Barometers trade with major cuts; Nifty trades below 24,300

The domestic equity benchmarks traded with substantial losses in the afternoon trade as investor sentiment remained cautious amid uncertainty over the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and a sharp surge in crude oil prices above the $100-per-barrel mark. Investors are also closely monitoring Q4 earnings for further cues.

The Nifty traded below the 24,300 level. Auto, PSU Bank and consumer durables shares declined, while pharma, healthcare and media shares advanced.

At 13:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex fell 573.90 points or 0.73% to 77,954.33. The Nifty 50 index slumped 121.50 points or 0.50% to 24,257.75.

In the broader market, the BSE 150 MidCap Index added 0.01% and the BSE 250 SmallCap Index rose 0.06%.

The market breadth was negative. On the BSE, 1,861 shares rose and 2,261 shares fell. A total of 202 shares were unchanged.

Gainers & Losers:

Dr. Reddy's Laboratories (up 9.01%), Jio Financial Services (up 4.43%), Cipla (up 4.38%), Adani Enterprises (up 2.48%) and Sun Pharmaceutical Industries (up 1.95%) were the major Nifty50 gainers.

SBI Life Insurance Company (down 3.08%), Mahindra & Mahindra (down 2.95%), Shriram Finance (down 2.70%), Trent (down 2.45%) and Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles (down 2.34%) were the major Nifty50 losers.

Economy:

The HSBC Flash India PMI Composite Output Index was rose to 58.3 in April from the final reading of 57.0 in March. The latest reading signalled a sharp expansion in overall business activity, remaining well above its long-run average.

HSBC Flash India Services PMI Business Activity Index stood at 57.9 in April 2026 compared with 57.5 in March 2026.

Meanwhile, HSBC Flash India Manufacturing PMI Output Index climbed to 59.1 in April 2026 compared with 55.7 in March 2026. Overall manufacturing business conditions also strengthened, with the HSBC Flash India Manufacturing PMI rising to 55.9 in April from 53.9 in the previous month.

The foreign broker has downgraded Indian equities to ?underweight? from ?neutral.? The move comes amid rising crude oil prices driven by the Middle East conflict. Brent crude is up over 40% and trading above $100 per barrel. Higher oil prices are expected to raise inflation and slow growth. It said earnings forecasts may be revised lower. A 20% rise in crude could cut earnings growth by 1.5%.

The brokerage also flagged risks of rupee depreciation and continued foreign investor outflows. Concerns around IT sector demand remain. While domestic inflows are supportive, valuations may look expensive if earnings are downgraded. The brokerage said selective opportunities remain, but the broader outlook has weakened.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Patel Engineering gained 1.41% after the company was declared the lowest bidder (L1) for a Rs 1,593.08 crore contract for the Lower Arun Hydropower Project in Nepal.

Alembic Pharmaceuticals rose 1.17%. The company announced the incorporation of a new subsidiary in the Philippines, aimed at expanding its international presence.

Sangam India advanced 2.17% after its consolidated net profit zoomed 245.27% to Rs 32.87 crore in Q4 FY26 as against Rs 9.52 crore in Q4 FY25. Revenue from operations rose 20.37% year on year (YoY) to Rs 883.93 crore in Q4 FY26.

Infosys declined 1.25%. The company has announced a strategic collaboration with OpenAI to help enterprises transform software development and modernization with OpenAI?s frontier AI models and products like Codex.

KP Energy jumped 4.27% after the company received an inter-state electricity trading licence from the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission. The licence, classified under Category V, allows the company to undertake electricity trading across state boundaries and participate in national power markets.

Trent declined 2.11%. The company reported a 29.95% jump in standalone net profit to Rs 454.75 crore on a 20.22% increase in revenue from operations to Rs 4,936.64 crore in Q4 FY26 over Q4 FY25.

Lemon Tree Hotels shed 0.69%. The company has signed two license agreements, viz., Lemon Tree Premier, Raipur, and Lemon Tree Hotel, Jalandhar.

Oracle Financial Services Software jumped 8.36% after the company reported a 30.72% increase in consolidated net profit to Rs 841.7 crore on a 20.33% rise in revenue from operations to Rs 2,065.2 crore in Q4 FY26 over Q4 FY25.

Global Markets:

Most European and Asian market traded lower on Thursday, as investors noted ongoing tensions around the Strait of Hormuz despite U.S. President Donald Trump?s indefinite extension to a ceasefire in the Iran war.

Trump extended a two-week U.S. ceasefire on Tuesday, saying it was warranted due to Tehran?s ?seriously fractured? government.

The ceasefire will remain in place until Iran submits a proposal or talks conclude, while the U.S. military continues its blockade of Iranian ports, Trump said.

However, the timeline remains uncertain. Iranian state media reported Wednesday that Tehran?s negotiators would not attend talks with the U.S., calling them a waste of time.?

A lack of commitment from Iran reportedly prompted Vice President JD Vance to pause his trip to join peace talks.

Meanwhile, Iran?s navy also said that it had seized two container ships in the Strait of Hormuz.

On the data front, Japan?s manufacturing activity expanded at its fastest pace in four years in April, according to the S&P Global flash Purchasing Managers? Index, as firms boosted output amid supply concerns linked to Middle East tensions.

The S&P Global flash Japan Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) rose to 54.9 in April, the highest since January 2022, from 51.6 in March. The 50-mark separates growth from contraction.

South Korea?s economy grew more than expected in the first three months of the year, recording the fastest growth since the third quarter of 2020. The 1.7% growth in January to March from the previous quarter exceeded the widely reported estimate of 1.0% and reflects a rebound from the 0.2% contraction in the prior quarter.

Overnight on Wall Street, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite finished at record levels on Wednesday after President Donald Trump extended the U.S. ceasefire with Iran, while upbeat earnings reports also lifted sentiment.

The broad market index added 1.05% to finish at 7,137.90, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq added 1.64% to settle at 24,657.57. Meanwhile, the Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 340.65 points, or 0.69%, to end the day at 49,490.03.