Closing Bell: Nifty above 24,300, Sensex up 1,006 pts; oil & gas, pharma, PSU bank rally

Indian equity indices ended on strong note with Nifty at 24,300 on April 28. At close, the Sensex was up 1,005.84 points or 1.27 percent at 80,218.37, and the Nifty was up 289.15 points or 1.20 percent at 24,328.50.

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.

Today, the benchmark indices bounced back sharply, with the Nifty ends 289 points higher while the Sensex was up by 1006 points. Among sectors, almost all the major sectoral indices traded in positive territory, but the Defense and Oil and Gas indices outperformed, with Defense up 4 and Oil and Gas gain 3 percent.

Technically, after a promising opening, the market maintained positive momentum throughout the day. Additionally, it formed a long bullish candle on the daily charts, which supports a further uptrend from current levels. We believe that the short-term market texture is still on the bullish side but buying on intraday dips and selling on rallies would be the ideal strategy for day traders.

On the downside, 24200/79800 and 24100/79500 would act as key support zones, while 24400-24500/80500-80700 could serve as crucial resistance areas for the bulls. However, if the market falls below 24100/79500, the uptrend would become vulnerable.

Markets started the week on a strong note, gaining over a percent, driven by favorable cues. The absence of any major geopolitical developments between India and Pakistan over the weekend, along with stability in global markets, eased pressure and triggered an upbeat start. Additionally, strength in index heavyweight Reliance, following its results, further supported the move as the session progressed. As a result, the Nifty index closed near the day’s high at 24,328.50, up by 1.20%.

On the sectoral front, all key sectors, barring IT, participated in the rally, with pharma, energy, and auto emerging as the top gainers. The broader indices also performed well, posting gains in the range of 0.89% to 1.60%.

This buoyancy is certainly encouraging; however, participants should maintain a positive yet cautious bias, given the lingering geopolitical tensions. A decisive breakout above 24,400 could trigger fresh momentum in the Nifty, potentially propelling it towards the 24,800 marks. Amidst all this, the focus should remain on sectors and themes showing consistent outperformance, with an aim to accumulate quality counters on any intermediate dips.

The Indian rupee struck a confident pose at the start of the week, emerging as the top performer among its Asian counterparts. A swift recovery in domestic equities from Friday's dip, propelled by steady foreign investment and a calm geopolitical landscape, provided significant tailwinds. Further buttressing the rupee's ascent were India's expanding foreign exchange reserves, coupled with a stable performance from the dollar index.

For the immediate future, the USDINR pair is likely to encounter a floor of support at 84.90, while the 85.70 mark presents a notable resistance level.

The domestic market recouped from the losses incurred during the last two days of the previous week, which stemmed from the border tensions. While sustained buying from FIIs and better results from RIL also boosted the investor sentiment. A weakening dollar and inflationary pressure in the US may attract FIIs into the domestic market. However, investors are advised to exercise caution in the near term as the market is yet to discount the impact of retaliation for the Pahalgam terror attack. For a new investor, holding a position on cash and debt of about 40% with a bottom-up approach on equity based on the earnings outcome will be a beneficial strategy.

The Nifty recovered smartly, shrugging off the negativity of last week. However the upside was limited to the recent high keeping the consolidation phase intact. On the higher end 24,360 has remained a resistance level and the Nifty might spend some more time around the current range unless 24,360 is decisively breached. Above 24,360, the index could move towards 24,550 where the 61.80% Fibonacci retracement level of the previous fall from 26,277 to 21,743 lies.

On the lower end, support is placed at 24,000 below which the index might start falling towards 23,800 or even 23,350.

Indian rupee ended 41 paise higher at 85.03 per dollar on Monday versus Friday’s close of 85.44.

Indian equity indices ended on strong note with Nifty at 24,300 on April 28.

At close, the Sensex was up 1,005.84 points or 1.27 percent at 80,218.37, and the Nifty was up 289.15 points or 1.20 percent at 24,328.50. About 1877 shares advanced, 1961 shares declined, and 179 shares unchanged.

Reliance Industries, SBI Life, Bharat Electronics, Sun Pharma, JSW Steel were among biggest gainers on the Nifty, while losers were Shriram Finance, HCL Technologies, Eternal, UltraTech Cement, HUL.

BSE Midcap index rose 1.3 percent, smallcap index added 0.4 percent.

Among sectors, except IT, all other indices ended in the green with metal, realty, oil & gas, pharma, PSU Bank up 1-3 percent.

