Closing Bell: Nifty above 24,300, Sensex gains 521 points; IT stocks rally

Indian equity indices ended on strong note with Nifty above 24,300 on April 23. At close, the Sensex was up 520.90 points or 0.65 percent at 80,116.49, and the Nifty was up 161.70 points or 0.67 percent at 24,328.95.

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.

Markets traded volatile but managed to close higher, continuing the prevailing trend. After an initial uptick, the Nifty drifted lower; however, a rebound in the latter half pared the losses and helped the index close at 24,328.95. A mixed trend across sectors kept traders engaged, with IT and auto performing well, while banking and financials witnessed some profit-taking. The broader indices also traded choppily but eventually posted gains in the range of 0.44% to 1.18%.

We maintain our positive outlook on the Nifty and recommend continuing with a “buy on dips” approach, citing strong support around the 23,700–23,800 zone. At the same time, we believe a focus on stock-specific opportunities could be more rewarding in case the index enters a consolidation phase, so align your positions accordingly.

The benchmark indices continued their positive momentum for the seventh day in a row, with the Nifty ends 162 points higher, while the Sensex was up by 521 points. Among sectors, the IT index outperformed, rallying over 4.35 percent, whereas intraday profit booking was seen in selective consumer and financial stocks.

Technically, after a gap-up open, the market witnessed an intraday sell-off; however, it found support near 24,150/79500 and bounced back sharply. Additionally, on both daily and intraday charts, the market is holding a higher high and higher low formation, which supports a further uptrend from current levels.

We are of the view that, as long as the market is trading above 24,150/79500, the bullish sentiment is likely to continue. On the upside, it could move up to the range of 24,450-24,500/80300-80500. Conversely, if it falls below 24,150/79500, we could see a quick short-term correction down to the 24,050-24,000/79200-79000 range.

The Nifty remained volatile after an optimistic start, supported by positive global cues. Although the sentiment remains upbeat as the index continues to trade above the previous swing high, the formation of a Hanging Man pattern on the daily chart serves as a warning for those holding net long positions. Additionally, the RSI is on the verge of confirming a negative divergence.

Going forward, a decline towards the 24,000–23,900 zone appears likely if the Nifty slips below 24,300. On the higher side, resistance is seen at 24,450–24,500.

The Indian equity market sustained its positive momentum, driven by better outcome from the latest set of IT results and optimistic forward-looking comments. However, profit booking was visible in financials after the recent sharp rally. While US-China trade tensions appear to be easing, a rally in US tech stocks has further bolstered overall global market sentiment. The mixed domestic Q4 earnings and uptick in crude prices, along with the recent outperformance of the domestic market, can trigger some consolidation in the near term.

The Benchmark Index experienced a volatile trading session initially, struggling to maintain its opening gains due to the pressure from the overbought Banking stocks. However, in the second half of the trading session, the Index gradually recovered, driven by strong performance in the IT sector, and additional support from the Pharma and Auto segments. This collective momentum helped the Index close at 24,328.95 with notable gains of 161.70 points.

The Broader markets showed mixed trends-Midcaps out performed with over 1% gains, while Small caps lagged.

Technically, the Index formed a Hanging Man candlestick pattern, signaling a potential reversal. A decisive move above today’s high could invalidate this bearish setup, whereas a break below today’s low would confirm a short-term downtrend. Key levels to watch are 24,125 for support and 24,500 for resistance.

Indian rupee ended 23 paise lower at 85.42 per dollar on Wednesday versus Tuesday's close of 85.19.

Indian equity indices ended on strong note with Nifty above 24,300 on April 23.

At close, the Sensex was up 520.90 points or 0.65 percent at 80,116.49, and the Nifty was up 161.70 points or 0.67 percent at 24,328.95. About 1989 shares advanced, 1832 shares declined, and 141 shares unchanged.

On the sectoral front, IT index jumped 4 percent, auto index added more than 2 percent, while PSU Bank, consumer durables down 0.5-1 percent.

HCL Technologies, Tech Mahindra, Tata Motors, Wipro, Infosys were among biggest gainers on the Nifty, while losers were HDFC Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Axis Bank, SBI, Grasim Industries.

BSE Midcap index rose 1 percent and Smallcap index was up 0.2 percent.

Indian Rupee fell around 30 paise today on surge in crude oil prices and importer demand for Dollars. The terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir also weighed on the sentiments. However, positive domestic markets and weak US dollar index cushioned the downside. Fresh FII inflows also supported the domestic unit at lower levels.

