Indian equity benchmarks ended significantly higher on Thursday, supported by bargain hunting in heavyweight stocks after the previous session’s sell-off. Markets made an optimistic start tracking encouraging cues from global peers. In the final hours of trade, the indices extended their gains amid signs of de-escalation in the Iran-US conflict, following private reports indicating that Iranian intelligence has quietly conveyed to the United States that Tehran may be open to discussions on ending the war.

Some of the important factors in trade:

India sees strong export opportunities in Japan: Traders took support with Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal’s statement that there is significant export potential for Indian firms in sectors such as pharmaceuticals, textiles, agriculture and services in Japan. 

Middle East conflict presents several short-term obstacles for Indian economy: Traders took note of Nagesh Kumar, an external member of the RBI's rate-setting panel, has stated that ongoing Middle East conflict presents several short-term obstacles for Indian economy, but it is unlikely to significantly affect the country’s long-term growth prospects.

Auto stocks were in limelight: Sentiments remained upbeat as a report released by the Federation ‌of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA) said that India’s retail vehicle sales grew 25.62% year-on-year (Y-o-Y) to 24.09 lakh units in the month of February 2026.

On the global front: European equity markets traded in the green, while Asian markets ended higher after U.S. jobs and services data beat forecasts and reports emerged that Tehran may be willing to hold talks to end the war.

The BSE Sensex ended at 80015.90, up by 899.71 points or 1.14% after trading in a range of 79201.69 and 80303.83. There were 20 stocks advancing against 9 stocks declining on the index, while one stock remained unchanged. (Provisional)

The gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Utilities up by 2.58%, Power up by 2.41%, Metal up by 2.32%, Industrials up by 2.32% and Capital Goods up by 2.29%, while IT down by 0.50% and TECK down by 0.18% were the only losing indices on BSE. (Provisional)

The top gainers on the Sensex were Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone up by 3.75%, Larsen & Toubro up by 3.68%, Bharat Electronics up by 3.51%, Reliance Industries up by 3.09% and NTPC up by 3.08%. On the flip side, Tech Mahindra down by 1.30%, ICICI Bank down by 0.82%, HCL Technologies down by 0.56%, TCS down by 0.48% and Hindustan Unilever down by 0.38% were the top losers. (Provisional)

Meanwhile, India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra) in its latest report has said that India's active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) segment is likely to witness price recovery in FY27. This outlook is supported by the implementation of minimum import price (MIP) starting from January 29, 2026 and China’s withdrawal value-added tax (VAT) rebate from April 1, 2026. Ind-Ra said this should curb discount-led imports and stabilise domestic realisations.

According to the report, API prices are likely to be impacted in the near term, due to volatility in crude prices and currency exchange rate due to the geopolitical situation prevailing in the Middle East. However, volumes are expected to strengthen with the easing destocking and an improving demand from the US and the European Union, aided by a favourable shift toward high-value contract development and manufacturing organisation (CDMO) and complex APIs.

India Ratings and Research further noted that the margins should strengthen on a higher utilisation and firmer pricing, with VAT-linked input cost increases remaining gradual enough to support cash flow and working capital normalisation.

The CNX Nifty ended at 24765.90, up by 285.40 points or 1.17% after trading in a range of 24529.40 and 24854.20. There were 38 stocks advancing against 12 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The top gainers on Nifty were Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone up by 4.52%, Larsen & Toubro up by 4.02%, Hindalco up by 3.60%, NTPC up by 3.35% and Reliance Industries up by 3.30%. On the flip side, Tech Mahindra down by 1.32%, HCL Technologies down by 0.73%, ICICI Bank down by 0.57%, SBI down by 0.43% and TCS down by 0.35% were the top losers. (Provisional)

European markets were trading higher; UK’s FTSE 100 increased 49.18 points or 0.47% to 10,616.83, France’s CAC rose 32.97 points or 0.4% to 8,200.70 and Germany’s DAX gained 77.34 points or 0.32% to 24,282.70.