Summary of this article
Indian stock markets broke a three-day loosing streak on April 27
Market sentiment improved on renewed hopes of US-Iran talks
Indian stock markets rose on April 27, breaking from losing streak seen in the past three sessions, as traders hoped for de-escalation in tensions in West Asia. Indian equities also rose following rise in Asian markets.
The benchmark Nifty and Sensex indices both rose more than 0.8 per cent on April 27, with the Nifty rising to 24,087.40 and Sensex trading at 77,244.72. With the Iran war near a two-month mark, market sentiments turned positive after Iran laid out its intent to resume peace negotiations with US.
Iran has proposed a three-stage formula for negotiations with the US, aimed at de-escalating current tensions. The proposal focuses on opening the Strait of Hormuz and effectively ending the ongoing conflict between the two counties. Notably, Iran has also proposed to postpone nuclear negotiations if talks progress, but first wants to address the immediate geopolitical and economic concerns.
“This approach is also seen as an attempt by Iran to navigate internal disagreements over potential nuclear concessions, by separating the more contentious nuclear discussions from urgent efforts to restore stability in the region,” Bajaj Broking said in a note.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump is scheduled to hold a situation room meeting with his top security and policy officials on April 27. Trump also said that the negotiations with Iran will continue over phone, after Iranian Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi declined to directly meet with American negotiators.
“If they want to talk, they can come to us, or they can call us,” Trump said on April 26, reiterating that the war would “come to an end very soon.”
Brent crude oil futures eased back towards $106 per barrel after rising to $108 per barrel over the weekend, after Iran showed intent of opening the Strait of Hormuz. The rupee also pared back some of its losses, rising to 94.16 against the dollar.
Broader market indices outperformed benchmark indices, with the Nifty Micro-cap leading the rise, trading around 2 per cent, followed by Nifty Small-cap rising nearly 1.60 per cent. The Nifty Mid-cap index also traded nearly 1.20 per cent up.
Sector-wise, pharmaceuticals led gains, rising nearly 2.80 per cent on April 27. This was followed by healthcare stocks, which gained 2.40 per cent. IT and Telecom stocks also gained around 2 per cent. Meanwhile, private bank stocks fell 0.40 per cent on April 27. Banking and financial stocks underperformed other sectoral indices.
Among the Nifty 50 stocks, Sun Pharma shares led gains, rising 7.50 per cent at Rs 1,742.6 per share. This was followed by Adani Ports, up by 3.70 per cent. JSW Steel, Tech Mahindra, and NTPC shares were also among top gainers on the Nifty 50. Meanwhile, Axis Bank led losses in Nifty, falling nearly 3.70 per cent. Shriram Finance, BHEL, Coal India, and ICICI Bank shares were also among the top losers.