We expect Rupee to trade with a positive bias amid risk on sentiments in the global markets and FII inflows. Overall weakness in the US Dollar may also support the Rupee. However, rising crude oil prices and importer buying of Dollars may cap sharp upside. Traders may take cues from PMI data from the US today. USDINR spot price is expected to trade in a range of Rs 85.20 to Rs 85.80

#1 Tepid growth with elevated credit costs; RoE to remain subdued

#2 Credit cost rises to 1.6 percent, driven by 1.7 percent write-offs in Q4FY25

#3 Management guides for 1.3–1.7 percent credit costs medium-term

#4 Nomura assumes 1.8–1.9 percent credit costs for FY26–28 due to cyclical asset quality concerns

#1 Strong sales in C&W & Lloyd drove operating leverage & Q4 PAT beat

#2 50 percent of C&W growth was value-led

#3 Lloyd benefited from strong primary sales in Q4

#4 Caution warranted due to urban demand softness & commodity volatility

#5 Switchgears saw tepid sales growth up 6 percent YoY

#6 Stock trades at 60x FY26 PE, 30 percent above 10-year historical average

#1 Delivered 1.5 percent RoA despite high interest rates, tight liquidity & elevated asset quality stress

#2 RoA can expand over the next two years as the rate cycle turns & MFI asset quality improves

Gold and Silver ETFs are seeing good demand from the investors. In Last one year, commodity ETFs have seen inflow of around 24,000 crore and almost 13,500 crore in last 6 months taking the total AUM to more than 74,000 crore as of March 31, 2025. Both folio count and exchange trading has also increased. This is driven by the good performance of both precious metals and increasing acceptance of commodity ETFs which provides low cost, safe, high purity and highly liquid way of investing in these precious metals.

Tailwinds supporting gold prices continue to exist—geopolitical issues, concerns around U.S. tariffs, increasing chances of a U.S. recession, higher inflation and weakness in the US Dollar. We're also seeing central banks around the world continuing to buy gold. All of this is still providing support to gold prices, though we are seeing cooling down of demand in jewellery market.

The Gold has already shown a strong one-way rally with 1 year return around 30% with several of the aforementioned factors being priced in. While underlying supporting factors for gold continues, some consolidation or price correction may happen. Anyone looking to invest now should do so from a long-term asset allocation perspective and not just for short-term gains. In current scenario, invest in staggered manner with an eye on potential opportunity due to market volatility/dip.

#1 Q4 beat driven by margin performance, cautious near-term demand outlook

#2 Better-than-expected revenue from cables & Lloyd

#3 Management cautious on medium-term targets

#4 Continued investments needed to scale AC, refrigerator & washing machine segments

#1 Operational miss in Q4; PPOP growth at 3 percent, impacted by lower NIMs & higher opex

#2 Higher non-interest income partially offset the miss

#3 Credit costs lower than expected; PAT In line with GSe (-9 percent YoY)

#4 Business momentum sluggish, except in tractor & SME segments

#5 Disbursements declined 6 percent QoQ

#1 Delivered 1.36 percent RoA in-line with citi estimates

#2 Robust fee income & treasury gains of Rs 100 crore utilised to create accelerated provisions of Rs 1 crore

#3 Credit cost elevated at 2.5 percent vs 2.06 percent QoQ

#4 NIMs moderated by 7 bps due to a change in asset mix

#5 Universal license is being reviewed by the regulator; approval anticipated in CY26

The Sensex was up 526.16 points or 0.66 percent at 80,121.75, and the Nifty was up 159.90 points or 0.66 percent at 24,327.15. About 1737 shares advanced, 1705 shares declined, and 115 shares unchanged.

#1 Strong Q4 with 20 percent YoY revenue & EBITDA growth

#2 Beat across segments, especially Lloyd & cables & wires

#3 Primary offtake in Lloyd strong, but secondary sales affected by delayed summer

#4 Continued investment in Lloyd expected to improve market share

#5 Target multiple reduced to 55x due to higher competition in cables & wires

Tata Consumer Products, , Astec Lifesciences, Bajaj Housing Finance, 360 ONE WAM, Can Fin Homes, Dalmia Bharat, Den Networks, Gravity India, Rallis India, Supreme Petrochem, Syngene International, Thyrocare Technologies, Tamilnad Mercantile Bank, Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra), and Wendt (India) will release quarterly earnings on April 23.

As the business is maturing, we want to move from leased to an own facility. Our new facility will be an owned facility in Maharashtra.

The EV market is the future and we believe two wheelers will lead the way because cost of ownership is lower and that has been our focus.

We want to own our technology stack end to end as it gives better quality. As a business we have always been focused on capital efficiency. We don't want to lock out self in capex decisions. Hence, we have not invested in cell technology.

