Market Wrap, April 1: SENSEX soars 1,187 pts, NIFTY50 at 22,679 on hopes of US-Iran war de-escalation; Trent, IndiGo top gainers

Snapping a two-day losing streak, the Indian equity benchmark indices ended the first session of financial year 2026-27 (FY27) in the green on Wednesday, April 1, as investor sentiment improved amid signs of a potential de-escalation in the US-Iran conflict. However, the indices came off intraday highs.

Gains were further supported by a rally in PSU bank and metal stocks, along with positive global cues. Meanwhile, the broader market outperformed the main indices.

US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that he expected the war with Iran to end within two to three weeks, indicating that the US had largely achieved its military objectives and could leave the resolution of issues surrounding the Strait of Hormuz to other nations.

Meanwhile, reports also suggested President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Tuesday that Iran had the “necessary will” to end the ongoing war with Israel and the USA but was seeking assurances that such a conflict would not recur.

Further, the market optimism was slightly impacted after reports suggested that Trump, in an interview with The Telegraph, had said that the US is strongly considering pulling out of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

According to exchange data, on Monday, the foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold equities worth ₹11,163.06 crore, while the domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought equities worth ₹14,894.72 crore on a net basis.

On the global front, Asian stocks were trading higher on Wednesday in hopes of a de-escalation in the Iran conflict. Japan's Nikkei rose 4.61%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng advanced 2%, China's Shanghai Composite gained 1.44%, and South Korea's KOSPI ended 7.78% higher.

On Wall Street, the main indices closed with ​sharp gains on Tuesday following speculation about a potential de-escalation in the Middle East conflict.

The S&P 500 jumped 2.91% to end ​at 6,528.52, the Nasdaq rallied 3.83% to close at 21,590.63, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 2.49% to settle at 46,341.51.

Here are the key developments of Tuesday’s session that you need to know

As many as 3,322 stocks traded on the NSE on Tuesday. Out of this, 2,936 advanced and 283 declined, while 103 scrips remained unchanged.

This indicates that the market's breadth is favourable towards advances.

A total of 29 stocks hit their 52-week highs, while 79 stocks touched their one-year lows. Besides, 312 stocks hit their upper circuit limits, and 37 touched their lower circuit bands on Tuesday.

The market capitalisation of NSE-listed companies stood at ₹421.14 lakh crore by the end of the session, adding ₹9.89 lakh crore from the previous session.

The volatility index India VIX slipped 10.31% to close at 25.01 levels.

Driven by Cochin Shipyard (12.31%), Bharat Dynamics (10.36%) and Billionbrains Garage Ventures (7.98%), the Nifty Midcap 100 index gained 2.22% to end at 53,819.15.

The Nifty Smallcap 100 index climbed 3.33% to close at 15,709.80, led by strong gains in Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers (20%), Ola Electric Mobility (13.82%) and Reliance Power (10.31%).

Except for Nifty Pharma (-0.99%), all the sectoral gauges ended the session with gains.

Nifty PSU Bank (3.7%) took the lead among the gainers list, while Nifty Media (3.69%), Nifty Metal (2.46%), Nifty Realty (2.13%), and Nifty IT (2.09%) were the other gainers.

On Tuesday, 40 stocks surged on the NIFTY50 index, while 10 settled in red.

Trent was the top contributor, surging 6.86%, followed by IndiGo operator InterGlobe Aviation (6.07%), Adani Ports (5.63%), Bharat Electronics (4.83%) and Adani Enterprises (4.72%).

On the contrary, Dr Reddy's Laboratories (-3.78%), HDFC Life Insurance (-3.12%), Cipla (-2%), Apollo Hospitals (-1.54%) and Sun Pharma (-1.54%) were the biggest laggards on the 50-share index.