Closing Bell: Nifty above 23,300, Sensex rises 593 pts ahead of Trump's tariffs

Indian equity indices ended higher on April 2 with Nifty above 23,300. At close, the Sensex was up 592.93 points or 0.78 percent at 76,617.44, and the Nifty was up 166.65 points or 0.72 percent at 23,332.35.

We wrap up today's edition of the Moneycontrol live market blog, and will be back tomorrow morning with all the latest updates and alerts. Please visit https://www.moneycontrol.com/markets/global-indices for all the global market action.

Nifty witnessed a decent bounce back on Wednesday after the sharp weakness of Tuesday and closed the day higher by 166 points. After opening with a positive note, the market continued its gradual upside momentum for better part of the session. Intraday dips in between have been bought into and Nifty closed at the highs.

A long bull candle was formed on the daily chart that placed within a high low range of Tuesday's long bear candle. Technically, this market action indicates a formation of inside day bar or bullish harami type candle pattern. This is bullish formation and follow-through upmove from here could confirm this as a reversal pattern.

Wednesday's market action signal possible formation of higher bottom at 23136 levels. However, tomorrow's event of US President Donald Trump's tariff decision on India could possibly result in extreme opening of Indian markets on Thursday, on either side. Immediate support is at 23100 and the next overhead resistance to be watched at 23400 and 23650 levels respectively.

The market seems to be coming to terms about the outcome of Trump's tariff policy decision, and hence buying was evident across all the sectors. Post the clarity on tariff decision, the focus will then shift to fourth quarter earnings and the interest rate decision by the RBI next week.

Markets rebounded after Tuesday’s decline, gaining over half a percent. Following a flat opening, Nifty edged higher and remained range-bound throughout the session, eventually closing at 23,332.35. Most key sectors contributed to the recovery, with realty, FMCG, and banking leading the gains. Meanwhile, broader indices continued their outperformance, rising nearly one and a half percent each.

Markets will react to the announcement of reciprocal tariffs and the initial response from global markets, which could influence sentiment. Additionally, the scheduled weekly expiry may add to the volatility.

We recommend a cautious stance and favor a hedged approach until there is greater clarity on the index’s next directional move. However, stocks continue to offer trading opportunities on both sides, and participants should position themselves accordingly.

The Index experienced a strong upward movement in the opening trade, followed by a lackluster performance in the mid-session. However, a sharp rally in the final hour of trading led to a positive close at 23,332.35 with gains of 166.65 points. All sectors ended in the green, with Realty and FMCG being the top performers.

After a brief dip in the morning trade, Mid and Smallcaps managed to extend their gains, outperforming the frontline Index.

The Index closed with a strong bullish candle, suggesting that it may be forming the right shoulder of an Inverted Head and Shoulders pattern.

Strong support is seen at the 50DMA level of 23,000, while immediate support and resistance are at 23,160 and 23,430, respectively.

Following a recent correction, the index appears to be finding support around the critical 50 EMA on the daily timeframe. Additionally, the index has been holding above the falling trendline breakout point. A bullish Harami candlestick pattern has formed on the daily chart, suggesting a potential price recovery in the short term.

On the lower end, 23,100 might remain a strong support level in the short term, below which weakness could increase. On the other hand, sustaining above 23,100 might provide momentum for a rally toward 23,800.

Despite mixed global cues surrounding the impending US tariffs, the domestic market experienced steady gains. This optimism was largely driven by expectations that the tariffs would have a minimal impact on the domestic economy, given the positive progress in India-US trade negotiations. Sentiments were further reinforced by India's manufacturing PMI for March, which reached an eight-month high, hinting at a recovery in Q4FY25 corporate earnings.

Indian rupee closed marginally lower at 85.51 per dollar on Wednesday versus Friday's close of 85.46.

Indian equity indices ended higher on April 2 with Nifty above 23,300.

At close, the Sensex was up 592.93 points or 0.78 percent at 76,617.44, and the Nifty was up 166.65 points or 0.72 percent at 23,332.35. About 2755 shares advanced, 1049 shares declined, and 130 shares unchanged.

