Indian equity benchmarks snapped five-day winning streak as investors turned cautious ahead of the start of the earnings season. Market participants were closely watching Tata Consultancy Services’ result, which is set to be announced later in the day. After making slightly negative start, soon indices extended their losses, amid renewed uncertainty over the US-Iran ceasefire after Iran accused the US of violating the terms of the two-week agreement. 

Some of the important factors in trade:

Persistent foreign fund outflows: Sentiments remained downbeat as foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold shares worth Rs 2,811.97 crore on Wednesday. 

World Bank revises India’s GDP growth projection to 6.6% for FY27: Traders overlooked the World Bank’s South Asia Economic Update (April 2026) report, which marginally raised India’s growth projections for FY27 by 30 basis points to 6.6%, compared to its October 2025 forecast of 6.3%.

Banks’ asset quality improves with gross NPAs declining to 2%: Traders took note of report that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has underscored the improvement in asset quality of Indian scheduled commercial banks, stating that their gross non-performing assets (NPAs) ratio has declined further to 2% in December 2025.

On the global front: European markets were trading in red, while Asian markets ended mostly lower after Iran accused the US of violating the terms of the two-week ceasefire agreement reached a day before. 

The BSE Sensex ended at 76631.65, down by 931.25 points or 1.20% after trading in a range of 76347.90 and 77429.33. There were 9 stocks advancing against 21 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Capital Goods up by 1.64%, Metal up by 1.30%, Power up by 1.27%, Healthcare up by 0.74% and Utilities up by 0.69%, while Bankex down by 1.58%, Consumer Durables down by 0.53%, Consumer Discretionary down by 0.45%, Auto down by 0.37% and Realty down by 0.37% were the top losing indices on BSE. (Provisional)

The top gainers on the Sensex were Bharat Electronics up by 1.39%, NTPC up by 1.26%, TCS up by 1.18%, Power Grid Corp up by 0.97% and HCL Technologies up by 0.60%. On the flip side, Interglobe Aviation down by 3.63%, Larsen & Toubro down by 2.88%, Eternal down by 2.57%, HDFC Bank down by 2.13% and Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 2.13% were the top losers. (Provisional)

Meanwhile, in order to enhance bilateral trade, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has urged exporters and businesses in both India and the US to make greater use of the India-US trade facilitation portal. Moreover, Goyal said the bilateral trade is growing towards $500 billion, an ambitious target set by both sides.

He stated ‘I urge all members of industry bodies, export promotion councils, and chambers from across India and the US to connect, make this portal part of your business and help turn it into a powerful engine for India-US trade.’ 

According to him, the portal acts as a ‘runway’ to the USA for domestic services exporters, and it will also provide opportunities across businesses, from a farmer in Punjab to a jeweller in Surat and a software expert in Bengaluru to pharma firms in Telangana. Besides, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri launched the India-US trade facilitation portal on April 08, 2026. Misri stated ‘It will serve as a bridge ensuring continuity and ensuring that existing supply chains are reinforced, and at the same time will enable new commercial linkages to emerge and grow.’

The CNX Nifty ended at 23775.10, down by 222.25 points or 0.93% after trading in a range of 23682.80 and 23990.75. There were 21 stocks advancing against 29 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The top gainers on Nifty were Hindalco up by 3.56%, Dr. Reddy's Lab up by 1.72%, Bajaj Auto up by 1.61%, Bharat Electronics up by 1.54% and Max Healthcare Inst up by 1.47%. On the flip side, Interglobe Aviation down by 3.61%, JIO Financial Service down by 3.25%, Larsen & Toubro down by 2.74%, Shriram Finance down by 2.63% and Eternal down by 2.35% were the top losers. (Provisional)

European markets were trading lower; Germany’s DAX lost 277.43 points or 1.15% to 23,803.20, France’s CAC fell 72.17 points or 0.87% to 8,191.70 and UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 36.15 points or 0.34% to 10,572.73.