9 to 13th March 2026. Following the inspection, the company received a list of non-compliance observations for Unit-1 and Unit-2.

Rolex Rings surged 16.43% after the company said its board will consider a share buyback proposal. The company informed exchanges that its board will meet on 23 April 2026 to evaluate a buyback of fully paid-up equity shares. As of March 2026, promoters held a 52.24% stake in the company.

UGRO Capital advanced 0.65%. The company reported 27.10% decline in standalone net profit to Rs 29.55 crore in Q4 FY26 as against Rs 40.54 crore posted in Q4 FY25. However, total income increased 23.42% YoY to Rs 509.04 crore in the quarter ended 31 March 2026.

Apeejay Surrendra Park Hotels (ASPHL) rallied 3.15% after the company signed two hotel management agreements for Zone Connect by The Park properties in Ayodhya and Ujjain.

Oberoi Realty added 1.55% after the company reported a gross booking value of Rs 1,673 crore for Q4 FY26, registering a 100.1% rise quarter-on-quarter from Rs 836 crore and a 96.1% increase year-on-year from Rs 853 crore in Q4 FY25.

Nelco jumped 5.83% after reporting a consolidated net profit of Rs 1.09 crore for Q4 FY26, compared with a net loss of Rs 4.08 crore in the year-ago period. Total income jumped 15.60% YoY to Rs 81.11 crore in Q4 FY26, from Rs 70.16 crore in the corresponding quarter last year.

AAVAS Financiers jumped 3.28%. The company said that its board has accepted the resignation of Sachinderpalsingh Jitendrasingh Bhinder from the position of managing director (MD) & chief executive officer (CEO) of the company, with effect from close of business hours on 20 April 2026.

Meanwhile, the board announced the appointment of Manu Yeshpal Singh as MD & CEO, subject to approval from the Reserve Bank of India and shareholders

PNGS Gargi Fashion Jewellery rose 1.83% after the company reported strong Akshay Tritiya sales for FY26-27, with revenue increasing 77.41% year-on-year to Rs 236.82 lakh compared with Rs 133.49 lakh in the previous year.

Global Markets:

European market advanced on Tuesday as investors gauge developments ahead of the expiry deadline for the two-week ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran.

U.K. unemployment fell by 4.9% in the three-month period to the end of February compared with 5.2% in January 2026, according to data published by the Office for National Statistics. Wage growth, meanwhile, was up 3.6% on the year.

Asian market ended higher on Tuesday amid hopes for a resolution to the Middle East conflict, even as tensions between Iran and the U.S. continue to simmer.

'Trump, by imposing a siege and violating the ceasefire, seeks to turn this negotiating table' in his own imagination' into a table of surrender or to justify renewed warmongering,' Iran's parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf reportedly said in a social media post.

'We do not accept negotiations under the shadow of threats, and in the past two weeks, we have prepared to reveal new cards on the battlefield,' Ghalibaf, who is also Iran's top negotiator, added.

This comes after President Donald Trump on Monday said 'lots of bombs [will] start going off' if no deal is reached before a shaky ceasefire with Tehran expires Tuesday evening, threatening Iran with overwhelming military force.

The threats come even as a U.S. delegation prepared to return to Pakistan for a potential second round of peace talks.

Overnight on Wall Street, stocks slipped on Monday after tensions between the U.S. and Iran escalated over the weekend.

The S&P 500 shed 0.24% to close at 7,109.14, while the Nasdaq Composite declined 0.26% to finish at 24,404.39. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 4.87 points, or 0.01%, settling at 49,442.56. On the flip side, the small-cap Russell 2000 rose 0.58% to 2,792.96, scoring a new closing record.

Traders remain hard-pressed to fully price in a worst-case scenario on the war given stocks' recovery from near correction territory to all-time highs.

News source: Capital Market - Live News