#1 Q4 was a miss despite lower discounts & operating leverage key drivers of the miss

#2 New plant ramp-up, weaker model mix/commodity headwinds

#3 Higher advertising costs, some lumpy & seasonally higher expenses

#4 EBIT margin could improve from Q4 levels

#5 We believe FY26 could be weaker than FY25 as company continues to ramp up its new plant in an environment where volume growth could remain soft

#1 RIL delivered robust results across segments

#2 Reported net debt remained steady at Rs 1.17 lakh crore, & capex moderated to Rs 1.44 lakh crore

#3 RIL has three near-term triggers: scaling up its new energy busness, upcoming tariff hikes for Jio & the potential IPO/listing of Jio

#1 Q4 EBITDA of Rs 4,260 crore, 12 percent below estimate, driven by lumpy expenses, mix, raw material inflation & ad spends

#2 Expect demand trends to remain muted in H1FY26 due to weak consumer sentiment

#3 Continued weakness in entry-level segment demand, and a higher base

#4 Expect a recovery from H2FY26, coupled with strong momentum in export segment, which should drive a volume uptick

#5 Expect margin to remain range-bound due to new plant-related expenses & higher discounts

Indian rupee is trading 45 paise higher at 84.99 per dollar on Monday versus Friday’s close of 85.44.

Adani Green Energy, Adani Total Gas, CSB Bank, Hexaware, IRFC, Oberoi Realty, PNB Housing Finance, TVS Motor Company, Castrol India, Central Bank of India, Fino Payments Bank, Firstsource Solutions, Go Digit General Insurance, Greenply Industries, IIFL Capital Services, Indegene, KFin Technologies, Nippon Life India Asset Management and UCO Bank will announce their quarterly earnings on April 28.

#1 The acceleration of Reliance Retail’s growth to 16 percent YoY was a key positive in Q4

#2 With favourable valuations, this could drive the share price in the near term

#3 Elevated capex remains a key concern

#4 Q4 consolidated PAT of Rs 19,400 crore was 4 percent ahead of estimate & up 2 percent/5 percent YoY/QoQ

#5 EBITDA largely in-line, bottom-line supported by higher-than- estimate other income & lower tax rates

The USFDA conducted a surveillance inspection at Kopran Research Laboratories Limited API unit located at Mahad in Maharashtra. The inspection was

conducted from April 21, 2025 to April 25, 2025. The inspection was concluded without any observations.

QIB – 0.0 times

NII – 0.14 times

Retail – 0.54 times

Employee Reserved – 1.54 times

Overall – 0.14 times

As we approach the auspicious occasion of Akshaya Tritiya, there is naturally a renewed consumer sentiment which is hugely driven by cultural significance and the growing fondness of consumers for the yellow metal. This festive period is said to be a strong driver of domestic sales, where the gold-buying hobby of Indian consumers is at its peak, not just as a purchase, but also as a promise of prosperity.

We look forward to a 10-15% spike in jewellery sales this season, supported by robust buying sentiments and price dynamics.

With gold prices often hitting new highs lately, we are hopeful that consumers will consider this time as the most appropriate time to buy jewellery of their choice as gold prices are expected to see more upswing in the near future.

In terms of consumer sentiments, we are witnessing a shift towards daily de

#1 Revenue/EBITDA grew 6 percent/-9 percent YoY & were -1 percent/-13 percent Vs bloomberg consensus

#2 EBITDA margin of 10.5 percent was driven by higher-than-expected pickup in promotions, repairs, maintenance, digital initiatives & startup costs at the new Karkhoda plant

#3 Management indicated that the domestic car industry is likely to decelerate to 1-2 percent growth levels in FY26, compared to 2.5 percent in FY25

#4 But remains optimistic that Maruti Suzuki will outperform the industry

#5 Export volume growth is expected to be 20 percent YoY in FY26

#6 Helped by e-Vitara, with the majority of FY26 volumes expected to be in export markets

#7 Cut FY26-FY28 EPS estimates by 2 percent to 8 percent

#1 Four individuals injured, 1 fatality due to gas leak incident

#1 Net profit at Rs2,051.2 Cr Vs Rs1,628 Cr (YoY)

#2 NII Down 10.8% At Rs3,290.3 Cr Vs Rs3,688 Cr (YoY)

#3 Gross NPA At 2.98% Vs 3.57% (QoQ)

#4 Net NPA At 0.15% Vs 0.18% (QoQ)

#5 Gross NPA At Rs6,695.2 Cr Vs Rs7,634.8 Cr (QoQ)

#6 Net NPA At Rs337.3 Cr Vs Rs365.5 Cr (QoQ)

