HOME > MARKETS > MARKET COMMENTARY
  MARKET COMMENTARY
EQUITY
Key gauges extend gains in morning deals
Apr-29-2026

Indian equity benchmarks extended gains in morning deals, helped by buying in blue-chip stocks and a rally in Asian markets. Sentiments remained up-beat with industry body EEPC India's Chairman Pankaj Chadha stating that India's engineering exports to New Zealand are poised to double over the next five years from $140.5 million to $280-300 million, following the signing of a free trade agreement (FTA) that grants zero-duty market access to all Indian goods. Some support also came as Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal stated that he will visit Canada next month to speed up negotiations for the proposed free trade agreement (FTA). On March 2, India and Canada launched negotiations for the agreement with an aim to finalise the pact soon. On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly higher after reports suggested that Iran is preparing a phased proposal as part of efforts to revive stalled negotiations.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 77832.95, up by 946.04 points or 1.23% after trading in a range of 77136.20 and 77879.68. There were 29 stocks advancing against 1 stock declining on the index.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Auto up by 2.34%, TECK up by 1.83%, Telecom up by 1.54%, Realty up by 1.53% and Consumer Discretionary up by 1.33%, while Metal down by 0.03% was the lone losing index on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Maruti Suzuki up by 4.54%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 3.04%, Bharti Airtel up by 2.71%, Reliance Industries up by 2.67% and Tech Mahindra up by 2.66%. On the flip side, Asian Paints down by 0.54% was the lone losers.

Meanwhile, the ratings agency -- Icra has said that India’s domestic air passenger traffic increased 1.4 per cent year-on-year to 1,677.4 lakh in FY26, consistent with its forecast of 0-3 per cent. For FY25, the combined passenger count for all Indian carriers was 1,653.8 lakh. It said for March this year, the domestic air passenger traffic rose 1 per cent year-on-year to 146.8 lakh. Moreover, it said that airlines operated with 3 per cent less capacity in March 2026 compared to the same month the previous year.

The agency noted that it is estimated that the domestic aviation industry operated at a passenger load factor of 89.5 per cent in the reporting month compared to 86 per cent in March 2025. Further, it stated that international passenger traffic for Indian carriers in February this year stood at 28.5 lakh, a decline of 0.3 per cent year-on-year and a sequential fall of 16 per cent. For the April-February period of the previous fiscal, it was seen at 331.5 lakh, a growth of 7.7 per cent.  

Besides, it noted that average aviation turbine fuel (ATF) prices, announced on April 1, 2026, rose 9.2 per cent sequentially and 18.2 per cent year-on-year on account of the West Asian conflict. While crude oil prices rose 45.5 per cent month-on-month in March this year due to the geopolitical crisis, the pass-through to ATF prices was moderated. Although the civil aviation ministry capped domestic ATF price increases at 25 per cent sequentially, the oil marketing companies raised ATF prices by only 9.2 per cent sequentially in April 2026 for domestic operations, moderating the immediate cost impact on the aviation sector.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 24283.20, up by 287.50 points or 1.20% after trading in a range of 24059.95 and 24296.30. There were 45 stocks advancing against 5 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Maruti Suzuki up by 4.50%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 3.03%, Bharti Airtel up by 2.83%, Reliance Industries up by 2.64% and Tech Mahindra up by 2.64%. On the flip side, Dr. Reddy's Lab down by 0.96%, Asian Paints down by 0.62%, Hindalco down by 0.47%, JSW Steel down by 0.07% and ICICI Bank down by 0.01% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly higher; Jakarta Composite gained 8.24 points or 0.12% to 7,080.63, Shanghai Composite strengthened 19.99 points or 0.49% to 4,098.63, KOSPI increased 26.60 points or 0.4% to 6,667.62 and Hang Seng advanced 318.22 points or 1.24% to 25,998.00.

On the flip side, Straits Times fell 26.23 points or 0.54% to 4,861.46 and Taiwan Weighted lost 76.75 points or 0.19% to 39,444.98. 
  RELATED NEWS >>
Most Viewed >>
EXPLORE
© CITRUS INTERACTIVE
Designed & Developed Accord Fintech Pvt. Ltd.