All the sectoral indices ended in the green with FMCG, Consumer Durables, Realty up 1-3 percent.

BSE Midcap and smallcap indices rose nearly 1 percent each.

Tata Consumer, Zomato, Titan Company, IndusInd Bank, Maruti Suzuki were among major gainers on the Nifty, while losers were Bharat Electronics, UltraTech Cement, Nestle India, Power Grid Corp and L&T.

Indian Rupee declined today on uncertainty over trade tariffs and FII outflows. Surge in crude oil prices also put pressure on the Rupee. However, positive domestic markets and weak tone in the US Dollar cushioned the downside. India’s manufacturing PMI expanded to 58.10 in March vs forecast of 57.60.

We expect Rupee to trade with a positive bias on trade tariff uncertainty and worries over rising crude oil prices. However, foreign inflows and positive domestic markets may support rupee at lower levels. Traders may take cues from ADP non farm employment and factory orders data from the US. USDINR spot price is expected to trade in a range of Rs 85.3 to Rs 85.85.

Bharat Dynamics has achieved turnover of over Rs 3300 crore (Provisional & Unaudited) during the FY 2024-25, against the previous year’s turnover of Rs 2369 crore registering a record growth of around 40%.

This includes, highest ever export turnover of over Rs 1200 crore (Provisional & Unaudited) during FY 2024-25 as against the previous year’s export turnover of Rs 161 crore, registering a record growth of over 640%.

Marine Electricals (India) has received order amounting to Rs 8.14 crore (Excluding Taxes) from Data Center Holdings India LLP for supply of LV panels the delivery shall be over a period of six months.

#1 Vodafone Idea’s spectrum dues worth USUSD 4.3 bn will convert to equity

#2 Raising the government's stake to 49 percent, nearly double the promoters' stake

#3 Despite the conversion, Voda Idea’s leverage remains high at 18x EBITDA

#4 Vodafone Idea will need tariff hikes or further regulatory relief, which is positive for Bharti Airtel & Jio

#5 Vodafone Idea’s cash flow relief may boost its capex outlook, which would be positive for Indus Towers

#1 MCX's transaction revenue for Q4 was Rs 289 crore down 4 percent QoQ & up 60 percent YoY, slightly below our estimate of Rs 293 crore

#2 Average daily transaction revenue (ADTR) for Q4 at Rs 390 crore, close to our estimate of Rs 395 crore, with March-25 settling at Rs 389 crore

#3 Assuming ADTR of Rs 402 crore for FY26 & Rs 419 crore for FY27

#4 Investors expect regulatory approval for weekly options, which would present upside potential

#1 Initiate underweight on Waaree Energies, target price at Rs 1,902

#2 Initiate underweight on Premier Energies, target price at Rs 693

#3 Waaree Energies & Premier Energies have made smart investments and pioneers in India’s Solar PV space

#4 They have potential in the coming quarters is promising

#5 They recognise that supernormal returns won’t last indefinitely & are diversifying into energy transition areas, such as batteries

#6 Initiating at underperform due to cycle positioning, expectations of deteriorating returns & high valuations regulatory arbitrage-based businesses cannot justify the same multiples

#7 It’s too early to assign credible value to new ventures, especially with large conglomerates entering the space

Indian rupee is trading 11 paise lower at 85.57 per dollar versus Friday’s close of 85.46.

MMRFIC Technology, an associate company of Sansera Engineering, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IITM) for the development of RISC-V based Secure SoC.

#1 Coal India investory at mines at a record 106 mln tones

#2 Coal India FY26 output target 875 mln tons

#3 Coal India exploring lithium assets in Australia, Argentina

The Sensex was up 458.44 points or 0.60 percent at 76,482.95, and the Nifty was up 124.30 points or 0.54 percent at 23,290.00. About 2406 shares advanced, 1035 shares declined, and 115 shares unchanged.

The mining activities at the Boria Tibu iron ore mines have been temporarily suspended effective April 1 due to the expiry of the mining plan approval. Operations at the mines will be resumed after receiving renewal approval from the Indian Bureau of Mines, which is expected to take around 10 days.