#1 Net profit at Rs18.3 Cr Vs Rs31.7 Cr (YoY)

#2 Revenue Down 3.6% At Rs216.4 Cr Vs Rs224.4 Cr (YoY)

#3 EBITDA Down 42.2% At Rs27.7 Cr Vs Rs48 Cr (YoY)

#4 Margin At 12.8% Vs 21.4% (YoY)

#1 IRFC net profit at Rs 1680 crore vs Rs1720 crore YoY

#2 Revenue up 4% YoY to Rs6720 crore

#3 Total cost Rs5040 crore, up 6% YoY

# Board approves raising upto Rs60000 crore in FY26

#1 Q4 PAT was slightly ahead of estimates

#2 Management guided that Reliance Retail will resume its strong growth trajectory from Q1FY26

#3 For the first time, Reliance committed to growth through quick commerce

#4 Offering 30-minute deliveries with no delivery or hidden charges

#5 Start of solar module manufacturing & a growing focus on Jiostar OTT offerings were other positives

#6 Reliance’s FMCG business ranked as the 8th largest in the country in FY25

The Sensex was up 1,061.33 points or 1.34 percent at 80,273.86, and the Nifty was up 293.75 points or 1.22 percent at 24,333.10. About 1764 shares advanced, 1680 shares declined, and 149 shares unchanged.

QIB – 0.0 times

NII – 0.14 times

Retail – 0.47 times

Employee Reserved – 1.43 times

Overall – 0.13 times

#1 Profit increases 0.9 percent to Rs 34.4 crore Vs Rs 34.1 crore, YoY

#2 Revenue grows 22.6 percent to Rs 579.6 crore Vs Rs 472.7 crore, YoY

#1 Profit spikes 210 percent to Rs 434.7 crore Vs Rs 140.3 crore, YoY

#2 Revenue jumps 17.1 percent to Rs 2,356 crore Vs Rs 2,011.2 crore, YoY

#3 Exceptional gains at Rs 394.6 crore Vs Nil

#4 Board recommends dividend of Rs 40 per share for FY25

#1 Profit rises 1.8 percent to Rs 176.4 crore Vs Rs 173.3 crore, YoY

#2 Revenue jumps 10.5 percent to Rs 1,358.9 crore Vs Rs 1,229.7 crore, YoY

#3 Board recommends final dividend of Rs 11 per share

#1 Profit declines 27.1 percent to Rs 201.9 crore Vs Rs 276.9 crore, YoY

#2 Revenue drops 23.2 percent to Rs 1,193.3 crore Vs Rs 1,554.3 crore, YoY

#1 Profit sinks 81.2 percent to Rs 62.3 crore Vs Rs 331.7 crore, YoY

#2 Revenue grows 11.7 percent to Rs 707.9 crore Vs Rs 633.9 crore, YoY

#1 RIL outperformed expectations in both operations & earnings, especially in retail & O2C margin

#2 Significant drivers in 2026 include new energy ramp-up

#3 Traction in consumer brands, and fashion and lifestyle margin, which are key to outperformance

#4 Consolidated EBITDA was in-line; however, earnings beat by 4 percent due to lower interest costs & slightly lower tax rates

#5 O2C volumes outperformed; however, O2C EBITDA/t was flat QoQ at USD 97/t

#6 Retail revenue up 17 percent YoY, & EBITDA up 15 percent YoY

#7 Positive like-for-like growth in fashion & lifestyle in retail reversed 4 quarters of challenges

#8 Management’s tone was more confident on quick commerce ramp-up & consumer brands verticals

#9 Reported net debt was USD 13.5 billion in FY25, largely flat despite USD 15.3 billio in capital investment in FY25

UltraTech Cement, Aditya Birla Sun Life AMC, Adani Green Energy, Adani Total Gas, CSB Bank, Hexaware, IDBI Bank, IRFC, Oberoi Realty, PNB Housing Finance, TVS Motor Company, Castrol India, Central Bank of India, Fino Payments Bank, Firstsource Solutions, Go Digit General Insurance, Greenply Industries, IIFL Capital Services, Indegene, KFin Technologies, Nippon Life India Asset Management and UCO Bank will announce their quarterly earnings on April 28.

The company has received a work order worth Rs 90.08 crore from the Institute of Road Transport.

QIB – 0.0 times

NII - 0.03 times

Retail – 0.40 times

Employee Reserved - 1.22 times

Overall – 0.08 times

The company's subsidiary, Biocon Biologics, announced that the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) of the European Medicines Agency has issued positive opinions recommending the approval of its denosumab biosimilar candidates for distinct therapeutic indications related to bone health.

