Companies Stocks Economy Live April 28, 2025 0 Comments

Markets rebound after geopolitical tensions, US-China trade optimism boosts sentiment

Equity markets opened higher on Monday, with the Sensex opening at 79,343.63, up from the previous close of 79,212.53, and is currently trading at 79,789.34, up 576.81 points or 0.73 per cent. The Nifty advanced 156.30 points or 0.65 per cent to 24,195.65 after opening at 24,070.25, compared to its previous close of 24,039.35. by 09:46, as investors shrugged off recent geopolitical concerns and focused on positive global cues.

The market recovery comes after Friday’s sharp sell-off triggered by escalating tensions between India and Pakistan following the Pahalgam terror attack. Despite these concerns, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) remained net buyers, pumping in nearly ₹3,000 crore on Friday and continuing their eight-session buying streak that has totaled over ₹30,000 crore.

“The heightened uncertainty relating to Indo-Pak tensions will weigh on the markets. It is very difficult to judge how much the market has discounted,” said Dr VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Investments. “The major factor contributing to the resilience of the market is the sustained buying by FIIs which has amounted to ₹32,465 crore in the last eight days,” he added.

Global markets are providing positive cues, with US markets gaining around 1 per cent on Friday and Asian indices rising up to 1 per cent amid optimism surrounding US-China trade negotiations. Reports suggest both nations are looking to reduce trade tensions, with China considering the suspension of its 125 per cent tariff on some US imports.

Among the top gainers on NSE, Reliance Industries led with a 2.88 per cent rise to ₹1,337.80, followed by BEL (2.07 per cent), M&M (1.62 per cent), ICICI Bank (1.51 per cent), and Dr. Reddy’s (1.42 per cent). On the losing side, Shriram Finance plunged 8.31 per cent to ₹600.75, while TechM, HCL Tech, Nestle India, and Maruti saw declines ranging from 0.74 per cent to 1.71 per cent.

Sector-wise, IT stocks are expected to extend their rally, driven by optimism over easing global trade tensions and impressive results from HCL Tech, Persistent Systems, and Tech Mahindra. The pharma sector outlook remains positive on hopes of strong quarterly results and expectations that the US President may not impose reciprocal tariffs on generic medicines.

Positive outlook

“Markets are expected to open on a positive note, supported by a global rally, consistent foreign institutional investor inflows, easing trade tensions between US-China with both sides agreeing to reduce tariffs, and encouraging quarterly earnings,” noted Vikas Jain, Head of Research at Reliance Securities.

In commodities, gold fell 1 per cent to close at $3,319/ounce last week after reaching record highs before retreating. “Gold prices dropped more than 6 per cent from its all-time highs and silver prices also corrected amid rebound in the dollar index,” said Rahul Kalantri, VP Commodities at Mehta Equities Ltd. He added, “However, geo-political tensions and central banks buying in gold due to global uncertainty could support prices.”

Oil prices posted a weekly decline, with Brent crude marginally falling below $67/bbl. “Crude oil prices showed very high volatility and recovered from 4-year lows last week after the US President Trump gives hint for reducing trade tariffs on Chinese goods imports,” Kalantri explained.

Treading carefully

Technical analysts remain cautious about the market’s short-term trajectory. “Nifty and Sensex broke the support zone of 24150/79400 and fell below the 200-day SMA. Additionally, a reversal formation on the daily chart and a shooting star candlestick formation on the weekly chart suggest temporary weakness,” warned Shrikant Chouhan, Head Equity Research at Kotak Securities.

Sameet Chavan, Head Research, Technical and Derivative at Angel One, noted, “Following an impressive 12 per cent rally from April’s swing lows, Nifty had entered overbought territory, making a correction likely.” He advised that the breakout zone around 23900–23800 acts as a key pivotal level.

Key events to watch this week include the ongoing trade discussions between the US and China, earnings results from 180 S&P 500 companies including Tesla and Microsoft, the Bank of Japan’s interest rate decision, as well as US job data and GDP figures.

On the domestic front, positive economic indicators include a 15.6 per cent year-on-year rise in direct tax collections for FY25 to ₹27 lakh crore and strong Securities Transaction Tax (STT) collections exceeding ₹50,000 crore. Companies announcing results today include UltraTech Cement, IRFC, TVS Motors, Oberoi Realty, Nippon Life, PNB Housing, FSL, Kfin Technologies, and Castrol India.

VLA Ambala, Co-Founder of Stock Market Today, advises traders to “adopt a sell-on-rise strategy and hedge positions over directional trade, especially in the absence of strong positive triggers,” given the current market dynamics.