Market Commentary Quick Review News Details

Sensex settles 185 pts higher; Nifty ends above 22,700 level; VIX jumps 2.03%

(02-Apr-26   16:04)

The key equity benchmarks ended with marginal gains on Thursday, extending gains for the second consecutive session after staging a sharp recovery from a weak start. After opening deep in the red, both the BSE Sensex and Nifty 50 rebounded to close in positive territory.

Earlier in the session, markets saw a steep decline as oil prices surged over $4, following comments by Donald Trump indicating that the United States would continue strikes on Iran, including energy infrastructure, over the coming weeks.

At the open, the Sensex plunged over 1,400 points, while the Nifty dropped nearly 400 points, with all sectoral indices trading in the red. However, losses were gradually pared through the session as buying emerged at lower levels. The recovery comes a day after both benchmarks ended Wednesday's session on a positive note, reflecting underlying resilience in market sentiment despite global uncertainties.

The Nifty settled above the 22,700 level. IT, realty and private bank shares advanced while consumer durables, pharma and oil & gas shares declined.

As per provisional closing data, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, jumped 185.23 points or 0.25% to 73,319.55. The Nifty 50 index rose 33.70 points or 0.15% to 22,713.10. In the two consecutive trading sessions, the Sensex jumped 1.90% while the Nifty added 1.70%.

In the broader market, the BSE 150 MidCap Index fell 0.24% and the BSE 250 SmallCap Index rose 0.05%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2,680 shares rose and 1,547 shares fell. A total of 160 shares were unchanged.

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, rose 2.03% to 25.52.

The stock market will remain closed tomorrow, 3 April 2026, on account of Good Friday.

New Listing:

Shares of Sai Parenterals settled at Rs 406.40 on the BSE, representing a premium of 3.64% as compared with the issue price of Rs 392.

The stock debuted at Rs 405, marking a premium of 0.35% to the issue price.

The stock has hit a high of Rs 416.20 and a low of Rs 400. On the BSE, over 5.48 lakh shares of the company were traded in the counter.

Shares of Amir Chand Jagdish Kumar (Exports) settled at Rs 175.50 on the BSE, representing a discount of 17.22% as compared with the issue price of Rs 212.

The stock debuted at Rs 195, marking a discount of 10% to the issue price.

The stock has hit a high of Rs 197.95 and a low of Rs 175.50. On the BSE, over 12.74 lakh shares of the company were traded in the counter.

Shares of Powerica settled at Rs 390 on the BSE, representing a discount of 1.27% as compared with the issue price of Rs 395.

The stock debuted at Rs 375, marking a premium of 4% to the issue price.

The stock has hit a high of Rs 396.85 and a low of Rs 365.10. On the BSE, over 3.02 lakh shares of the company were traded in the counter

Economy:

India's manufacturing activity eased to 53.9 in March 2026, down from 56.9 in February, according to the latest Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) data released on April 2.

The reading marks a 45-month low, with the last comparable level seen in September 2021 (53.7), indicating a moderation in manufacturing momentum.

The March print also reverses the uptrend seen earlier in 2026, when PMI rose from 55.0 in December to 55.4 in January and 56.9 in February.

While the index remained in the 55'59 range during 2024'2025, with peaks above 59, the latest decline suggests softening demand conditions and rising input cost pressures. The moderation comes amid heightened geopolitical tensions and elevated crude oil prices, which have begun to weigh on business sentiment and cost structures.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty IT index added 2.60% to 30,441.45. The index tanked 4.55% in the two consecutive trading session.

Coforge (up 4.72%), LTIMindtree (up 4.7%), Persistent Systems (up 3.53%), HCL Technologies (up 3.23%), Mphasis (up 3.04%) Tech Mahindra (up 2.57%), Wipro (up 1.9%), Infosys (up 1.66%), Tata Consultancy Services (up 1.57%) and Oracle Financial Services Software (up 1.48%) added.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Dhanlaxmi Bank rose 0.53%. The bank reported 23.96% jump in gross advances to Rs 15,130 crore as of 31 March 2026 as against Rs 12,206 crore as of 31 March 2025.

Maruti Suzuki India shed 0.98%. The company reported 19% increase in total production to 2,31,933 units in March 2026, compared with 1,94,901 units produced in March 2025.

Karnataka Bank fell 1.11%. The bank reported a 3.8% rise in aggregate deposits to Rs 108,840.95 crore as on 31 March 2026 from Rs 104,807.49 crore as on 31 March 2025.

South Indian Bank added 1.43% after the company reported 15.66% jump in gross advances to Rs 1,01,295 crore as of 31 March 2026 as against Rs 87,579 crore as of 31 March 2025.

Tamilnad Mercantile Bank added 2.82%. The bank said that its total advances jumped 20.32% to Rs 53,380 crore as of 31 March 2026, compared with Rs 44,366 crore as of 31 March 2025.

Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) fell 0.99%. The company reported strong operational performance for the latest fiscal period, posting a 4% growth in consolidated sales of petroleum products to 104.4 million tonnes (MT), up from 100.3 MT in the same period last year.

V2 Retail added 1.69% after the company reported a 59.92% jump in standalone revenue to Rs 798 crore in Q4 FY26, compared with Rs 499 crore in Q4 FY25.

Global Markets:

The US Dow Jones index futures are currently down by 481 points, signaling a weak opening for US stocks today.

European stocks traded lower on Thursday, as fears of escalation in the U.S.-Iran war gripped global markets once again.

Switzerland's inflation rose 0.3% YoY in March 2026, below expectations but higher than February's 0.1%, marking the highest level since March 2025. The rise was driven by housing and energy costs, while declines in food and transport limited gains. On a monthly basis, CPI increased 0.2%, easing from 0.6% in February, while core inflation remained unchanged at 0.4% YoY.

Asian markets ended lower, reversing earlier gains, as oil spiked following U.S. President Donald Trump's national address on the Iran war.

During his speech, Trump reiterated that the U.S. objectives in Iran were almost met and said that 'we have all the cards' in the conflict. He also said that Washington will hit Iran 'very hard' over the next two to three weeks.

Early Wednesday stateside, Trump claimed that Iran's 'New Regime President' had asked the U.S. for a ceasefire, a claim that Tehran reportedly has denied.

Trump added that the U.S. will 'consider' the offer only once the Strait of Hormuz was 'open, free, and clear,' he said on social media platform.

Trump previously said he was willing to end the U.S. military campaign against Iran even if the Strait of Hormuz remained closed, according to a media report.

Overnight on Wall Street, stocks rose on Wednesday, while oil prices declined to start the month, as hope grew that an end to the U.S.-Iran war was on the horizon.

The S&P 500 advanced 0.72% and closed at 6,575.32, and the Nasdaq Composite gained 1.16% and settled at 21,840.95. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 224.23 points, or 0.48%, to end at 46,565.74.