The US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) conducted a surveillance inspection at the group’s API unit in Dabhasa, Gujarat, from April 21 to 25. The inspection concluded with six observations, none of which were related to data integrity. Additionally, Zydus will acquire an 85.6 percent stake in France’s Amplitude Surgical SA.

#1 Q4 results were in line

#2 Jio was the main contributor to incremental group EBIT

#3 Retail saw an improvement in revenue growth momentum from 3 percent in 1H FY25 to 9 percent in Dec-quarter and now 16 percent, alongside mild margin expansion

#4 Downstream margins (both refining and chemicals) remained a meaningful drag and fully offset growth in Jio and Retail

#5 Upstream Gas EBIT also moderated on lower gas realizations

#1 Profit drops 8.8 percent to Rs 349.2 crore Vs Rs 382.8 crore, YoY

#2 Revenue increases 9.8 percent to Rs 3,950.6 crore Vs Rs 3,596.8 crore, YoY

#3 EBITDA falls 4.8 percent to Rs 497.2 crore Vs Rs 522.6 crore, YoY

#4 EBITDA margin declines to 12.6 percent Vs 14.5 percent, YoY

UltraTech Cement, Aditya Birla Sun Life AMC, Adani Green Energy, Adani Total Gas, CSB Bank, Hexaware, IDBI Bank, IRFC, Oberoi Realty, PNB Housing Finance, TVS Motor Company, Castrol India, Central Bank of India, Fino Payments Bank, Firstsource Solutions, Go Digit General Insurance, Greenply Industries, IIFL Capital Services, Indegene, KFin Technologies, KPIT Technologies, Nippon Life India Asset Management and UCO Bank will announce their quarterly earnings on April 28.

Indian rupee is trading 23 paise higher at 85.21 per dollar on Monday versus Friday’s close of 85.44.

The company has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Container Corporation of India (CONCOR) to explore the adoption of liquefied natural gas (LNG) as an alternative fuel in the logistics sector.

Rajiv Anand will retire as Deputy Managing Director of the bank, effective August 3, 2025, upon completion of his third term as a Director on the bank’s board.

#1 Q4 EBITDA of Rs 43,800 crore beat estimate due to a continued strong showing across segments

#2 Commissioning of the HJT module manufacturing facility is positive, as it will unlock new energy opportunities

Sigachi MENA FZCO, a wholly owned subsidiary of Sigachi Industries, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Respilon, an innovation-driven nanofiber R&D company headquartered in the Czech Republic.

The company has entered into a master service agreement (MSA) with Lorvenk Technologies for providing technical and support services related to AD / Inventory Analysis, Data Cleanse & Preparation, and Entitlement Analysis for the period of 3 years.

#1 Profit grows 14.9 percent to Rs 636.2 crore Vs Rs 553.9 crore, YoY

#2 Revenue increases 3.8 percent to Rs 2,423.1 crore Vs Rs 2,335.2 crore, YoY

#1 Margin pressure is a key risk to watch for

#2 Q4 margin below expectations due to higher other expenses

#3 The domestic growth outlook is weak, but exports are expected to grow by 20 percent YoY

#4 Management expects 1-2 percent industry growth in FY26, with MSIL outperforming the industry

The Sensex was up 831.28 points or 1.05 percent at 80,043.81, and the Nifty was up 234.75 points or 0.98 percent at 24,274.10. About 1807 shares advanced, 1522 shares declined, and 164 shares unchanged.

QIB – 0.0 times

NII - 0.02 times

Retail – 0.29 times

Employee Reserved - 0.86 times

Overall – 0.06 times

#1 Profit declines 2.3 percent to Rs 39.5 crore Vs Rs 40.4 crore, YoY

#2 Revenue rises 7.4 percent to Rs 344.9 crore Vs Rs 321.2 crore, YoY

A current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMP) inspection was conducted by the USFDA at the manufacturing facility of the company’s wholly owned

subsidiary Time-Cap Laboratories, Inc. located at 7, Michael Avenue, Farmingdale, New York, USA from 16th April 2025 to 24th April 2025.

On conclusion of the inspection, the subsidiary has received one inspectional observation in Form 483. There is no data integrity observation.

The subsidiary will work closely with the USFDA and is committed to address the observation comprehensively within the stipulated time.

#1 Profit sinks 68 percent to Rs 363.1 crore Vs Rs 1,136.8 crore, YoY

#2 Revenue drops 2.9 percent to Rs 24,595.9 crore Vs Rs 25,328.7 crore, YoY