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Indian equity benchmarks extended gains for the third consecutive trading session. The bechmark indices posted their best single-day gains in a week amid F&O expiry as on positive global cues as investors tracked hopes of progress in US-Iran talks ahead of the ceasefire deadline. The NSE Nifty 50 rose nearly 0.9% to end above 24,550 and the BSE Sensex rose nearly 1% or over 750 points to settle near 79,300.
Broader markets were mixed. Nifty Midcap 150 added 0.5%, led by Deepak Nitrite and Bank of Maharashtra, both up more than 6%. Nifty Smallcap 250 gained over 0.75%, with Elecon Engineering and Lemon Tree Hotels rising more than 8%.
Nifty FMCG was the top sectoral gainer, up nearly 3%. Pharma, Metal, Oil & Gas ended flat, while other sectors closed in the green. Nifty IT ended a two-day losing streak.
Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. is in talks to buy close to a 10% stake in IIFL Capital Services Ltd. through a preferential allotment, according to sources.
The report said Fairfax, which already owns more than 30%, may become co-promoter and majority stake holder after the deal.
The transaction is said to be in final stages and funds may be used for growth in the wealth and asset management businesses.
The brokerage said ad spending rose 50% year-on-year as the company focused on growth, while three of four categories delivered double-digit growth.
Nuvama added that Ebitda growth outpaced revenue growth this quarter after lagging sales growth in Q3.
S&P 500 Futures added 0.15%.
Dow Jones Industrial Average Futures gained 71 points, or 0.14%.
FTSE MIB gained 0.35%, while IBEX 35 added 0.49%.
CAC 40, FTSE 100 and STOXX Europe 600 also traded higher.
Nikkei 225 rose 0.89%, while Hang Seng Index added 0.48%.
Shanghai Composite Index edged up 0.07%, while S&P/ASX 200 slipped 0.04%.
BSE Sensex gained as much as 1.01%, or 790.59 points, to 79,310.
The benchmark indices traded at their highest levels of the day.
The company targets ore production growth from 4.21 MTPA in FY26 to 12.20 MTPA by FY30 under its Vision 2030 plan.
Profit after tax is projected to rise from Rs 589 crore in FY26 to Rs 1,568 crore by FY30.
The company also partially completed brownfield expansions at Deoli, Baroda and Silvassa.
With the latest additions, installed tower manufacturing capacity increased to 1,72,400 MTPA.
Ebitda stood at Rs 1,772 crore against the estimate of Rs 1,498 crore, while margin expanded to 26.3% from 25.2% a year earlier.
Nestle shares moved higher after the company reported fourth-quarter profit above estimates.
Iran’s state broadcaster IRIB said no Iranian diplomatic delegation has travelled to Islamabad so far. It said this applies to any main or secondary team, and to both initial and follow-up missions.
Thangamayil Jewellery recorded revenue of Rs 279 crore during the Akshaya Tritiya festival. Sales during the occasion grew by 76% year on year in terms of gold units (GU).
The company is in talks with bankers and may file draft papers soon for the share sale.
Inox Clean had filed for an IPO in July last year and withdrew the proposal in December.
Private life insurers posted first-year premium of Rs 325.62 billion in March, up 32.7% year-on-year. HDFC Life reported Rs 56.13 billion, up 15.1%, while SBI Life reported Rs 48.95 billion, up 26.4%.
LIC reported first-year premium of Rs 433.10 billion in March, up 17.3% year-on-year.
Value buying continues in small- and mid-cap stocks. Housing finance, fertilisers and graphite electrode stocks are rising, while life insurance-related stocks are seeing selling pressure.
The rupee is weaker after the RBI lifted forex restrictions on banks. Investors are also tracking Q4 earnings from HCL Tech, Persistent and Nestle, while the US-Iran ceasefire deadline ends today.
The brokerage expects strong volume growth in Q4 and FY27. It said the company’s two recent price hikes show pricing power despite new competition.
Nuvama said Asian Paints has fully passed on current inflation and sees FY27 as a turnaround year after three years. It expects the company to post double-digit revenue growth.
