Nifty trades below 22,950 mark; auto share slumps
Headline equity benchmarks recovered some early losses but continued to trade with mild declines in morning trade, weighed down by a mix of global and domestic headwinds. Investor sentiment weakened after fresh geopolitical tensions emerged following U.S. President Donald Trump?s renewed threats toward Iran, which pushed oil prices higher and heightened market anxiety.
Markets are volatile due to the weekly expiry of Nifty 50 contracts, the first in the April series. Amid this uncertainty, the Nifty slipped below the 22,950 mark in morning trade. Auto stocks declined after advancing in the previous trading session.
At 10:25 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, fell 105.20 points or 0.14% to 74,001.65. The Nifty 50 index slipped 30.10 points or 0.13% to 22,938.15.
In the broader market, the BSE 150 MidCap Index declined 0.48% and the BSE 250 SmallCap Index rose 0.15%.
The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2,330 shares rose and 1,348 shares fell. A total of 171 shares were unchanged.
The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, added 0.40% to 25.57.
Monsoon Forecast:
Private weather forecaster Skymet expects India?s 2026 monsoon to be below normal at around 94% of the long-period average, with El Ni?o likely to strengthen and disrupt rainfall in the second half of the season. While June could begin on a stable note, rains are expected to turn erratic from July to September, with central and north-west regions facing deficits, even as eastern and northeastern parts fare relatively better.
Buzzing Index:
The Nifty Auto index dropped 1.27% to 24,042.20. The index jumped 1.08% in the past trading session.
Bharat Forge (down 3.5%), Uno Minda (down 2.69%), Hero MotoCorp (down 2.58%), Eicher Motors (down 2.14%), Tube Investments of India (down 2.05%), Mahindra & Mahindra (down 1.73%), Exide Industries (down 1.64%), Ashok Leyland (down 1.56%), TVS Motor Company (down 1.37%) and Samvardhana Motherson International (down 1.35%) declined.
Stocks in Spotlight:
Shyam Metalics & Energy jumped 4.53% after the company announced that its stainless steel sales volume jumped 58.91% to 10,519 MT in March 2026 as compared with 6,619 MT in March 2025.
Kalyan Jewellers India slipped 1.37%. The company?s consolidated revenue climbed 64% YoY in Q4 FY26, driven by strong festive and wedding demand, robust same-store sales growth (SSSG), and sharp traction in its digital platform, Candere.
Jubilant FoodWorks dropped 7.13%. The company said its consolidated revenue from operations stood at Rs 2,505.8 crore in Q4 FY26, up 19.1% year-on-year (YoY).
