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Benchmarks likely to make negative start amid mixed global cues
Apr-09-2026

Indian equity markets are likely to make a negative start on Thursday, amid mixed global cues. Traders are likely to remain cautious as reports of violations raise concerns over the U.S.-Iran two-week ceasefire agreement. Tata Consultancy Services, the country's largest software company, will be in focus as it will announce its March quarter earnings later in the day kickstarting the earnings season for India Inc.

Some of the key factors to be watched:

World Bank ups India's FY27 GDP growth projections to 6.6%: The World Bank has marginally raised India's growth projections for the 2026-27 fiscal to 6.6 per cent and said although GST rate cuts would boost consumer demands in the initial months of the fiscal, but headwinds from the Middle-East crisis could dent growth.

Piyush Goyal urges exporters to tap India-US portal to boost trade: Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has urged exporters and businesses in India and the US to make greater use of the India-US trade facilitation portal to boost bilateral trade.

RBI to simplify onboarding process for MSMEs on TReDS: The Reserve Bank has proposed to drop the due diligence requirement for MSMEs to onboard TReDS platforms to promote ease of doing business for micro, small and medium enterprises.

Bank NPAs decline to 2%: The Reserve Bank said that Indian scheduled commercial banks' gross non-performing assets (NPAs) ratio declined further to 2 per cent in December 2025, no systemic hit due to Middle East conflict.

Cabinet approves Rs 41,534 crore P&K fertilisers subsidy for kharif 2026 season: The government has approved a Rs 41,534 crore subsidy for Phosphatic and Potassic (P&K) fertilizers for the upcoming 2025-26 kharif season, up by 12 per cent from the year-ago period.

On the global front: US markets ended higher on Wednesday following a two-week ceasefire agreement between the United States and Iran. Asian markets are trading lower on Thursday, despite strong overnight cues from Wall Street.

Back home, rallying for the fifth day in a row, Indian equity benchmarks ended nearly 4 per cent higher on Wednesday, following an impressive rally in global markets and a drop in crude oil prices, after the US and Iran announced a two-week ceasefire. Finally, the BSE Sensex rose 2946.32 points or 3.95% to 77,562.90 and the CNX Nifty was up by 873.70 points or 3.78% to 23,997.35.

Some of the important factors in trade:

RBI holds repo rate at 5.25%: The Reserve Bank of India’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has held its benchmark repo rate at 5.25 per cent and maintained policy stance at 'neutral' amid heightened global uncertainty, driven largely by escalating tensions in West Asia. 

India, New Zealand set to seal trade deal to double bilateral trade to $5 billion: With an aim to accelerate India’s global trade engagements, India and New Zealand are reportedly set to sign a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) on April 24, 2026 at Bharat Mandapam. 

Bank credit to grow at around 13% in FY27: The rating agency -- Crisil Ratings has said that bank credit is likely to grow by around 13% in FY27, driven by healthy growth in the MSME and retail sectors, as well as the continued preference of corporates for bank credit rather than issuance of bonds amid the prevailing interest rate differential.

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