Indian Stocks Close Flat

Indian stocks closed marginally above the flatline on Thursday, maintaining the narrow trading momentum since testing two month lows on Monday amid persistent pressure from geopolitical tension in the Middle East. The S&P BSE Sensex closed at 23,416 and the NSE Nifty 50 at 74,360. Strikes between Iran and US allies in the Persian Gulf further strained the ongoing ceasefire in the conflict. The prolonged blockade of tankers leaving the region pressed Indian assets by weakening the rupee and driving foreign investors to pivot their positions elsewhere. It also raised expectations that the RBI may lift interest rates tomorrow, although a slight majority of the market still expects the central bank to hold. Tech stocks led the decline, tracking US counterparts following earnings from Broadcom and Crowdstrike with Infosys and HCL Tech dropping 1.7% and 0.6%. In turn, banks were mostly higher with ICICI and IndusInd adding nearly 1%.

The SENSEX Index rose 109 points or 0.15 percent on Thursday to close at 74456 points. Leading the gains are Titan Company (3.92%), Eternal Limited (3.12%) and ITC (1.16%). Top losers were Infosys (-1.36%), Bajaj Finserv (-1.12%) and UltraTech Cement (-0.91%).

India’s BSE Sensex fell about 0.4% to 74,080 on Thursday, marking a second straight day of losses as escalating US-Iran tensions lifted crude prices and weighed on global risk appetite. Investors are also awaiting the RBI’s policy decision later today, with rates expected to stay at 5.25%, while watching for signals of a hawkish shift amid inflation pressures and rupee weakness. India’s Q1 GDP data is also due later today and is forecast to show growth easing to 7.2% from 7.8% in the previous quarter. Meanwhile, reports that the government may remove capital gains tax on foreign investment in government bonds lifted expectations of FPI inflows, offering broader support to domestic asset sentiment and the rupee. Retail trade led sectoral losses, weighed down by a sharp 33% fall in Trent shares after the stock turned ex-bonus, which mechanically adjusted its price lower. Other notable laggards included IFCI (-1.5%), Infosys (-1.2%), National Aluminium (-3.5%), and Newgen (-4.7%).