NIFTY50, SENSEX today: Wall Street cues, FII activity, key things to know before markets open on April 15

The Indian equity benchmarks are set to stage a gap up opening on Wednesday, April 15, as indicated by GIFT NIFTY futures. NIFTY futures at GIFT City in Ahmedabad surged 352 points or 1.3% to 24,210 amid positive cues from Asian markets.

The Indian equity benchmarks came off intraday low levels and ended the session in negative territory on Monday as investor sentiment remained cautious after ceasefire talks between the United States and Iran ended without an agreement over the weekend.

The SENSEX ended 703 points lower at 76,848 and NIFTY50 index declined 208 points to settle at 23,843.

Asian markets

Asian markets were trading sharply higher on Wednesday as crude oil prices dropped below $100 per barrel after reports suggested that United States and Iran could resume talks to end the war.

Japan's Nikkei advanced 0.5%, China's Shanghai Composite gained 0.43%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 1% and South Korea's KOSPI surged 3%.

Wall Street update

Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.66%, S&P 500 index gained 1.18% and tech heavy Nasdaq climbed 1.96%.

Talks to end the Iran war could resume over the next two days, US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday, after the collapse of weekend negotiations ​prompted Washington to impose a blockade on Iranian ports.

Meanwhile, Trump dialled Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday to discuss the West Asia crisis and the need to keep the Strait of Hormuz "open and secure" even as US envoy Sergio Gor said India and the US are expected to seal certain "big-ticket" deals soon, including in the energy sector.

Shortly after their nearly 40-minute conversation, Modi said he and Trump reviewed the "substantial progress" in the bilateral ties and that both sides are committed to further strengthening the India-US comprehensive global strategic partnership in "all areas".

Following the call, US ambassador Gor told a select group of journalists that some "big-ticket deals", including on energy are expected to be sealed between India and the US in the next "few days and weeks". However, he refused to elaborate on the deals.

FII/DII activity

Foreign institutional investors sold shares worth ₹1,983 crore on Monday while domestic institutional investors bought shares worth ₹2,432 crore, data from the National Stock Exchange showed.

The FIIs have so far this month sold shares worth ₹46,704 crore, data from National Securities Depository Limited (NSDL) showed.

Stocks to watch

Vedanta, in its filing to the stock exchange on Tuesday, said that "as of now, 24 workmen of our subcontractor have been affected by the incident, and 10 have succumbed to their injuries".

The company had a net profit of ₹165.54 crore in the January-March quarter a year ago, according to a regulatory filing from Nuvoco Vistas Corp.

Its revenue from operations was up 8.7% to ₹3,306.75 crore in the March quarter. It was at ₹3,042.25 crore in the corresponding quarter a year ago.

The company recorded a net profit of ₹1,189 crore in the 2024-25 fiscal.

Value of New Business (VNB) increased by 10.9% year-on-year to ₹2,629 crore with a margin of 24.7%. Its embedded value rose 10.5% year-on-year to ₹52,989 crore in FY26.

Bhogapuram International Airport in Vizianagaram is set to become a key aviation hub, fuelling growth along the Visakhapatnam's Bheemili Bhogapuram corridor, IHCL Executive Vice President - Real Estate and Development, Suma Venkatesh said.

The shift marks a structural change in ownership for the fintech firm, with domestic shareholding rising steadily in recent quarters, reflecting growing investor confidence.

Domestic institutional investors raised their stake to a record 23.1% in the March quarter, up 2.8 percentage points sequentially and 9.1 percentage points from a year earlier, according to regulatory filings.

In a statement, the firm said it will develop a 600-MW solar project with a 550-MWh battery energy storage system at the TUSCO Solar Park in Jhansi, primarily to meet the captive power needs of its petrochemical plant at Pata in Uttar Pradesh.

Trade setup

The initial build open interest build up for the 21st April expiry suggests 23,000 to 23,500 as the major support zone for NIFTY50. The 23,400 to 23,800 puts witnessed a strong open interest addition, indicating near-term support levels for NIFTY50. On the upside, 24,000 calls hold the highest open interest, indicating a near-term block for the NIFTY50. If the index manages to hold above 24,000 levels in the opening hours, the next resistance holds at 24,300.