Nifty trades above 24,350 mark; VIX jumps 9.61%
The key equity benchmarks traded with minor gains in early afternoon trade even as investors remained cautious over renewed escalation in the West Asia conflict. The Nifty traded above the 24,350 mark. Chemical, realty and IT shares declined, while PSU Bank, oil & gas and auto shares advanced.
At 13:28 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex advanced 81.37 points or 0.10% to 78,571.17. The Nifty 50 index rose 29 points or 0.13% to 24,384.30.
In the broader market the frontline indices. The BSE 150 MidCap Index shed 0.01% and the BSE 250 SmallCap Index fell 0.12%.
The market breadth was negative. On the BSE, 1,894 shares rose and 2,377 shares fell. A total of 207 shares were unchanged.
The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, surged 9.61% to 18.86.
Gainers & Losers:
Trent (up 3.89%), JSW Steel (up 2.56%), State Bank of India (up 2.47%), Adani Enterprises (up 2.40%) and Asian Paints (up 1.85%) were the major Nifty50 gainers.
Jio Financial Services (down 2.32%), Hindalco Industries (down 2.29%), Larsen & Toubro (down 1.37%), Kotak Mahindra Bank (down 1.24%) and Titan Company (down 1.11%) were the major Nifty50 losers.
Stocks in Spotlight:
HDFC Bank shed 0.27%. The bank reported 9.11% jump in standalone net profit to Rs 19,221.05 crore in Q4 FY26 as against Rs 17,616.14 crore in Q4 FY25. Total income rose marginally to Rs 89,808.90 crore in Q4 FY26 from Rs 89,487.99 crore in the corresponding quarter last year.
Hathway Cable & Datacom slipped 3.72% after the company reported an 11.33% decline in consolidated net profit to Rs 11.33 crore, despite a 6.37% increase in revenue from operations to Rs 545.85 crore in Q4 FY26 over Q4 FY25.
Jio Financial Services fell 2.23% after the company reported a 13.88% drop in consolidated net profit to Rs 272.22 crore despite 106.49% surge in revenue from operations to Rs 1018.51 crore in Q4 FY26 over Q4 FY25.
Aditya Birla Money jumped 7.82% after the company reported a 100.97% surge in consolidated net profit to Rs 18.73 crore on 30.51% jump in revenue from operations to Rs 129.79 crore in Q4 FY26 over Q4 FY25.
Tega Industries shed 0.76%. The company announced that it has incorporated a wholly owned subsidiary company in India in the name of Tega Solutions on 01 April 2026.
Sterling and Wilson Renewable Energy zoomed 12.76% after the company said it has secured new domestic orders worth around Rs 3,550 crore, boosting its order inflow for FY26.
Interarch Building Solutions rallied 4.14% after the company announced that it has secured an order worth Rs 60 crore for the design, engineering, manufacturing, supply and erection of a pre-engineered steel building system.
Global Markets:
European markets declined as escalating tensions between the United States and Iran rattled investor sentiment following the seizure of an Iranian-flagged vessel near the Strait of Hormuz, raising fears of further disruption to global energy flows and derailing diplomatic efforts.
Asian markets traded mostly higher Monday, as investors continue to keep a cautious eye on developments in the Middle East amid renewed tensions between Iran and the U.S.
President Donald Trump reportedly said on Sunday that a U.S Navy guided missile destroyer had fired on and disabled an Iranian-flagged cargo ship in the Gulf of Oman before Marines boarded and seized the vessel.
The seizure is an escalation of the blockade and comes after Iran fired upon commercial vessels attempting to transit the Strait of Hormuz earlier Sunday. The strait is between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman.
Since last week, the U.S. has been operating a naval blockade of ships entering and exiting Iranian ports. Iran views the ongoing blockade as a breach of the ceasefire reached by the U.S. and Iran, and cites this as one of its reasons for calling off the expected negotiations on Monday in Islamabad.
Trump warned on Sunday he would ?knock out every single Power Plant, and every single Bridge, in Iran? if Tehran did not agree to Washington?s terms to end the conflict.
Meanwhile, China held its benchmark lending rates unchanged for an 11th straight month, as escalating Middle East tensions drove energy prices higher and weighed on the growth outlook.
The decision came after the world?s second-largest economy grew 5% in the first quarter, accelerating from 4.5% in the prior quarter, and at the top end of its full-year target range. Beijing lowered its growth target for 2026 to a range of 4.5% to 5%, the least ambitious goal on record since the 1990s.
Last Friday, U.S. stocks edged higher after Iran declared the Strait of Hormuz completely open? on the heels of a ceasefire announcement between Israel and Lebanon.
The S&P 500 jumped 1.2% to close at 7,126.06, crossing the 7,100 threshold for the first time. The Nasdaq Composite gained 1.52% and settled at 24,468.48 for its 13th consecutive winning day and its longest positive streak since 1992. The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 868.71 points, or 1.79%, to end at 49,447.43.
In a post on social media published Friday, Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi wrote, ?In line with the ceasefire in Lebanon, the passage for all commercial vessels through Strait of Hormuz is declared completely open for the remaining period of ceasefire, on the coordinated route as already announced by Ports and Maritime Organisation of the Islamic Rep. of Iran.?
President Donald Trump had said Thursday that the leaders of Israel and Lebanon agreed to a 10-day ceasefire, which went into effect at 5 p.m. ET that day.
