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Informist, Wednesday, Apr. 1, 2026

 

By Arya S. Biju

 

MUMBAI – Domestic equity indices witnessed a relief rally Wednesday, starting the financial year 2026-27 (Apr-Mar) on a positive note as crude oil prices fell amid hopes of de-escalation in the West Asia conflict. Domestic headline indices closed sharply higher each, tracking gains across global equity markets. After rising nearly 3% intraday, headline indices came off highs to settle around 1.6% higher each. The Nifty 50 settled at 22679.40, up 348 points, and the BSE Sensex closed at 73134.32, up 1186.77 points.

 

The indices are still around 9?low their pre-Iran war levels. The Nifty 50 is now around 3000 points lower than its all-time high hit in early January, while the Sensex is around 12000 points away from its record high hit in December. 

 

"The positive signals from the US-Iran front are removing a major overhang of geopolitical risk and potential crude oil volatility, which is rightly cheering the market," Vinit Bolinjkar, head of equity research at Ventura Securities, said in a note.

Brent crude oil prices briefly fell below the $100-a-barrel mark after US President Donald Trump late Tuesday said he expects the US military forces to leave Iran in "two to three weeks" regardless of whether a deal is struck with Tehran. Market participants now await Trump's address scheduled early Thursday to deliver an "important update" on the Iran war, as per the White House. "We'll be leaving very soon," Trump told reporters at the Oval Office, adding that the US had achieved its goals of regime change and eliminating Tehran's nuclear threat. Further, Trump told aides that he's willing to end the military campaign against Iran even if the Strait of Hormuz remains largely closed, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing officials. The move came after reports that Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian was open to ending the war with the US and Israel as long as certain conditions are met.

 

Meanwhile, the head of Iranian Parliament's National Security Committee, Ebrahim Azizi, addressed Trump in a post on X, saying "the Strait of Hormuz will certainly reopen, but not for you." Iran has said it would allow "friendly" nations, including Pakistan, to send their ships through the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial waterway, which had been nearly closed since the beginning of the war on Feb. 28. 

On Wednesday, broader market indices rose around 2–3%, outperforming their benchmark peers. Small-cap indices rose around 3?ch, beating the 2.1-2.3% rise in mid-cap indices and the around 1.6% rise in benchmark indices. "Sectoral rotation from defensives toward cyclicals was evident, with banking, chemicals, metals, and realty emerging as the key outperformers of the session," Vinod Nair, head of research at Geojit Investments, said in a note. 

 

Most defence stocks rose sharply amid a positive sentiment over a series of robust business updates, fresh orders, and provisional 2025-26 (Apr-Mar) performance announcements. Shares of Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers jumped around 20% and was among the top gainers in the Nifty 500 index after the company reported its highest annual turnover of INR 64 billion for FY26, up 26% on year. The company delivered a total of eight vessels to the Indian Navy in FY26. 

 

Another defence major, Hindustan Aeronautics, rose over 5?ter it reported INR 322.50 billion of provisional sales in FY26, up over 4% on year. It also reported an order book of INR 2.54 trillion at the end of FY26, against the opening order book position of INR 1.89 trillion, after adjusting for current-year liquidation. Shares of Bharat Electronics rose 4.5?ter the company bagged additional orders worth INR 67.95 billion and reported a record turnover of INR 267.50 billion in FY26. The Nifty India Defence index closed over 5% higher with all its constituents ending in the green, barring Bharat Forge. 

 

Most capital market-linked stocks rose after the Reserve Bank of India Monday deferred the implementation of its amended directions on capital market exposures until Jul. 1 from the earlier date of Apr. 1. Until Jul. 1, brokers can continue using bank guarantees backed by 50% margin. Shares of aviation companies also ended higher Wednesday, with InterGlobe Aviation closing over 6% up and SpiceJet nearly 2% up. 

 

* Of the Nifty 50 stocks, 39 rose and 11 fell

* Of the Sensex stocks, 25 rose and 5 fell

* On the NSE, 2,936 stocks rose, 282 fell, and 104 were unchanged

* On the BSE, 3,819 stocks rose, 521 fell, and 97 were unchanged

* Nifty India Defence: up 5.3%; Nifty PSU Bank: up 3.7%; Nifty Healthcare: down 1.0%

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BSE                                                NSE

Sensex: 73134.32, up 1186.77 points or 1.7%      Nifty 50: 22679.40, up 348 points or 1.6%

