NIFTY50, SENSEX today: Wall Street cues, FII activity, key things to know before markets open on April 24

The Indian equity benchmarks are set to open higher on Friday, April 24, as indicated by GIFT NIFTY futures. NIFTY futures at GIFT City in Ahmedabad advanced 88 points or 0.36% to 24,251 despite weak cues from Asian markets.

The SENSEX and NIFTY50 indices fell for a second straight session on Thursday, April 23, as investors turned cautious on the back of surging crude oil prices and a weak rupee against the US dollar.

The SENSEX fell as much as 942 points and NIFTY50 index touched an intraday low of 24,135 dragged down by losses in HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Reliance Industries, Infosys, Mahindra & Mahindra and Kotak Mahindra Bank.

The SENSEX dropped 852 points to close at 77,664 and NIFTY50 index dropped 205 points to close at 24,173.

Asian markets

Most of the Asian markets were trading lower after crude oil prices remained above $105 per barrel in international markets despite US President Donald Trump saying that Israel and Lebanon have agreed to extend a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah by three weeks after talks at the White House on Thursday.

The meeting was the second high-level negotiation between the two countries since last week. The initial 10-day ceasefire, which took effect last Friday, had been due to expire Monday.

China's Shanghai Composite fell 0.5%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng declined 0.6%, South Korea's KOSPI dropped 0.24% while Japan's Nikkei rose 0.4%.

Wall Street update

US stocks ended lower on Thursday on account of profit booking after S&P 500 touched a record high during the session. Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.36%, S&P 500 index declined 0.41% and tech heavy Nasdaq dropped 0.9%.

FII/DII activity

Foreign institutional investors sold shares worth ₹3,254.71 crore on Thursday while domestic institutional investors bought stocks worth ₹941 crore, as per NSE data.

Crude oil update

Crude oil prices were trading above $106 per barrel (bbl) levels during the early market hours on Friday, April 24, as traders remained cautious amid US President Donald Trump’s recent announcement of Lebanon and Israel extending their ceasefire deal by three weeks.

The market sentiment remained volatile due to President Trump's earlier directive to the US Navy to shoot down any boats planting mines at the Strait of Hormuz, amid a ceasefire deal which has been extended between Iran and the United States, till further notice giving time to the Gulf nation to come up with a potential peace agreement.

Stocks to watch

The top management spoke of the calendar year starting on a strong note but pointed out that there was a "change in economic environment" amid the West Asia conflict, though things appear to be stabilising now.

The U.S. Commerce Department, according to a fact sheet posted on the agency's website, calculated preliminary duty rates, called 'dumping margins', of 123.04% for imports from India, 22.46% for imports from Laos, and 35.17% for imports from Indonesia, news agency Reuters reported.

The move aims to encourage power companies to buy more coal, speed up transportation, and cut their costs. It will improve coal supply, ensure steady electricity, and support India's self-reliance goal amid global energy issues.

The scheme will apply to all eligible power sector consumers covered under the fuel supply pact, including those under the flexi-linkage scheme.

The incentives will depend on actual coal lifted by power firms via rail, road, or road-cum-rail modes and will match the share of their quarterly target under set slabs.

BCCL is one of the largest coking coal producers in the country.

BCCL has reported a 58.9% decline in net profit at ₹27.28 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2026, on the back of lower revenue.

The company had posted a net profit of ₹66.50 in the year-ago period, Bharat Coking Coal Ltd (BCCL) said in a filing to BSE on Wednesday.

The share purchase agreement was signed on April 23, 2026, the company said in a statement.

Melcon, incorporated in 2005, operates at the very backbone of the power ecosystem, designing and manufacturing transformers that enable reliable transmission and distribution of energy.

Its portfolio spans oil-type, dry-type, auxiliary, and energy-efficient transformers ranging from 5 kVA to 12,500 kVA (up to 33 kV class), addressing diverse industrial and utility requirements.

The company had reported a net profit of ₹1,052 crore in the year-ago period and ₹1,257 crore in the preceding September quarter.

The core net interest income came at ₹3,477 crore for the quarter, on the back of a 29% growth in the assets under management to ₹86,653 crore and the net interest margin staying stable at 5.2%.

Its managing director and chief executive, Rajiv Sabharwal, told reporters that the company is aiming for an expansion in the net interest margin (NIM) by focusing more on higher-yielding products like retail unsecured loans and affordable housing.

It had logged a net profit of ₹155.46 crore in the year-ago period, the company said in an exchange filing.