Our big story in FY2025 has been that our adjusted gross margins have doubled from 9 to 19 percent from December 31, 2023 to December 2024

FY 2025 is shaping out to be a great year for us in terms of margins and vehicle sales

As they say, ‘Gold can be your stability anchor, but don’t let it turn into your lifeboat.’

Gold hitting Rs 1 lakh is a psychological milestone, but what matters is the role it plays in your portfolio. We wouldn't call it just a 'safe haven' anymore. In today’s world, gold acts more like a portfolio hedge—it’s what helps you stay balanced when other assets swing wildly. Between October 2024 and April 22, 2025, gold delivered a stellar 31% return, jumping from 6% to 37%

Yet, we feel retail investors should keep gold exposure between 10% to 15% of their overall portfolio. That is enough to cushion against volatility without losing growth opportunities elsewhere.

Gold is gaining more strategic weight now, it is not just about emotion or tradition anymore. Investors see it as a real store of value, especially as fiat currencies waver. However, with prices at all-time highs, it is not the right time to chase momentum. Stagger your entry, look for dips, and consider ETFs over physical gold unless it's for long-term holding.

Having said that, Indian women deserve credit here for their longstanding practice of investing in gold, not as a trend, but as a habit rooted in wisdom. They have quietly built-up family wealth through gold, and today, it’s proving to be one of the smartest assets to hold.

#1 M&M earnings upgrade cycle is behind

#2 FY26 earnings growth may outperform most other auto companies

#3 BEV traction is key & start has been patchy

#4 Pick-up in BEV demand is key upside catalyst for stock

#5 Valuations reasonable considering strong competitive positioning in tractors, LCVs & SUVs

Bharat Forge: CCI approves AAM India manufacturing acquisition

The Sensex was up 428.62 points or 0.54 percent at 80,024.21, and the Nifty was up 127.95 points or 0.53 percent at 24,295.20. About 1628 shares advanced, 1768 shares declined, and 128 shares unchanged.

#1 PAT miss driven by PPOP miss

#2 Bad loan formation and credit costs better than MSE

#3 Cut FY26 earnings due to lower loan growth and higher credit costs

#4 Gradually lower funding costs to drive higher FY27 earnings

#1 Strong Q4 beat across all metrics

#2 Revenue rises 20 percent YoY up 16 percent Vs estimate, led by C&W & Lloyd

#3 EBIT margin rises 20 bps YoY, led by strong switchgear & Lloyd segments

#4 Overall demand soft, with regional concerns on RAC

#1 Best combination of growth and RoE

#2 Forecast 24 percent AUM & 30 percent EPS CAGR over FY25-27

#3 Company has levers to grow AUM at 25 percent CAGR

#4 Credit cost likely peaked in FY25

#5 Expecting RoA to improve to 2.5 percent by FY27 vs 2.3 percent in FY25

#6 Raise EPS by 2 percent/3 percent for FY26/27 on lower cost of fund & credit cost assumptions

#1 Q4 in-line with expectations

#2 CC revenue down 0.8 percent QoQ, was in-line

#3 EBIT came in-line

#4 FY26 revenue growth guidance was slightly better than expectations

#5 FY26 revenue growth guidance with a reasonable required CQGR (0.3 percent–1.5 percent)

The company has completed the acquisition of a 46.66% stake in Orient Cement pursuant to the share purchase agreement.

#1 Credit cost missed consensus by 15 percent in Q4

#2 Gross credit cost rises to 2.5 percent of GLP from 1.95 percent QoQ

#3 Credit cost in cards rose to 16 percent from 11 percent QoQ

#4 Slippages falls 7 percent QoQ due to improving CE in MFI& secured loans

#5 NIM falls 6 bps QoQ, partly cushioned by day count

#6 PPOP grows 7 percent QoQ, while core PPOP grows slower at 2.7 percent QoQ

#7 Guidance for elevated credit costs in H1, with improvement expected in H2FY26E

#1 Q4 margin ahead of estimate; demand tailwinds from C&W & Lloyd

#2 Operating leverage to drive margin expansion

#3 Expect 15-16 percent revenue growth over FY26-27, driven by demand in cables & ECD recovery

#4 Stock trades at 44x FY27 EPS, which is attractive given the growth outlook

#1 Q4 miss on NII; weak disbursement growth and elevated credit cost

#2 Yield falls 30 bps QoQ due to a one-time hit in Q4FY25 from interestimate recognition method change

#3 NII grows 6 percent YoY / 1 percent QoQ; fee income up 20 percent QoQ

#4 Opex elevated at 2.9 percent; credit cost rises to 1.5 percent vs near zero last quarter

Tata Consumer Products, , Astec Lifesciences, Bajaj Housing Finance, 360 ONE WAM, Can Fin Homes, Dalmia Bharat, Den Networks, Gravity India, Rallis India, Supreme Petrochem, Syngene International, Thyrocare Technologies, Tamilnad Mercantile Bank, Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra), and Wendt (India) will release quarterly earnings on April 23.

