Indian equity markets pared some gains in late afternoon session as investors assessed the developments in West Asia. Over the Weekend, the US Navy seized an Iranian-flagged cargo ship in the Gulf of Oman, which followed Iran firing at commercial vehicles passing through the Strait of Hormuz, renewing concerns over flow of shipping traffic through the Strait. Besides, the renewed tensions have spiked up the global energy prices with Brent crude trading over $95 a barrel. However, markets continued trade above the neutral lines as market participants were hopeful of another round of negotiation between US and Iran scheduled in Pakistan, later today. 

On the global front, Asian equity markets were trading mostly in green tracking positives cues from Wall Street on Friday. European equity markets were trading lower after euro area current account surplus declined in February driven by decreases in trade surplus and primary income.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 78738.13, up by 244.59 points or 0.31% after trading in a range of 78203.30 and 78942.45. There were 15 stocks advancing against 15 stocks declining on the index.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Power up by 1.75%, Utilities up by 1.35%, Capital Goods up by 0.96%, PSU up by 0.80% and Auto up by 0.57%, while Telecom down by 0.50%, IT down by 0.46%, Realty down by 0.35%, TECK down by 0.15% and Basic Materials down by 0.12% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Trent up by 3.59%, SBI up by 2.47%, Asian Paints up by 1.96%, NTPC up by 1.37% and Eternal up by 1.35%. On the flip side, Larsen & Toubro down by 1.12%, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 0.95%, Titan Company down by 0.88%, HCL Technologies down by 0.73% and Bharat Electronics down by 0.64% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, CRISIL Ratings, in its report, has said that loans to the micro, small, and medium enterprise (MSME) segment - accounting for around 19% of bank credit as of March 2026 - are expected to face relatively higher pressure compared with other portfolios. This is due to the ongoing West Asia conflict and the seasoning of loans extended during a phase of high growth. The report added that government measures are likely to help contain stress on MSMEs and, in turn, limit the cascading impact on bank’s non-performing assets (NPAs).

The potential introduction of additional support measures - such as a credit guarantee scheme for affected sectors, similar to those implemented during periods of exogenous stress like the COVID-19 pandemic - is likely to support banks’ asset quality. Subha Sri Narayanan, Director at CRISIL Ratings, said ‘Our base case indicates a modest increase in reported gross NPAs in the MSME segment to 3.4-3.6% this fiscal, from 3.2% last fiscal. MSMEs typically have limited financial capacity to absorb higher input costs, supply chain disruptions, and working capital elongation resulting from the ongoing West Asia conflict.’

The report noted that NPAs in the MSME segment had been declining sequentially, driven by banks’ improved underwriting and monitoring capabilities. This improvement was supported by increasing formalisation and greater data availability in the sector, healthier bank balance sheets that enabled higher write-offs, and various government and regulatory support measures for MSMEs. It further added that the corporate loan segment is likely to maintain stable gross NPAs of 1.2-1.3% by March 2027, despite several sectors facing pressure on revenues and operating profits due to the gas supply shock, crude oil-linked price increases, direct trade exposure, and rupee depreciation.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 24423.20, up by 69.65 points or 0.29% after trading in a range of 24241.25 and 24480.65. There were 26 stocks advancing against 24 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Trent up by 3.57%, JSW Steel up by 2.81%, SBI up by 2.49%, Asian Paints up by 1.91% and Grasim Industries up by 1.79%. On the flip side, Hindalco down by 2.31%, Jio Financial Services down by 2.30%, Larsen & Toubro down by 1.13%, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles down by 1.10% and Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 0.95% were the top losers.

Asian equity markets were trading mostly in green; Nikkei 225 surged 386.1 points or 0.66% to 58,862.00, Taiwan Weighted added 154.46 points or 0.42% to 36,958.80, Hang Seng advanced 271.67 points or 1.03% to 26,432.00, KOSPI increased 27.17 points or 0.44% to 6,219.09, Straits Times rose 3.94 points or 0.08% to 5,001.87, Shanghai Composite strengthened 30.7 points or 0.75% to 4,082.13 and Jakarta Composite plunged 56.93 points or 0.75% to 7,577.07.

European equity markets were trading lower; UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 67.68 points or 0.63% to 10,599.95, France’s CAC fell 69.73 points or 0.83% to 8,355.40 and Germany’s DAX lost 348.74 points or 1.41% to 24,353.50.