Total income rose to ₹1,349.85 crore from ₹1,148.16 crore in January-March FY25.

In the entire fiscal, the net profit was at ₹755.07 crore, higher than ₹555.09 crore as of March 31, 2025. Total income rose to ₹4,831.99 crore from ₹4,664.32 crore.

The board has recommended a final dividend of 80 paise per equity share of ₹1 each for the financial year 2025-26, subject to approval of shareholders.

It also approved a proposal to incorporate a foreign, wholly owned step-down subsidiary in Guangzhou, China.

In a regulatory filing on Thursday, Aditya Birla Real Estate stated that Birla Estates has reported "a booking value of ₹8,136 crore for FY2026 following an exceptionally strong previous year, highlighting robust demand across key markets".

The company's sale bookings stood at ₹8,087 crore in 2024-25.

Aditya Birla Real Estate is one of the leading real estate developers in the country.

It had logged a net profit of ₹117.11 crore in the year-ago period, the company said in an exchange filing.

Total income rose to ₹196.43 crore from ₹174.59 crore in January-March FY25.

In the entire fiscal year, the profit was at ₹492.92 crore, up from ₹429.16 crore as of March 31, 2025.

Total income rose to ₹746.95 crore from ₹657.36 crore.

The board of directors has recommended a final dividend of ₹2 per equity share having a face value of ₹1 each, fully paid up for the financial year ended March 31, 2026.

In a separate statement, IEX said it traded the highest-ever electricity volume of 141.1 billion units in FY26, posting a year-on-year rise of 17%.

The company has also revised upwards its capital expenditure on a new polylactic acid (PLA) manufacturing plant in UP by ₹230 crore to nearly ₹3,100 crore.

In a regulatory filing, the company said the board has approved the establishment of a lactogypsum processing plant at Kumbhi, Uttar Pradesh, at an estimated project cost of up to ₹160 crore.

The proposed plant, with an installed capacity of about 76 lakh gypsum boards per annum, is intended to process lactogypsum generated as a byproduct from its PLA manufacturing operations.

It had logged a net profit of ₹714 crore in the year-ago period, the company said in an exchange filing.

Total income rose to ₹7,588.08 crore from ₹6,596.39 crore logged in January-March FY25.

In the entire fiscal, the net profit was at ₹2,392.75 crore, over a twofold jump from ₹921.69 crore as of March 31, 2025. Total income rose to ₹28,325.16 crore from ₹24,446.55 crore.

In Q4 FY26, the company reported an 'adjusted PAT of ₹723 crore (28% YoY rise)', translating from strong profitability at EBITDA. The comparable PAT has been adjusted for a one-time positive impact of deferred tax of ₹148 crore in Q4 FY25 last year for a like-for-like comparison."

The company, a part of the Larsen & Toubro (L&T) Group, had posted a net profit (attributable to shareholders of the company) of ₹1,128.5 crore in the same period of the preceding fiscal.

The company's revenue from operations saw a 15.55% increase to ₹11,291.7 crore in Q4 FY26, as compared to ₹9,771.7 crore in Q4 FY25.

On a quarterly basis, profit and revenue climbed 43.44% and 4.73%, respectively.

For the full fiscal year of 2025-26, the company's profit was 9.12% higher at ₹5,018.1 crore, while revenue from operations was up 11.31% at ₹42,307.6 crore.

The company’s board has approved a buyback of up to 64 lakh equity shares, representing 5.76% of the total paid-up equity share capital.

The buyback will be carried out at a price of ₹1,125 per share, for an aggregate amount of up to ₹720 crore, payable in cash.

Q4 earnings today

As per the BSE list, 29 companies are slated to announce their financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2026 (Q4 FY26). The list includes Reliance Industries (RIL), Hindustan Zinc (HZL), Adani Green, Indusind Bank, Can Fin Homes, Chennai Petroleum Corporation, Lodha Developers, Shriram Finance, and Zensar Technologies, among others.

Trade setup

On the technical charts, the NIFTY50 closed over 200 points lower for the second consecutive day, indicating increased selling pressure at higher levels. The index also failed to hold the hourly 20 EMA levels of 24,305 on a closing basis, reversing the setup from bullish to mildly bearish. Moreover, the index could try to fill the gaps created during the recent rally from lower levels before deciding the next direction.

The open interest data for the coming monthly expiry suggest 24,500 as the crucial resistance with the highest open interest on the call side. Similarly, 24,000 puts hold the highest open interest, indicating a strong support.