The Reserve Bank of India has approved the company's acquisition of 100% equity stake in Shriram Overseas Investments (SOIPL) from Shriram Investments Holdings. The RBI also approved the appointment of Umesh Revankar, Executive Vice Chairman, and Parag Sharma, Managing Director & CFO of the company, as Directors on the board of Shriram Overseas Investments.

#1 March 2025 off-take remained under pressure, flat YoY

#2 Power demand improved from Feb, trending up at 6-7 percent YoY

#3 CIL volumes struggled due to elevated power plant inventories (over 19 days)

#4 Expect some digestion as power demand remains strong, but off-take may remain pressured in Q1

#5 Weak off-take & global coal price pressures may impact Q4FY25 & FY26 earnings unless power demand picks up significantly

The Board will meet on April 4 to consider fund-raising via issuance of NCDs. Additionally, the company has been declared the successful bidder to establish an inter-state transmission system for the evacuation of power from Mahan Energen Generating Station in Madhya Pradesh under the build, own, operate, and transfer (BOOT) basis. The project comprises a 400kV D/C transmission line and associated bays at the existing Rewa PS (PG) sub-station in Madhya Pradesh.

Revenue growth of 55% YoY to Rs 3,456 million in Q4FY25 and 38% YoY to Rs 13,438 million in FY25.

Same Store Sales Growth (SSSG) stood at 20% in Q4FY25 and 13% in FY25.

The country's largest car maker has announced a total production of 1,94,901 units in March, up 16.9% from the production of 1,66,730 units in the same month last year.

ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund has acquired 5.95 lakh shares in the company at an average price of Rs 2,092 per share, valued at Rs 124.47 crore.

Sudhir Madhavan has resigned from the position of Head of Microfinance and Gold Loan Business (RFS) of the bank to pursue an opportunity outside the bank, effective April 30. K S Raman (Executive Director) will take over as ED & Head of RFS of the bank, effective May 1. The successor of K S Raman as the Head of Credit will be announced in due course.

The company's subsidiary SJVN Green Energy has completed the trial run of 241.77 MW capacity in Phase-I of the 1,000 MW Bikaner Solar Power Project on March 31. The said capacity is currently under operation and is all set to achieve COD on April 2.

Refex Green Power, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the company, has won a tender for Establishment of 200 TPD Municipal Solid Waste based Bio-CNG plant at Salem under PPP mode on DBFOT Basis for a period of 20 years.

The company witnessed y-o-y growth of 16% with an Assets under management (AUM) of approximately Rs 1197 crore (including DA of Rs 39 crore) as at Mar’25, as compared to Rs 1030 crore (including DA of Rs 104 crore) as at year ended Mar’24.

During the year company has disbursed a total of Rs 145 crore in SME & Rs 955 crore in WSL and collection of Rs 169 crore in SME & Rs 708 crore WSL.

GPT Infraprojects has received Rs 481.11 crore order from CAO Construction, South Eastern Railway, Kolkata.

Indian rupee erased most of the early losses and trading 7 paise lower at 85.53 per dollar on Wednesday versus Friday’s close of 85.46.

The iron ore production declined sharply by 27% to 3.55 MT in March 2025, compared to 4.86 MT in March 2024, but iron ore sales grew by 6.3% to 4.21 MT, from 3.96 MT in the same period.

#1 Large positive surprise in Zudio Store additions in Q4

#2 Accelerated store additions in FY25 should revive investor confidence in Zudio's long-term potential

#3 Zudio has significant runway for store penetration & increasing market share in the value segment

#4 Trent has the highest earnings growth potential in our India consumer coverage

The Board has approved the appointment of Sudhanshu Vats as Managing Director and the appointment of Kavinder Singh as Joint Managing Director, effective April 10.

The Government has appointed Venkatachalam Anand as the Chief Vigilance Officer (CVO) of the bank, effective April 1. The current CVO, Vishesh Kumar Srivastava, has been transferred to Bank of Baroda as CVO.

