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Benchmarks trade firm as Trump pauses strikes on Iran's energy sites
Mar-24-2026

Indian equity benchmarks made an optimistic start on Tuesday tracking positive global cues amid easing geopolitical tensions after the US delayed strikes on Iran’s power infrastructure. Sensex and Nifty were trading higher with notable gains of around a percent each in early deals on account of value buying after previous session’s sell-off. Some support came as the government restored full benefits under the RoDTEP scheme to exporters amidst the ongoing West Asia crisis disrupting global trade. Traders took note of External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar’s statement that India and Russia need to address issues such as non-tariff barriers and regulatory impediments to increase the two-way annual trade to $100 billion by 2030. Moreover, investors were also looking ahead to the HSBC Flash PMI data for the manufacturing, services, and composite sectors, for more cues.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading higher following gains on Wall Street overnight as Trump's comments signalled that tensions in the Middle East might be over soon. Besides, Japan’s headline CPI slowed to 1.3% in February from 1.5% in January, marking a fourth straight month of cooling and the lowest reading since March 2022.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 73357.61, up by 661.22 points or 0.91% after trading in a range of 73332.43 and 74212.47. There were 27 stocks advancing against 3 stocks declining on the index.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Auto up by 1.73%, Industrials up by 1.71%, Consumer Discretionary up by 1.49%, Bankex up by 1.41% and Capital Goods up by 1.39%, while Energy down by 0.01% was the sole losing index on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Interglobe Aviation up by 2.85%, Ultratech Cement up by 2.72%, Eternal up by 2.71%, Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 2.40% and Tech Mahindra up by 2.33%. On the flip side, Power Grid down by 1.86%, ITC down by 0.31% and Infosys down by 0.07% were the few losers.

Meanwhile, with an aim to strengthen the long-standing partnership with Moscow, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has said that there is need to address issues between India and Russia to increase the two-way annual trade to $100 billion by 2030. To this effect, he said ‘we must continue efforts to conclude the India-Eurasian Economic Union free trade agreement and address non-tariff barriers and regulatory impediments and utilise the skilled Indian workforce’. He noted ‘In today's evolving geo-political dynamics, our engagement continues to deepen’.

Jaishankar said the evolving multipolar order requires greater cooperation between India and Russia, including through BRICS, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), G20 and the UN. He said India is looking forward to closely working with Russia to address shared challenges in a ‘balanced and inclusive manner’. He said ‘India and Russia share a special and privileged strategic partnership rooted in trust and mutual respect. Over decades, our mutually beneficial cooperation has advanced regional and global peace, stability and progress’. He also described Russia as India's ‘foremost partner’ in the civil nuclear energy sector. He said ‘As India aims to increase its nuclear energy generation capacity to 100 GW by 2047, I am confident that it will find a trusted and reliable partner in Russia for peaceful uses of nuclear energy’.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov praised India's ‘independent foreign policy’ and said that Russia looks forward to welcoming Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a visit this year. Lavrov said the ‘time-tested’ Russia-India friendship is a model on interstate relations based on mutual trust and respect. He said ‘New Delhi deserves the deepest respect for pursuing an independent foreign policy as part of its course toward strategic autonomy, consistently prioritising the national interest’. He added ‘The time-tested Russian-Indian friendship is a model of how interstate relations based on equality, mutual trust and respect, and consideration of each other's interests can and should be built’.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 22744.80, up by 232.15 points or 1.03% after trading in a range of 22731.95 and 22899.60. There were 47 stocks advancing against 3 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Apollo Hospital up by 3.01%, Shriram Finance up by 3.01%, Interglobe Aviation up by 2.86%, Eternal up by 2.85% and Ultratech Cement up by 2.70%. On the flip side, Power Grid down by 2.09%, Coal India down by 2.02% and ITC down by 0.29% were the few losers.

Asian markets were trading higher; Nikkei 225 surged 610.51 points or 1.19% to 52,126.00, Hang Seng jumped 444.53 points or 1.79% to 24,827.00, KOSPI strengthened 129.77 points or 2.4% to 5,535.52, Taiwan Weighted rose 65.67 points or 0.2% to 32,788.17, Shanghai Composite added 36.06 points or 0.95% to 3,849.34 and Straits Times was up by 11.37 points or 0.23% to 4,852.67.
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