The third week of April witnessed a host of significant developments that could shape the next few weeks of the new fiscal 2026-27 (FY27). Amid the current geopolitical trends and volatile movement of financial indicators, several high-stakes developments kept the week buzzing for the global economy and domestic market. Some of these were the US-Iran ceasefire negotiations, women's quota bill, TCS sexual harassment case, March inflation data, and a lot more. In global markets, benchmark Brent crude oil and the US stock market eneded the week on a positive note over Iran's Strait of Hormuz-led updates.
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Here's a recap of the week that was:
Markets on home turf
Domestic equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty 50 rose on Friday, logging a second straight weekly gain as lower oil prices and hopes of US-Iran talks lifted sentiment. The Nifty 50 rose 0.65% to 24,353.55, while the Sensex added 0.65% to 78,493.54. Both benchmarks gained about 1.3% each this week, extending last week's 6% surge, their strongest showing in five years. The rupee ended 27 paise stronger at 92.925 against the dollar on Friday. For the week, the local currency depreciated 0.2%.
US-Iran Truce Talks
The Strait of Hormuz has been officially opened for commercial passages for the remaining period of the ceasefire, Iran's foreign minister Abbas Araghchi announced on Friday. On April 8, 2026, US and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire, mediated by Pakistan. However, US Vice President JD Vance went to Islamabad on April 12 for negotiations, but no ceasefire deal could be reached with Iran. On Friday, US President Donald Trump also announced that any pause or halt in military action with Iran is conditional. If diplomatic talks fail to produce a deal, Trump expects hostilities to start again.
Israel-Lebanon Ceasefire
Trump had also announced that Lebanon and Israel have agreed to formally begin a 10-day ceasefire, following talks with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. In a post on Truth Social, Trump said both leaders had agreed to the temporary truce as part of efforts to move towards a broader peace agreement between the two countries. Trump also said Lebanese and Israeli officials had met in Washington earlier this week for the first time in 34 years.
ALSO READ: Hormuz Open, But US Naval Blockade To Remain In Full Force: Trump After Iran's Announcement
Women's Quota Bill
The Constitution Amendment Bill to tweak women quota law was defeated in the Lok Sabha after division of votes. While 298 members voted in support of the Bill, 230 MPs voted against it. Out of 528 members who voted, the Bill required 352 votes for a two-thirds majority. According to Constitution Amendment Bill, Lok Sabha seats were to be increased to a maximum of 850 from the current 543 to 'operationalise' the women's reservation law before the 2029 parliamentary polls, following a delimitation exercise based on the 2011 Census.
Q4 Results
IT major Wipro announced its January-March quarter results for fiscal 2025-26 (Q4FY26) during the week, reporting lacklustre results over weaker near-term guidance. Apart from Wipro, several other companies had declared their fourth quarter earnings during the week such as HDFC Asset Management Company, Jio Financial Services, Mastek, Angel One, Waaree Renewable Technologies, ICICI Prudential AMC, HDB Financial Services, Justdial, among others.
March CPI Inflation Data
India's retail inflation or Consumer Price Index (CPI)-based inflation rose by 3.4% year-on-year in March 2026, marginally higher than February, according to data released by the Statistics Ministry. Despite the uptick, the retail inflation continues to remain within the RBI's medium-term target of 4%. In January, the retail inflation stood at 2.75%, as per data compiled under the new CPI series, where the base year was moved to 2024 from 2012. Additionally, India's wholesale price inflation (WPI) accelerated sharply in March, rising to a 38-month high level of 3.88%. This was largely driven by a broad-based increase in primary articles, manufactured products and fuel costs, government data showed on Wednesday.
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