In a volatile trading session, Indian equity benchmarks gave up most of their intra-day gains and finally closed marginally higher on Monday, following mixed cues from global markets amid cautiousness over the escalation of the US-Iran tensions in the Middle East.

Some of the important factors in trade: 

India, Norway reaffirm commitment to strengthening bilateral economic ties: Traders were optimistic, as India and Norway have reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening bilateral economic ties.

India-Austria launches bilateral fast-track mechanism to facilitate investments: Sentiments also remained firm as India and Austria have set up a bilateral fast-track mechanism (FTM) to facilitate investments between the two countries. 

India to set up maritime insurance pool to shield trade routes: Some support also came after the government has given its green signal for the creation of Bharat Maritime Insurance Pool (BMI pool) with a sovereign guarantee of Rs 12,980 crore.

CRISIL Ratings flags rising pressure on MSME loan portfolio: Some concerns prevailed among traders, as 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.

Mixed global cues: European markets were trading lower, amid renewed tensions between the United States and Iran. Tensions between the countries entered a new phase after the U.S. seized an Iranian vessel and Iran said it would not send a negotiating delegation for peace talks. However, Asian markets ended mostly higher.

Finally, the BSE Sensex rose 26.76 points or 0.03% to 78,520.30 and the CNX Nifty was up by 11.30 points or 0.05% to 24,364.85.  

The BSE Sensex touched high and low of 78,942.45 and 78,203.30, respectively. There were 12 stocks advancing against 18 stocks declining on the index.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Power up by 1.24%, Utilities up by 0.88%, Capital Goods up by 0.55%, PSU up by 0.54% and Consumer Durables up by 0.26%, while IT down by 0.79%, Realty down by 0.70%, Telecom down by 0.66%, TECK down by 0.53% and Metal down by 0.38% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Trent up by 3.33%, SBI up by 2.52%, Asian Paints up by 2.15%, Bajaj Finance up by 1.08% and NTPC up by 1.08%. On the flip side, Larsen & Toubro down by 1.10%, Bharat Electronics down by 1.09%, HCL Tech. down by 0.98%, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 0.86% and Bajaj Finserv down by 0.67% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry has rolled out a set of reforms to improve the functioning of Norms Committees under the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), aiming to speed up Advance Authorisation approvals and simplify procedures for exporters. According to the ministry, the move aligns with the government’s broader agenda of boosting ease of doing business and reduce delays in approvals under export-linked schemes.

It noted 'DGFT administers the Advance Authorisation (AA) Scheme and the Duty-Free Import Authorisation (DFIA) Scheme under the Foreign Trade Policy. These schemes allow duty-free import of inputs that are physically incorporated in export products.’ Currently, seven such committees operate across sectors, comprising technical experts and officials from various ministries. However, their functioning had been impacted by capacity constraints, causing delays and an increase in pending applications.

To tackle this issue, the government has rolled out process and capacity reforms, including fixed scheduling of meetings on a fortnightly basis, prioritisation of long-pending cases, and time-bound finalisation of meeting minutes. Monitoring mechanisms for pendency and case ageing have also been strengthened. Additionally, line ministries have been directed to nominate more technical experts to the committees. Consequently, the number of technical members has risen from 12 to 22, enhancing their capacity to manage a larger caseload.

CNX Nifty touched high and low of 24,480.65 and 24,241.25, respectively. There were 23 stocks advancing against 27 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Trent up by 3.29%, JSW Steel up by 2.76%, SBI up by 2.55%, Asian Paints up by 2.14% and Grasim Industries up by 1.46%. On the flip side, JIO Financial Serv. down by 2.75%, Hindalco down by 2.29%, Tata MotorsPassenger down by 1.22%, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 1.15% and Bharat Electronics down by 1.12% were the top losers.

European markets were trading lower; Germany’s DAX lost 330.74 points or 1.34% to 24,371.50, France’s CAC fell 76.73 points or 0.92% to 8,348.40 and UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 76.62 points or 0.72% to 10,591.01.

Asian markets ended mostly higher on Monday despite renewed hostilities in the Strait of Hormuz, which pushed oil prices sharply higher, intensifying inflation concerns. Traders looking ahead to the developments in the Middle East as the second round of diplomatic talks between the United States and Iran to be held later today. The U.S. President Donald Trump said that a U.S Navy guided missile destroyer had fired on and disabled an Iranian-flagged cargo ship in the Gulf of Oman before Marines boarded and seized the vessel. The seizure is an escalation of the blockade and comes after Iran fired upon commercial vessels attempting to transit the Strait of Hormuz earlier Sunday. Besides, China kept its benchmark one-year loan prime rate (LPR), a market-based lending rate, unchanged from the previous month at 3 percent. This is 11th straight month, when China kept rate unchanged amid escalating Middle East tensions.