Indian equity markets continued to witness gains and were trading higher by over half percent in late morning deals on account of buying by funds and retail investors. Sentiments got boost as private report said that Iran, through Pakistani mediators, offered a proposal to the United States on reopening the Strait of Hormuz and ending the conflict. Further, there was encouragement in markets as Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal said India and New Zealand are set to sign a free trade agreement (FTA) on Monday (April 27, 2026), which is expected to boost trade between the two countries in the coming months. Most of sectoral indices on the BSE were trading in green led by Utilities, Power, Healthcare, Metal and Realty. 

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green following mostly positive cues from the US markets on Friday. Back home, in the stock specific development, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries surged after the company announced it will acquire US-based Organon & Co in an all-cash deal at an enterprise valuation of $11.75 billion.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 77102.75, up by 438.54 points or 0.57% after trading in a range of 76754.20 and 77341.53. There were 25 stocks advancing against 5 stocks declining on the index.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Utilities up by 3.29%, Power up by 2.66%, Healthcare up by 2.08%, Metal up by 1.99% and Realty up by 1.71%, while Bankex down by 0.13% was the only losing index on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Sun Pharma up by 6.79%, Adani Ports up by 3.68%, NTPC up by 3.01%, Power Grid up by 2.32% and Tata Steel up by 2.24%. On the flip side, Axis Bank down by 3.52%, Bharat Electronics down by 1.96%, ICICI Bank down by 0.72%, Trent down by 0.33% and Eternal down by 0.27% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) has said that India’s export of textiles and garment saw a 2.2% decline in dollar terms and 2.1% fall in rupee terms in the fiscal year 2025-26, due to contraction in shipments of key labour-intensive segments such as cotton and garments. 

GTRI said the contraction was visible across major categories, with cotton textiles falling 3.9 per cent, ready-made garments declining 1.4 per cent and carpets dropping 5.3 per cent. It said only handicrafts registered marginal growth of 1.5 per cent during the fiscal. It noted that the contrast between Rupee and dollar growth highlights a deeper structural concern.  

GTRI founder Ajay Srivastava said India is exporting more in value terms domestically, but earning fewer dollars globally. For instance, man-made textiles show a 3.6 per cent rise in rupee terms but a 0.8 per cent decline in dollar terms, and garments show a 2.9 per cent increase in rupee terms despite a 1.4 per cent dollar contraction. 

He said this suggests that currency depreciation and not competitiveness is behind the apparent growth, and added that in real terms, India is losing market share or failing to expand in key global markets, particularly in labour-intensive sectors where it should be gaining ground. He said the data shows stagnation or decline in core segments, despite initiatives on production-linked incentives, logistics improvements, and trade facilitation. So, he said the government must urgently investigate bottlenecks. 

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 24030.95, up by 133.00 points or 0.56% after trading in a range of 23936.20 and 24107.60. There were 42 stocks advancing against 8 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Sun Pharma up by 6.76%, Adani Ports up by 3.83%, NTPC up by 2.91%, JSW Steel up by 2.59% and Tech Mahindra up by 2.58%. On the flip side, Axis Bank down by 3.47%, Shriram Finance down by 3.37%, Bharat Electronics down by 1.82%, ICICI Bank down by 0.61% and Coal India down by 0.57% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; Nikkei 225 surged 710.82 points or 1.19% to 60,427.00, Taiwan Weighted added 684.23 points or 1.73% to 39,616.63, Jakarta Composite gained 46.13 points or 0.64% to 7,175.62, Shanghai Composite strengthened 2.25 points or 0.06% to 4,082.15 and KOSPI increased 127.97 points or 1.98% to 6,603.60. However, Hang Seng declined 98.07 points or 0.38% to 25,880.00 and Straits Times fell 27.19 points or 0.55% to 4,895.67.