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S&P BSE Sensitive Index	Nifty 50
Lifetime High: 86159.02 (Dec. 1, 2025)	: Lifetime High: 26373.20 (Jan. 5, 2026)
Record Close High: 85836.12 (Sept. 26, 2024)	: Record Close High: 26328.55 (Jan. 2, 2026)
2026 1st day close: 85188.60 (Jan. 1)	: 2026 1st day close: 26146.55 (Jan. 1)
2026 Closing High: 85762.01 (Jan. 2)	: 2026 Closing High: 26328.55 (Jan. 2)
2026 Closing Low: 71947.55 (Mar. 30)	: 2026 Closing Low: 22331.40 (Mar. 30)
2026 High (intraday): 85883.50 (Jan. 5)	: 2026 High (intraday): 26373.20 (Jan. 5)
2026 Low (intraday): 71774.13(Mar. 30)	: 2026 Low (intraday): 22283.85 (Mar. 30)
2025 1st day close: 78507.41 (Jan. 1)	: 2025 1st day close: 23742.90 (Jan. 1)
2025 Closing High: 85720.38 (Nov. 27)	: 2025 Closing High: 26215.55 (Nov. 27)
2025 Closing Low: 72989.93 (Mar. 4)	: 2025 Closing Low: 22082.65 (Mar. 4)
2025 High (intraday): 86159.02 (Dec. 1)	: 2025 High (intraday): 26325.80 (Dec.1)
2025 Low (intraday): 71425.01 (Apr. 7)	: 2025 Low (intraday): 21743.65 (Apr. 7)
2024 1st day close: 72271.94 (Jan. 1)	: 2024 1st day close: 21741.90 (Jan. 1)
2024 Closing High: 85836.12 (Sept. 26)	: 2024 Closing High: 26216.05 (Sept. 26)
2024 Closing Low: 70370.55 (Jan. 23)	: 2024 Closing Low: 21238.80 (Jan. 23)
2024 High (intraday): 85978.25 (Sep. 27)	: 2024 High (intraday): 26277.35 (Sept. 27)
2024 Low (intraday): 70001.60 (Jan. 24)	: 2024 Low (intraday): 21137.20 (Jan. 24)
2023 1st day close: 61167.79 (Jan. 2)	: 2023 1st day close: 18197.45 (Jan. 2)
2023 Closing High: 72410.38 (Dec. 28)	: 2023 Closing High: 21778.70 (Dec. 28)
2023 Closing Low: 59288.35 (Feb. 27)	: 2023 Closing Low: 17311.80 (Oct. 17)
2023 High (intraday): 72484.34 (Dec. 28)	: 2023 High (intraday): 21801.45 (Dec. 28)
2023 Low (intraday): 58699.20 (Jan. 30)	: 2023 Low (intraday): 17098.55 (Jan. 17)
2022 1st day close: 59183.22 (Jan. 3)	: 2022 1st day close: 17625.70 (Jan. 3)
2022 Closing High: 63284.19 (Dec. 1)	: 2022 Closing High: 18812.50 (Dec. 1)
2022 Closing Low: 51360.42 (Jun. 17)	: 2022 Closing Low: 15293.50 (Jun. 17)
2022 High (intraday): 63583.07 (Dec. 1)	: 2022 High (intraday): 18887.60 (Dec. 1)
2022 Low (intraday): 50921.22 (Jun. 17)	: 2022 Low (intraday): 15183.40 (Jun. 17)
2021 Closing High: 61305.95 (Oct. 14)	: 2021 Closing High: 18338.55 (Oct. 14)
2021 Closing Low: 46285.77 (Jan. 29)	: 2021 Closing Low: 13634.60 (Jan. 29)
2021 High (intraday): 61353.25 (Oct. 14)	: 2021 High (intraday): 18350.75 (Oct. 14)
2021 Low (intraday): 46160.46 (Jan. 29)	: 2021 Low (intraday): 13596.75 (Jan. 29)
2020 Closing High: 47751.33 (Dec. 31)	: 2020 Closing High: 13981.95 (Dec. 30)
2020 Closing Low: 25981.24 (Mar. 23)	: 2020 Closing Low: 7610.25 (Mar. 23)
2020 High (intraday): 47896.97 (Dec. 31)	: 2020 High (intraday): 14024.85 (Dec. 31)
2020 Low (intraday): 25638.90 (Mar. 24)	: 2020 Low (intraday): 7511.10 (Mar. 24)
2019 High (intraday): 41809.96 (Dec. 20)	: 2019 High (intraday): 12293.90 (Dec. 20)
2019 Low (intraday): 35287.16 (Feb. 19)	: 2019 Low (intraday): 10583.65 (Jan. 29)
2018 High (intraday): 38938.91(Aug. 28))	: 2018 High(intraday): 11760.20 (Aug. 28)
2018 Low (intraday): 32483.8 (Mar. 23)	: 2018 Low (intraday): 9951.9 (Mar. 23)
2017 High (intraday): 34005.37 (Dec. 26)	: 2017 High(intraday): 10515.10 (Dec. 26)

 

End

 

US$1 = INR 94.83

 

Edited by Tanima Banerjee

 

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