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

Market Close| Sensex rises 521 points, Nifty above 24300

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.

Ajit Mishra – SVP, Research, Religare Broking

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.

Shrikant Chouhan, Head Equity Research, Kotak Securities

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.

Rupak De, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities

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.

Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments

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.

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

Aditya Gaggar Director of Progressive Shares

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.

Currency Check | Rupee closes 23 paise lower

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

Market Close | Nifty above 24,300, Sensex up 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. 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.

Anuj Choudhary – Research Analyst at Mirae Asset Sharekhan

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

India is n a more advantageous position to negotiate a trade deal with the US quickly, as opposed to its neighbours: Yi Ping Liao of Franklin Templeton....Read More

Brokerage Call | Nomura keeps 'reduc' rating on M&M Financial, target price at Rs 230

#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

Ather Energy IPO will be the first mainboard public issue of the current financial year. The shares of the company will be listed on May 6 on the stock exchanges. ...Read More

Brokerage Call | Jefferies retains 'hold' rating on Havells, target price at Rs 1,800

#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

Sensex Today | BSE Power index up 1%; CG Power, Tata Power, Suzlon Energy among top contributors

Brokerage Call | Morgan Stanley keeps 'overweight' rating on AU Small Finance Bank, target price at Rs 750

#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

Siddharth Srivastava, Head – ETF Product & Fund Manager, Mirae Asset Investment Managers (India)

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.

Brokerage Call | JPMorgan keeps 'neutral' rating on Havells India, target price at Rs 1,700

#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

Brokerage Call | Goldman Sachs retains 'sell' rating on Mahindra and Mahindra Financial, target price at Rs 224

#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

Sensex Today | Nifty FMCG index up 0.5%; Godrej Consumer, Britannia Industries among top gainers

Brokerage Call | Citi keeps 'neutral' rating on AU Small Finance Bank, target price at Rs 625

#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

Markets@2 | Sensex gains 500 points, Nifty above 24300

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.

Brokerage Call | CLSA keeps 'outperform' rating call on Havells India, target price at Rs 1,915

#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

Results Today | Tata Consumer Products, , Astec Lifesciences, Bajaj Housing Finance, among others to announce earnings today

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.

Stock Markets LIVE Updates | Shriram Properties acquires land parcel in Yelahanka, North Bengaluru

Sensex Today | Coromander Engineering to issue 67 lakh shares to promoters, non-promoters on preferential basis at Rs 40.05/share

Stock Markets LIVE Updates | NBCC bags Rs 65 crore work order in Odisha & Hyderabad

Swapnil Jain, co-founder, Ether Energy

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.

Tarun Mehta, Ether Energy

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

Brokerages say the demand pickup in the summer season and the sustainability of Lloyd's margin will be key monitorables for the firm in the near term....Read More

Trivesh D, COO Tradejini

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.

Sensex Today | Nifty Pharma index up 1%, extend gains on fourth day

Brokerage Call | HSBC maintains 'buy' rating on M&M, target Rs 3,320

#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

Stock Market LIVE Update | Bharat Forge: CCI approves AAM India manufacturing acquisition

Bharat Forge: CCI approves AAM India manufacturing acquisition

The South Korean company had started roadshows earlier this year to meet potential investors in the IPO, but the Indian unit might have faced a lower valuation than previously expected, said a report...Read More

Mahindra Finance Q4 profit falls 9% to Rs 563 cr as credit costs surge, margin narrows while Havells India posts 16% jump in Q4 net profit...Read More

Stock Market LIVE Update | Canara Bank has 3.5 Million shares traded in a block

Markets@2 | Sensex rises 420 pts, Nifty around 24300

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.

Shriram Finance’s NII is projected to increase by 14.3 percent YoY to Rs 5,815 crore in Q4FY25, up from Rs 5,087 crore in the year ago period...Read More

Sensex Today | Nifty Metal index up 0.5%, rises on 7th day

Brokerage Call | Morgan Stanley keeps 'equal-weight' call on M&M Financial, target price at Rs 290

#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

Brokerage Call | Nuvama mainains 'buy' rating on Havells India, target price at Rs 1,890

#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

Sensex Today | Nifty Private Bank index down nearly 1%; City Union Bank sheds 3%

Brokerage Call | UBS upgrades Cholamandalam Investment to 'buy', target raises to Rs 1,950

#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

Brokerage Call | Nuvama maintain 'buy' rating on HCL Technologies, target Rs 1,700

#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)

Sensex Today | Nifty Bank index down 0.6%; HDFC Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank among top losrs

Stock Market LIVE Updates | Ambuja Cements completes 46.66% stake acquisition in Orient Cement

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

Brokerage Call | Nuvama keeps 'reduce' rating on AU Small Finance Bank, target price at Rs 530

#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

Sensex Today | 1 million shares of ITC traded in a block: Bloomberg

LTI Mindtree is also expected to declare a final dividend for the previous financial year....Read More