More Stories

Informist, Thursday, Apr. 16, 2026                                      Tel +91 (22) 6985-4000

---

Equity Alert: Indices seen a tad higher on hopes of US-Iran peace talks

 

MUMBAI--0800 IST--Benchmark indices are likely to open slightly higher on Thursday amid reports that the US and Iran may look to extend the ceasefire and even hold a second round of talks to end the West Asia war. Most Asian indices were higher in early trade as crude oil futures have stayed around $95 per barrel for about three days now.

 

At 0758 IST, GIFT Nifty April contracts traded slightly above 24300 points, indicating the Nifty 50 index may open around 70 points or 0.3% higher. Wednesday, the Nifty 50 index had closed at 24231.30 points, up nearly 400 points or 1.6%.

 

Technical analysts expect the buying momentum in the market to continue in the near term. The intraday support for the Nifty 50 is seen at 23900-24000 points and the resistance is expected near 24500 points.

 

Some of the developments globally have made market partcipants confident that the war between the US and Iran may end soon. There were media reports on Wednesday that the two countries have agreed in principle to extend the two-week ceasefire. The original

two-week period is due to end Apr. 22.

 

The New York Times reported that senior Pakistani mediators reached Tehran on Wednesday in order to keep the prospects for futher talks alive. Israel is also considering a possible ceasefire against Iran-backed Hezbollah, three Israeli officicals told NYT. 

Indices in the US were mixed on Wednesday with S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite closing 0.8-1.6% higher while the Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.2% down.

 

However, some risks related to the US-Iran conflict remain with the US halting the goods going into and leaving Iran by sea. Iran's military has said it would try to stop ships headling to other countries if the blockade by the US continues, the NYT report said.

 

On the domestic front, the March quarter earnings are likely to lead to stock price reactions. Information technology major Wipro is scheduled to report its earnings later in the day. Market participants will keep an eye on the company's guidance for the June quarter. While some analysts expect the company to guide for 0-2% growth in revenue for the June quarter, others expect it to guide for a dip of as much as 2%. Among others, HDFC Life Insurance Co. will report its quarterly earnings. (Anshul Choudhary)

---

 

Equity Alert: US indices end mixed Wed; NASDAQ, S&P 500 hit new highs

 

MUMBAI--0726 IST--The US benchmark indices ended mixed Wednesday. The NASDAQ Composite index and the S&P 500 rose to all-time-highs, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed in the red. Market participants cheered the prospects of a fresh round of peace talks between the US and Iran. US President Donald Trump has said Iran is eager to strike a deal and that the war is "very close" to being over. Brent Crude Oil futures were largely unchanged since the week started at around $95 per barrel.

 

The NASDAQ Composite ended in the green for the eleventh consecutive day and the S&P 500 closed higher for the third straight session. The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average was dragged down by heavyweight Caterpillar Inc., which fell 3%. "We're basically back to where we were in late February in terms of the sentiment indicators and the valuation," Tim Hayes, chief global investment strategist at Ned Davis Research, told CNBC.

 

Earnings-driven momentum was also seen on Wall Street. Bank of America, the country's second-largest lender, beat analysts' forecast on earnings for the quarter ended March. The lender's revenue grew 7% on year to $30.3 billion during Jan-Mar, and earnings per share rose 25% on year to $1.11. The stock closed almost 2% higher. Another banking major, Morgan Stanley, reported its earnings for the period. The bank's net revenue climbed 15% on year to $20.6 billion, and it saw record revenues from its equities, institutional, and wealth management businesses. Its shares ended around 4.5% higher.

 

In other news, Trump once again lashed out against Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. "I'll have to fire him, OK, if he's not leaving on time," Trump said IN an interview with Fox Business, according to a report by The Guardian. Powell is set to retire on May 15, and the White House has been pushing for Kevin Warsh to replace Powell.

 

Following are the closing levels of US indices Wednesday:

 

Index	Level	Change in %
S&P 500	7022.95	0.80
NASDAQ Composite	24016.017	1.59
Dow Jones Industrial Average	48463.72	(-)0.15

 

(Ruchira Kagita)

 

US$1 = INR 93.37

IST, or Indian Standard Time, is five-and-a-half hours ahead of GMT

 

Edited by Vandana Hingorani

 

All prices from National Stock Exchange, unless otherwise specified.

All percentage changes for share prices are rounded off to the nearest whole number; percentage changes for index values are rounded off to one decimal place.

All times are Indian Standard Time.

 

NSE: National Stock Exchange
NYSE: New York Stock Exchange
NYMEX: New York Mercantile Exchange
SEBI: Securities and Exchange Board of India
RBI: Reserve Bank of India

Internet links:
Securities and Exchange Board of India - http://www.sebi.gov.in
Bombay Stock Exchange - http://www.bseindia.com
National Stock Exchange of India - http://www.nseindia.com
Directory of Indian government websites - http://goidirectory.nic.in
Indian Ministry of Finance - http://www.finmin.nic.in
Reserve Bank of India - http://rbi.org.in
Controller General of Accounts, Government of India - http://www.cga.nic.in
Government's Press Information Bureau - http://www.pib.nic.in

 

For users of real-time market data terminals, Informist news is available exclusively on the NSE Cogencis WorkStation.

 

Cogencis news is now Informist news. This follows the acquisition of Cogencis Information Services Ltd by NSE Data & Analytics Ltd, a 100% subsidiary of the National Stock Exchange of India Ltd. As a part of the transaction, the news department of Cogencis has been sold to Informist Media Pvt Ltd.

 

Informist Media Tel +91 (22) 6985-4000

Send comments to feedback@informistmedia.com

 

© Informist Media Pvt. Ltd. 2026. All rights reserved.