Opening Bell: Will Sensex, Nifty continue range-bound trade on Tuesday? Here’s what trends suggest

Indian equity benchmarks BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty50 are seen opening flat with positive bias on Tuesday, mirroring mixed trends in global markets, as caution will prevail ahead of the highly-awaited U.S. Federal Reserve’s policy announcements on Wednesday. The U.S. central bank is widely expected to keep its key interest rate steady in its first policy meeting post President Donald Trump’s “reciprocal” tariffs announcement on April 2.

The muted trends in GIFT Nifty futures also signal flat start for domestic benchmark indices. At 8:15 AM, the GIFT Nifty index was up 2.5 points higher at 24,563, indicating a lackluster opening for the Sensex and Nifty.

Among individual stocks, shares of Indian Hotels Company, Bombay Dyeing & Manufacturing Company, Zee Media Corporation, Jammu & Kashmir Bank, Prataap Snacks, Coforge, and Cigniti Technologies will be in focus as investors will react to their Q4 results announced post-market hours on Monday.

Meanwhile, Bank of Baroda, HPCL, Paytm parent One 97 Communications, Alembic Pharmaceuticals, Godrej Consumer Products, Mahanagar Gas, Piramal Enterprises, Polycab India, Aadhar Housing Finance, Aarti Drugs, and many others companies will release their quarterly earnings today.

The listing of Ather Energy IPO, the first mainboard issue of FY26, on the BSE and NSE will be closely eyed as it came after a long gap of two months.

Domestic market starts week on positive note

On Monday, Indian share market closed higher in range-bound trade, with the BSE Sensex gaining 295 points to 80,797, and the NSE Nifty adding 114 points to settle at 24,461. Outperforming the benchmark indices, the broader market ended with solid gains, with the BSE midcap the smallcap indices rising 1.5% and 1.2%, respectively. On the BSE Sensex pack, 20 out of 30 index heavyweights ended in green, with Adani Ports and SEZ, Bajaj FinServ, M&M, Eternal (Zomato), and ITC emerging as top gainers. Adani Ports topped the chart with a 6.3% gains, while others rose in the range of 1.6% to 3.7%.

The equity market sustained its positive momentum throughout the day, moving in a narrow range, amid mixed earnings report and partial profit booking at higher levels, while caution prevailed amid rising geopolitical tensions between India and Pakistan.

U.S. stocks end in red; Dow, S&P 500 snap 9-session gaining streak

In the overnight trade, Wall Street ended lower amid as investors turned cautious ahead of the Federal Reserve’s first policy meeting since “reciprocal” tariffs announcement by President Donald Trump on April 2. Although the U.S. central bank is unlikely to cut interest rates, keeping policy rate unchanged in the 4.25%-4.50% range, traders will keep a close ear on Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s comments on economic outlook. The U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) fell at a 0.3% annualised rate in Q1 CY25, primarily due to a surge in imports ahead of President Trump's aggressive tariff policies.

Snapping 9-sessions gaining streak, the Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.24% lower, while the S&P 500 settled down by 0.64%. In a similar trend, tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite closed 0.74% lower.

Asian shares trade higher on trade talks hope

Equity markets in Asia-Pacific region witnessed positive trade on Tuesday amid optimism that tariff tensions between U.S. and China will ease after Beijing said it’s evaluating possible trade talks with Donald Trump’s administration.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose 0.4%, while China’s Shanghai Composite climbed 0.6% in early trade. Indonesia’s Jakarta Composite also jumped 0.6%, while ASX 200 index ended marginally lower by 0.2%. On the other hand, Taiwan Weighted index and Singapore’s Straits Times were trading flat with marginal losses. Markets in Japan and South Korea remained closed for holiday.