The board approved sub-division/split of existing fully paid-up equity share of the company from one equity share having face value of Rs 2 each to two  equity shares having face value of Re 1 each, subject to approval of members.

GAIL (India) launched the 10th round of its initiative ‘GAIL Pankh’ through which interested Start-Ups can apply for equity investment from the Maharatna PSU.

The company has bagged an order worth Rs. 1,27,26,765/- (excluding GST) from Marwadi Educare Foundation for the purpose of Manufacture, Supply, and delivery of Lighting and Fixtures for Indoor & Outdoor lights.

Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has renewed the license as the corporate agent (Composite) license to the company for soliciting life, general and health insurance.

Kamal Pal Hoda will relinquish his position as Group Chief Financial Officer of the company due to his transition to a new role as Executive Director & CEO of Bluspring Enterprises. The Board has approved the appointment of Sushanth Pai as the Chief Financial Officer of the company, effective April 1.

The Sensex was up 395.75 points or 0.52 percent at 76,420.26, and the Nifty was up 95.35 points or 0.41 percent at 23,261.05. About 2259 shares advanced, 1072 shares declined, and 115 shares unchanged.

Paytm (One 97 Communications Limited) has partnered with the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) to simplify property tax collection by deploying more than 400 Paytm innovative All-In-One EDC Devices (Card Machines).

Bedi Steels announced the filing of its Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP) with BSE SME. The company’s initial public offering comprises a fresh issuance of 18,24,000 Equity Shares, each with a face value of Rs 10.

Khambatta Securities Limited is the sole Book Running Lead Manager to the Issue, and Bigshare Services Private Limited is the Registrar.

The company has added 3.6 GW of generation capacity during FY25, marking the highest annual capacity addition. The installed generation capacity at the end of FY25 stands at 10.9 GW, significantly surpassing the 10 GW capacity target set for FY25. In the fourth quarter of FY25, the company added 2.8 GW of operational capacity.

The prices of all ferro grades of manganese ore with manganese content of Mn-44% and above have been increased by 3%, effective April 1 for the month of April. The prices of all other ferro grades of manganese ore with manganese content below Mn-44% have been increased by 0.5%. Further, the prices of SMGR (Mn-30%, Mn-25%, and Mn-20%) and fines grades increased by 0.5%, and prices of all chemical grades rose by 3%.

In FY25, the Matanjkhand Copper Project (MCP), the company's flagship unit in Madhya Pradesh, achieved an annual ore production of 27.25 lakh tonnes (the highest-ever yearly ore production since inception), which is 103% of the annual target. MCP has processed 24.34 lakh tonnes of copper ore during the year and achieved 97% of the annual target. The annual metal in concentrate (MIC) production stood at 19,270 tonnes in FY25.

Goldman Sachs has upgraded Tata Consumer Products to iterate 'Buy', with a raised target price to Rs 1,200 from its earlier target price of Rs 1,040 earlier.

Parag Milk Foods enhances its products portfolio with high-protein, nutrient-rich products, catering to the growing demand for health-focused nutrition.

The company has received a draft assessment order from the Income Tax Department, Jaipur, for the assessment year 2022-23, wherein major adjustments amounting to Rs 204.86 crore on transfer pricing issues have been proposed.

The expected overall financial implication will be determined only upon passing of the final assessment order. Based on the internal assessment, the company does not expect any material financial impact.

The company acquired 1,24,90,000 equity shares worth Rs 12.49 crore in the Indian Foundation for Quality Management (IFQM). Post the acquisition, the company’s aggregate shareholding in IFQM has increased from 9.09% to 16.66%.

The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), Mumbai, has sanctioned the Scheme of Arrangement between Siemens and Siemens Energy India, providing for the demerger of the company's energy business to Siemens Energy India.

Paras Defence and Space Technologies has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with MicroCon Vision, part of CONTROP and the Rafael Group, Israel.

MicroCon has experience and expertise in the design, development, production and marketing of ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance) payloads and EO/IR (Electro-Optical/Infra-Red) Seekers for Drones and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles.

PARAS and MicroCon will be exclusive partners in India for working together on the Micro ISR payloads.