GIFT Nifty hints at green start for equities; China?s industrial profits up 15.8% YoY March
GIFT Nifty:
The GIFT Nifty April 2026 futures currently traded 20.50 points higher, suggesting a positive opening for the benchmark index today.
Institutional Flows:
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth Rs 8,827.87 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net buyers to the tune of Rs 4,700.71 crore in the Indian equity market on 24 April 2026, provisional data showed.
The FIIs had sold shares worth Rs 56,363.96 crore in April (till 24 April 2026). This follows their cash sales of Rs 122,540.41 crore in March, Rs 6,640.78 crore in February and Rs 41,435.22 crore in January 2026.
Global Markets:
Asia markets traded mostly higher Monday as investors looked past diplomatic setbacks between the U.S. and Iran, even as escalating tensions in the Middle East kept oil prices elevated.
Sentiment held up despite U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday scrapping plans to send U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to Islamabad, Pakistan for negotiations with Iran.
Tensions in the Strait of Hormuz remain high after Iran?s Revolutionary Guard reportedly boarded two cargo ships near the strategic sea lane.
Meanwhile, Profits at China?s industrial firms grew at their fastest pace in six months in March, even as the Middle East war upended global oil markets and sent raw material costs soaring.
Industrial profits jumped 15.8% from a year earlier in March, the sharpest growth since September last year, National Bureau of Statistics data showed Monday, accelerating from the 15.2% surge in the first two months of this year.
In the first three months this year, enterprise profits expanded 15.5%, the fastest start to a year since 2017, barring the pandemic-driven spike in 2021.
Last week, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite closed at record levels on Friday after investors were given a hopeful sign that peace talks between the U.S. and Iran would soon take place in Pakistan.
The broad market index finished up 0.8% at 7,165.08, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq added 1.63% to settle at 24,836.60. Both indexes also scored fresh all-time intraday highs. However, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 79.61 points, or 0.16%, to end the at 49,230.71.
Domestic Market:
Domestic equity benchmarks ended sharply lower on Friday, extending their losing streak to a third straight session as global uncertainty kept investors on edge. Sentiment remained fragile amid stalled US-Iran negotiations and lingering concerns over the Strait of Hormuz, pushing crude oil prices above the $107-per-barrel mark and sustaining pressure on the rupee and institutional flows.
The S&P BSE Sensex plunged 999.79 points or 1.29% to close at 76,664.21, while the Nifty 50 fell 275.10 points or 1.14% to settle at 23,897.95, slipping below the crucial 23,900 level. Over the three straight sessions, the Sensex and Nifty have declined 3.29% and 2.76%, respectively.
Through the day, the Nifty showed a clear downward bias, opening at 24,100.55 and briefly touching a high of 24,206 before sliding to an intraday low of 23,813.65, with selling pressure persisting across most of the session. The decline was led by heavy selling in IT stocks, while all sectoral indices on the NSE ended in the red, reflecting a broad-based risk-off sentiment rather than any specific domestic trigger.
Market participants are now closely tracking Q4 earnings for directional cues, even as global developments around crude oil and geopolitics continue to dictate near-term market trends.
