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Informist, Monday, Apr. 27, 2026                                      Tel +91 (22) 6985-4000

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Equity Alert: Indices to open higher as Asian mkts gain; crude prices key

 

MUMBAI--0825 IST--Domestic equity indices are expected to open higher, tracking gains in Asian equity indices. While crude oil prices are still higher, they eased slightly from the previous session's levels. Lack of clarity on US-Iran peace talks, however, remains an overhang on the market. US President Donald Trump said on Sunday that Iran could ‌reach out to the US if it wants to negotiate an end to the war between the two countries.

 

Asian equity indices showed a mixed performance in early trade, with most indices in the green. Barring the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the other two indices in the US ended Friday's session higher. The stock of Axis Bank will be in focus after the bank detailed its March quarter earnings Saturday.

 

Trump cancelled a planned visit to Pakistan by his envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, who had been expected to explore indirect talks with Iran. "If they want to talk, all they have to do is call!" Trump said on his social media platform Truth Social on Saturday.  

 

At 0820 IST, the June futures contract of Brent crude traded 1.3% higher at $106.70 a barrel. Oil prices climbed back to over $100 per barrel level last week. Analysts expect the rise in Brent crude prices to continue until a clear resolution emerged out of the potential US-Iran peace talks. 

 

Friday, the Nifty 50 closed 1.1% lower at 23897.95. The BSE Sensex ended 1.3% lower at 76664.21. GIFT Nifty futures indicated a higher opening for the spot market. At 0813 IST, the April futures contract of GIFT Nifty was at 24143, up 21.50 points or 0.1%. It was over 240 points higher than the Nifty 50's previous close. Analysts expect the 50-stock index to face resistance at 24200 points and find support at 23800 points.

 

Axis Bank Saturday posted a net profit of INR 70.71 billion in the March quarter, marginally lower on year but growing nearly 9% on quarter. The net profit beat the Street's estimate of INR 69.36 billion. The bank's provisions jumped to INR 35.22 billion, up from INR 13.59 billion a year ago and rising nearly 57% from a quarter ago.  (Arundathi A R)

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Equity Alert: Most indices in Asia up; Nikkei 225, KOSPI hit record highs

 

MUMBAI--0815 IST--Most indices in Asia were higher and sentiment likely gained support from the rally in technology stocks on Wall Street Friday. Japan's Nikkei 225 and South Korea's KOSPI touched new all-time-high levels early Monday. The indices were up despite peace talks between the US and Iran stalling and Brent crude oil futures hovering near $107 per barrel.

 

Over the weekend, US President Donald Trump said the trip of US representatives Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to Pakistan's capital city to meet Iran officials for a peace deal stood cancelled. "Too much time wasted on traveling, too much work! Besides which, there is tremendous infighting and confusion within their 'leadership,'" Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social. He also said that the Iranians only have to make a phone call to discuss the peace deal. 

 

On the macroeconomic front, China's industrial profits jumped 15.8% on year in March despite global supply chain disruptions due to the war in West Asia. This was the highest increase in industrial profits since September. The growth was driven by equipment and high-tech manufacturing sectors, CNBC reported. At 0811 IST, China's benchmark CSI 300 index was up 0.37%.

 

Hong Kong's Hang Seng opened in the green but later began oscillating between gains and losses. In South Korea, the KOSPI continued to extend gains, up around 1.3% from its opening level. Gains by heavyweight SK Hynix supported the index as the stock was up nearly 6%. The FTSE Singapore Strait Times and the S&P ASX 200 indices were lower.

 

Following were the levels of major Asian indices at 0819 IST:

 

Index	Level	Change in %
CSI 300 Index	4781.0608	0.25
Hang Seng Index	25988.89	0.04
Nikkei 225 Day	60572.65	1.43
TOPIX FIRST SECTION	3744.19	0.74
KOSPI	6615.58	2.16
FTSE Singapore Strait Times	4898.37	(-)0.50
S&P/ASX 200 INDEX	8764.60	(-)0.25

 

(Ruchira Kagita)

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Equity Alert: Winning week for NASDAQ, S&P 50; hopes of peace in W Asia aid

 

MUMBAI--0735 IST—Barring the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the NASDAQ Composite and the S&P 500 posted gains for the fourth consecutive week Friday. Market participants' concerns about the war in West Asia prolonging for long were alleviated slightly as the US President Donald Trump extended the ceasefire with Iran, and declared the extension of the truce between Israel and Lebanon.

 

However, US futures ticked slightly downwards after Trump cancelled US representatives' trip to Pakistan to discuss the contours of a concrete peace deal with Iran. "Too much time wasted on traveling, too much work! Besides which, there is tremendous infighting and confusion within their ‘leadership,'" Trump said in a post on social media. "Nobody knows who is in charge, including them. Also, we have all the cards, they have none! If they want to talk, all they have to do is call!!!," Trump added. At 0723 IST, the E-Mini Dow Futures were down 0.1-0.2%. Brent crude oil futures jumped to $107 per barrel, up almost 2%.

 

Meanwhile on Friday, the S&P 500 and the NASDAQ hit fresh highs intraday. The S&P 500 rose almost 1% to a high of 7168.590 points and the technology-heavy NASDAQ climbed 1.7% to a record high of 24854.04 points. The blue-chip Dow Jones, however, fell on the last trading session of the week.

 

Five of the magnificent seven stocks are set to report their earnings for the quarter ended March. Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon, Meta Platforms, and Apple will be releasing their earnings. "These companies have a lot to prove, and for their stock prices to move higher, they're really going to have to wow investors on the earnings front," Anthony Saglimbene, chief market strategist at Ameriprise, told Reuters. The Federal Open Market Committee decision on interest rates is due Wednesday and the committee is expected to maintain status quo. This could also be the current chair Jerome Powell's final meeting before he retires in May. Investors will keep an eye out for the Federal Reserve's commentary. 

 

Following are the closing levels of US indices on Friday:

 

US Indices	Levels	Change in %
Dow Jones Industrial Average	49230.71	(-)0.16
NASDAQ Composite	24836.5999	1.63
S&P 500	7165.08	0.80

 

(Ruchira Kagita)

 

US$1 = INR 94.24

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

 

Edited by Tanima Banerjee

 

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.

 

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