On the downside, Gland Pharma fell 1.51%, Dr Reddy’s declined 1.05%, Zydus Life was down 0.91%, Torrent Pharma slipped 0.86% and Laurus Lab fell 0.34%.
The chart showed five pharma stocks in the green and five in the red.
The proposed outlay is higher than the Rs 76,000 crore allocated under ISM 1.0. The new version is expected to expand support to capital equipment, raw materials and the wider semiconductor ecosystem, including gas makers, specialty chemical companies, MSMEs and ancillary firms.
The plan also includes DLI 2.0, which may allow foreign companies to form joint ventures with Indian firms for research and development in India. The government expects India to build chip design and production capacity for nearly 75% of domestic applications by 2030.
The brokerage said the Nifty Mid-Cap 100 has moved above its June 2025-April 2026 range and is approaching resistance at 60,925-61,393. It said a close above that zone could signal further upside.
CLSA said BSE and MCX have resumed their uptrends after breakouts, Apollo Tubes remains supported after a pullback, Dixon offers a bottom-fishing setup, and Aurobindo Pharma’s breakout from a basing pattern supports further upside.
He said crude is unlikely to return to the $65 level soon and that India may have to import crude at more than $20 higher. He added that higher-cost inventory could hurt margins in Q1, while Q4 still looks manageable.
Irani said demand growth has not broken, banks have reported good numbers so far, and investors should focus on the midcap space. He also said he remains negative on IT companies’ results and expects the US-Iran deal to come soon.
Today is less about predictions and more about positioning.
Track support defence, resistance unwinding, and sector leadership. That’s where the real F&O edge is.
He said India has about 60 days of oil reserves, while a tanker takes about 35-40 days to move.
Roche said oil prices may not rise if Donald Trump exits the Middle East and added that the focus should remain on oil and the Middle East crisis.
The cleanest move of the day often comes late in expiry trade.
He said Groww will continue to add more than 10 lakh customers a quarter and that inflows have remained consistent at Rs 25,000 crore a quarter.
Bansal said fixed cost structures are helping margin improvement. He added that the margin trading facility segment contributes 7-8% of total revenue, contribution from new products has improved, and the commodity service launched last quarter has scaled up. He also said the company saw a one-off due to regulations last year.
Above these zones, option sellers may unwind and momentum can accelerate.
The report said the vessel offloaded 2 million barrels of crude oil there, then moved back through the blockade and is expected to arrive at Kharg Island tomorrow.
He said ships are being rerouted by nearly 4,000 miles, adding about two weeks to transit time. He said companies now need to budget for time delays and focus more on cash management.
Srivastava said alternative solutions are available but will come at a higher cost. He added that clients are looking for multiple and non-standard solutions, while the price war remains sensitive.
He said brands should have the freedom to price products across categories and added that taxation should be based on the amount of alcohol present.
Giri called the Karnataka policy reform a historic reform and said changes may be made to the draft notification, though any revisions are unlikely to be fundamental.
Long build-up is visible in:
Phoenix Mills
Naukri
LIC Housing Finance
PNB Housing Finance
Prestige Estates
Nestle India
JSW Steel
These are counters where price and OI are rising together.
Bank Nifty options data shows heavy positioning around 57,000 on the downside and 57,500 on the upside.
Expect aggressive moves only if either level is taken out with volume.
A decisive move above 24,500 with call unwinding can open room for a sharper upside move.
Without that, expiry trade may remain range-bound.
Nifty weekly expiry, sector rotation, option writers’ zones, stock futures build-up and institutional positioning will drive today’s trade.
We’ll track where smart money is adding risk and where traders are hedging in real time.
Welcome to the F&O Hour, where we will bring real-time updates from the futures and options market through the session.
Alongside derivatives moves, we will continue to track all key market-moving news, earnings updates and corporate announcements as they happen.
The Indian rupee weakened against the US dollar in early trade. The currency fell 0.2% to 93.32 per dollar.
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