Indian equity benchmarks gave up most of their intra-day gains but managed to end nearly half a per cent higher on Friday, following intense buying in IT, TECK and Healthcare stocks amid concerns over a further spike in fuel-driven inflation. However, profit booking at higher levels along with persistent foreign fund outflows trimmed most of the early gains. 

Some of the important factors in trade:       

Govt approves Rs 497 crore RELIEF scheme amid West Asia disruptions: The government has rolled out the RELIEF (Resilience & Logistics Intervention for Export Facilitation) scheme with an outlay of Rs 497 crore to provide relief to exporters facing disruptions due to the ongoing West Asia conflict.

India-UK FTA likely to be implemented by early May; EU by year-end: The report said that the free trade agreement (FTA) between India and the UK, signed in July last year, is likely to be implemented by early May, as both sides are sorting out a few issues. 

India to pitch for strengthening WTO at upcoming ministerial: The report said that India will push for further strengthening of the WTO at the upcoming ministerial meeting in Cameroon so that it can play an important role in promoting global trade at a time when the world is witnessing turmoil due to various geopolitical factors.

Power sector’s stocks remain in watch: Union Power Minister Manohar Lal said that India is well prepared to meet the projected peak power demand of 270 GW during this summer season.

Global front: European markets were trading lower due to concerns about the near to medium term impact of the ongoing conflict in West Asia. Asian markets settled mostly lower in thin trade following weak cues from US markets overnight, as the Middle East war and disruptions to energy supply keep investors jittery. 

Finally, the BSE Sensex rose 325.72 points or 0.44% to 74,532.96 and the CNX Nifty was up by 112.35 points or 0.49% to 23,114.50.

The BSE Sensex touched high and low of 75,286.39 and 74,385.04 respectively. There were 21 stocks advancing against 9 stocks declining on the index. 

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were IT up by 2.08%, TECK up by 1.74%, Healthcare up by 1.45%, Metal up by 1.41% and Energy up by 1.03%, while Realty down by 0.92% was the lone losing index on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tata Steel up by 3.23%, Tech Mahindra up by 3.01%, Infosys up by 2.78%, Trent up by 2.41% and Reliance Industries up by 2.11%. On the flip side, HDFC Bank down by 2.41%, Bharat Electronics down by 1.10%, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 0.57%, ICICI Bank down by 0.42% and Interglobe Aviation down by 0.22% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the financial year 2025-26 (FY26) marked a notable achievement for India’s mining sector with the auction of 200 mineral blocks, the highest ever conducted in a single year. This accomplishment not only reflects the strong cooperative efforts between the Union and State Governments but also highlights the growing maturity of India’s auction-based mineral allocation framework. This milestone also reinforces India’s commitment to building a transparent, efficient, and future-ready mineral allocation system to support sustained economic growth.

The 200 auctioned mineral blocks include 123 Mining Lease (ML) blocks and 77 Composite Licence (CL) blocks, demonstrating a balanced mix of operational and exploration-focused opportunities. In addition, Notices Inviting Tenders (NITs) for 70 mineral blocks (38 ML and 32 CL) are currently underway, which is expected to further enhance the total number of successful auctions during the financial year.

State wise, Gujarat led with 32 blocks, followed by Rajasthan with 30 blocks, and Tamil Nadu with 22 blocks, emerging as the top contributors. Their efforts in timely block preparation, data management, and procedural efficiency have strengthened the national auction ecosystem. Notably, Tamil Nadu has successfully conducted mineral block auctions for the first time, marking an important milestone. Uttarakhand has also entered the mineral auction framework with the successful auction of its first magnesite block.

CNX Nifty touched high and low of 23,345.15 and 23,067.60 respectively. There were 36 stocks advancing against 14 stocks declining on the index.   

The top gainers on Nifty were Tech Mahindra up by 3.41%, JSW Steel up by 3.28%, Tata Steel up by 3.08%, Coal India up by 2.99% and Infosys up by 2.88%. On the flip side, Hindalco down by 2.80%, HDFC Bank down by 2.15%, Shriram Finance down by 1.66%, HDFC Life Insurance down by 1.40% and ONGC down by 1.32% and were the top losers. 

European markets were trading lower; UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 22 points or 0.22% to 10,041.50, France’s CAC fell 16.47 points or 0.21% to 7,791.40 and Germany’s DAX lost 97.56 points or 0.43% to 22,742.00.

Asian markets settled mostly lower in thin trade on Friday with stock markets in Japan, Indonesia, and Malaysia were closed for holiday. Sentiments were muted as worries about inflation, stemming from soaring oil prices, left investors pessimistic about the potential for future interest rate cuts. Further, a cautious undertone prevailed as strikes targeting infrastructure in Iran, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia stoked concerns regarding a prolonged economic impact from the war. However, Kospi Index gained as investor sentiment was bolstered by comments from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu suggesting Israel would refrain from further strikes on Iranian oil fields following a request for restraint from US President Donald Trump.