The Sensex was up 274.96 points or 0.35 percent at 79,870.55, and the Nifty was up 85.25 points or 0.35 percent at 24,252.50. About 1475 shares advanced, 1900 shares declined, and 118 shares unchanged.

The bond allotment committee in their meeting held today has approved the raising of Debentures as Unsecured, Taxable, Redeemable, Non-Convertible, NonCumulative NCDs of face value of Rs 1,00,000 each (Series-A 2025) aggregating upto Rs 2,430 crore on private placement basis.

#1 Revenue beat estimateimates by 4 percent, led by lloyd & emerging categories

#2 EBIT margin beat across segments; notably strong in ECD, Lloyd & emerging categories

#3 Margin declined in switchgear, lighting & cables

The company has been declared the L1 (lowest) bidder for a project worth Rs 239.94 crore—construction of a flyover from Heeradas Chouraha to Kumher Gate Chouraha in Bharatpur city, Bharatpur—on EPC mode, awarded by PWD-Rajasthan.

Optiemus Unmanned Systems, a wholly owned subsidiary of Optiemus Infracom announced the launch of four advanced drones. The drones - Marak

VT100, Vajra QC55, Canister Launched Loitering Munition and First Person View (FPV) drones with optical fiber cable-based navigation capability- showcase the latest in unmanned aerial technology by providing solutions for a wide range of defense, surveillance, and reconnaissance operations.

The company has received a Letter of Acceptance for a project worth Rs 568.86 crore from Central Railway. The project involves construction of earthwork, major bridges, minor bridges, RUBs, P. Way work, and miscellaneous civil works in connection with gauge conversion work from Pachora to Jamner (excluding Pachora Yard) and road over bridges for Central Railway.

#1 Profit zooms 36.5 percent to Rs 31 crore Vs Rs 22.7 crore, YoY

#2 Revenue grows 18.3 percent to Rs 428 crore Vs Rs 361.8 crore, YoY

Tata Consumer Products, LTIMindtree, Astec Lifesciences, Bajaj Housing Finance, 360 ONE WAM, Can Fin Homes, Dalmia Bharat, Den Networks, Gravity India, Maharashtra Scooters, Rallis India, Supreme Petrochem, Syngene International, Thyrocare Technologies, Tamilnad Mercantile Bank, Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra), and Wendt (India) will release quarterly earnings on April 23.

The company has completed the acquisition of a 46.66% stake in Orient Cement pursuant to the share purchase agreement.

The company has appointed Jyotsna Shahi as its Chief Marketing Officer, effective April 22.

The Sensex was up 170.81 points or 0.21 percent at 79,766.40, and the Nifty was up 41.75 points or 0.17 percent at 24,209.00. About 1405 shares advanced, 1935 shares declined, and 113 shares unchanged.

Caplin Steriles, a subsidiary company of Caplin Point Laboratories has been granted final approval from the United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) for its Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) Phytonadione Injectable Emulsion USP, 10 mg/mL, Single Dose Vial, a generic therapeutic equivalent version of the Reference Listed Drug (RLD) VITAMIN K1 Injection, from Hospira Inc.

British International Investment Plc has exited RBL Bank by selling its entire 3.82% stake at an average price of Rs 184.74 per share, amounting to Rs 428.57 crore. Unity Associates net sold 88.1 lakh shares in the bank at an average price of Rs 187.39 per share.

#1 Organically guidance would be approximately 1-4 percent YoY CC, by estimate

#2 EBIT margin guidance is unchanged at 18-19 percent (in-line with forecast)

The company has commenced commercial production of carbonated soft drinks, juice-based drinks, and packaged drinking water at its production facility in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh.

The company has filed a complaint with the Economic Offences Wing of the police against Gensol Engineering regarding falsification of documents. PFC stated that Rs 307 crore out of Rs 352 crore disbursed to Gensol for EV leasing in 2023 remains unpaid and that it is actively pursuing options to address the situation.

The company says Rs 307 crore dues pending from Gensol Engineering

At 11:15 am, BSE Smallcap is -0.57% while BSE Midcap is -0.05%

Nifty Smallcap 100 is -0.49% while Nifty Midcap 150 is +0.01%

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has approved the acquisition of 100% equity shareholding of AAM India Manufacturing Corporation by Bharat Forge, with voluntary modifications.