After weeks of sustained selling pressure, Indian equities staged a strong rebound in Wednesday’s session, April 8, as easing geopolitical tensions—following a two-week ceasefire agreement between the US and Iran—helped calm fears of energy-driven inflation.
The pause in hostilities led to a decline in energy prices, while a softer US dollar further supported sentiment.
Benchmark indices ended sharply higher, with the Nifty 50 and Sensex gaining 3.75% and 3.95%, respectively. The broader market mirrored the uptrend, as both the Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 indices advanced over 4%.
All sectoral indices ended in the green, with Nifty Realty topping the charts by surging 6.75%, while Nifty Auto also posted a similar gain of 6.7%. Other indices, including Nifty Oil & Gas, Nifty Chemicals, Nifty Media, and Nifty Metal, all closed with gains of over 2.5%.
The month-long tensions in West Asia, which rattled equity markets across the world, brought relief as both the US and Iran agreed to halt missile attacks and restart negotiations. On February 28, the US and Israel jointly carried out strikes on Iran in the middle of negotiations.
US President Donald Trump agreed to suspend attacks on Iran for two weeks in exchange for Tehran allowing safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz. Trump said the ceasefire was subject to Iran agreeing to a complete, immediate, and safe reopening of the Strait. The US has also received a 10-point proposal from Iran, which he described as a workable basis for negotiations.
Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of India kept interest rates unchanged, striking a cautious tone as it monitors the impact of rising oil prices on the economy and pledges to curb any excessive currency volatility.
Auto, realty stocks lead rally; Adani group, capital market stocks join gains
Auto stocks were among the biggest winners in the relief rally, with all constituents of the Nifty Auto index closing with solid gains, led by Ashok Leyland, Samvardhana Motherson International, and Tata Motors (PV), which surged 12.8%, 8.9%, and 8.4%, respectively.
The real estate segment also witnessed a turnaround in sentiment, with stocks such as Lodha Developers, Prestige Estates Projects, Phoenix Mills, DLF, Aditya Birla Real Estate, and Godrej Properties posting solid gains of between 6% and 8.5%.
Meanwhile, Adani Group stocks closed with gains of up to 11% after a US court accepted a plea filed by the counsels of Gautam and Sagar Adani for a pre-motion conference to dismiss a securities fraud case brought against them over 15 months ago by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
The drop in crude oil prices triggered a rally in OMCs, paint, aviation, and tyre stocks, while interest rate-sensitive sectors such as financials surged after the Reserve Bank of India kept the repo rate unchanged.
Further, broad-based buying boosted capital market stocks, including Angel One and Groww, with both rising over 8.5%. Paytm shares also saw renewed buying, closing 8.2% higher at ₹1,112 apiece.
Nearly 200 stocks including Pine Labs, Force Motors, Bandhan Bank and PG Electroplast, have closed with gains of over 5%.
Oil India, Coal India among top losers in otherwise strong session
The losers list was thin today amid broad based buying. Oil India was the top laggard in the pack, falling 4.8% to ₹459 apiece, while Coal India and Zydus Wellness, each fell 3%.
Others such as National Aluminium DCM Shriram Great Eastern Shipping Corporation, OneSource Specialty Pharma, Firstsource Solution. Avenue Supermarts and CCL Products India all fell by over 2%.
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