Gap-down opening seen for Sensex, Nifty; HUL, Axis Bank, Nestle India, ACC, Adani Energy shares in focus

The Indian stock market is braced for lower opening on Thursday, undermining firm cues from global peers, after government announced a slew of measures to downgrade its ties with Pakistan, a day after 26 people got killed in a terror attack in Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag district. The weak trends in GIFT Nifty futures, also indicated a gap-down opening for the equity benchmarks BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty. At 8:15 AM, the GIFT Nifty index was down 63.5 points, or 0.26%, at 24,254.

Traders will keep a close eye on new developments in the Pahalgam terror attack case, while minutes of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) last policy meeting, and corporate earnings report will also set tone for the market. The Street will see stock specific reaction as Tata Consumer Products , LTIMindtree , Bajaj Housing Finance , Thyrocare Technologies, Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) , Tamilnad Mercantile Bank , and 360 ONE WAM released their Q4 results overnight. On the other hand, Hindustan Unilever , Axis Bank , Nestle India , ACC , Adani Energy Solutions , SBI Life Insurance Company , Tech Mahindra , and many other big players are set to unveil their quarterly financial performance reports.

On Wednesday, the domestic equity market ended higher for the seventh straight session, driven by growing optimism regarding a possible de-escalation in the U.S.-China trade war. The BSE Sensex added another 521 points, or 0.65%, to cross over 80K level, while the Nifty ended at 24,329, adding 162 points, or 0.67%. On the sectoral front, IT and auto were top performers, while banking and financials witnessed some profit-taking at record high levels.

In the past seven trading days, the Sensex has risen 6,269 points, or 8.5%, and the Nifty 50 added 1,930 points, or 8.6%, making investors richer by around ₹36 lakh crore.

U.S. stocks rally as Trump signals tariff relief to China

In the overnight trade, all three major U.S. indexes ended on strong note after U.S. President Donald Trump signalled about a potential easing of tariffs on Chinese imports. He also softened his stance to sack Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, easing concern about the central bank’s independence at a time when the economy is already battling with aggressive tariff policy.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 1.1% higher, the S&P 500 rose 1.7%, and the Nasdaq Composite rallied 2.5%.

Asian markets edge higher on hopes for easing U.S.-China trade tensions

Stock markets in Asia-Pacific region traded mostly higher today, tracking firm cues from Wall Street, after U.S. President Trump said he had no plans to fire the Fed Chair, and hinted at lower tariffs for China. The sentiment was boosted amid hopes of easing trade tensions between U.S. and China, after Trump said that tariffs on Chinese goods would “come down substantially”. However, White House officials later confirmed that tariffs would remain in place for the time being, adding that de-escalation in the US-China trade war have to be mutual.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 was the best performer in the region, rallying over 1%, followed by Indonesia’s Jakarta Composite which rose 0.7%. China’s Shanghai Composite and Singapore’s Straits Times gained 0.4% each, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index and South Korea’s Kospi fell in the range of 0.3-0.5%. Among others, Taiwan Weighted index was down 0.3%, whereas Australia’s ASX 200 index ended 0.7% higher.

Stocks to watch

Q4 results: Hindustan Unilever, Axis Bank, Tech Mahindra, Nestle India, ACC, Adani Energy Solutions, SBI Life Insurance Company, Cyient, Indian Energy Exchange, Laurus Labs, Macrotech Developers, L&T Technology Services, Mphasis, Nelco, Persistent Systems, SBI Cards and Payment Services, Supreme Industries, Sterling and Wilson Renewable Energy, and Waaree Technologies will release their results today.

Bajaj Finance: The company’s board will meet on April 29 to consider a interim dividend for FY25, stock split, and bonus issue of shares.

Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL): The state-owned oil company has entered into a joint venture (JV) agreement with GPS Renewables to establish compressed biogas (CBG) plants across India.

Adani Green Energy: The company’s subsidiary, Adani Hydro Energy Five, has signed a pact with Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation (UPPCL) for the supply of 1,250 MW of energy storage capacity from pumped hydro storage projects.

Biocon: The biopharma company has received its board approval to raise up to ₹4,500 crore via the issuance of equity shares, non-convertible debt instruments along with warrants, by way of qualified institutions placement(s), rights issue, preferential allotment, or private placement(s), in one or more tranches.

Max India: The company has received its board nod for ts rights issue worth ₹125 crore, at an offer price of ₹150 per equity share.

Embassy Office Parks REIT: The board has approved the raising of funds up to ₹6,500 crore via debt and the issuance of commercial papers worth ₹675 crore.

Niva Bupa Health Insurance Company: The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has approved the re-appointment of Krishnan Ramachandran as the CEO and Managing Director of the company for five years, effective May 1.

Panacea Biotec: The company has bagged an additional award worth $5.2 million (₹44 crore) from UNICEF for the supply of 40 million doses of its bivalent oral polio vaccine (bOPV) in Q3 CY2025.

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