Sensex slumps 372 pts; Nifty trades below 24,150 mark; VIX slides 1.21%

The domestic equity benchmarks traded with significant losses in the afternoon trade, despite mixed-to-positive global cues, as investors tracked developments around Middle East geopolitical tensions and overall risk sentiment.

The Nifty traded below the 24,150 mark. Metal and IT shares advanced while all the sectoral indices on the NSE traded in the red.

At 13:28 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex declined 371.61 points or 0.46% to 77,753.37. The Nifty 50 index fell 126.35 points or 0.52% to 24,104.95.

In the broader market, the BSE 150 MidCap Index shed 0.27% and the BSE 250 SmallCap Index rose 0.25%.

The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 2,261 shares rose and 1,929 shares fell. A total of 190 shares were unchanged.

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, declined 1.21% to 18.44.

Gainers & Losers:

Hindalco Industries (up 3.01%), Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (up 1.83%), ETERNAL (up 1.73%), Trent (up 1.68%) and Adani Enterprises (up 1.32%) were the major Nifty50 gainers.

Jio Financial Services (down 1.56%), Titan Company (down 1.55%), Apollo Hospitals Enterprise (down 1.50%), Grasim Industries (down 1.48%) and Bharti Airtel (down 1.35%) were the major Nifty50 losers.

Stocks in Spotlight:

HDB Financial Services jumped 7.85% after the company delivered a strong Q4 FY26 performance, with earnings growth accelerating on the back of steady loan expansion and improving operating efficiency. On a standalone basis, net profit rose 41.4% YoY and 16.6% QoQ to Rs 751 crore in Q4 FY26, compared to Rs 531 crore in Q4 FY25 and Rs 644 crore in Q3 FY26.

Net interest income increased 21.6% YoY and 5% QoQ to Rs 2,399 crore, compared to Rs 1,973 crore in the year-ago quarter and Rs 2,285 crore in the previous quarter. Net income came in at Rs 2,769 crore, up 19.8% YoY and 4% QoQ. Profit before tax stood at Rs 991 crore in Q4 FY26, rising 44.3% YoY and 17.6% QoQ.

ICICI Lombard rose 1.45% after the company reported a 40.9% rise in standalone net profit to Rs 718.20 crore in Q4 FY26, compared to Rs 509.59 crore in the same period last year. The company's total income rose 12.2% YoY to Rs 6,856.67 crore in the quarter ended 31 March 2026.

Tejas Networks fell 4.13% after the company reported a consolidated net loss of Rs 211.34 crore in Q4 FY26, compared to a net loss of Rs 71.80 crore in the same period last year. The company's revenue fell 81.6% YoY to Rs 332.39 crore.

MIC Electronics rose 2.72% after the company secured orders worth Rs 2.21 crore from divisions of Indian Railways.

Global Markets:

European stocks opened higher on Thursday, following Asian markets higher, as investors assess strong U.K. GDP data and await Eurozone inflation data for March.

The UK economy expanded in February, according to official data released Thursday by the Office for National Statistics. The monthly reading follows growth of 0.1% in January. Growth was driven by broad-based strength, with services activity rising 0.5% month-on-month and industrial production increasing 0.5% month-on-month. Construction output jumped 1.0% month-on-month despite unseasonably wet weather in February.

Asian markets traded higher, with Japan's Nikkei 225 hitting a record high level, as they tracked overnight gains on Wall Street as hopes of a U.S.-Iran deal grew.

The Iran war is 'very close to over,' President Donald Trump said in a media interview that aired on Wednesday, again reportedly claiming that Tehran wants to 'make a deal very badly.'

A White House official was quoted by the media on Tuesday, stating that a second round of negotiations between Washington and Iran is under discussion. According to media reports, nothing has been officially scheduled yet with respect to these talks.

Meanwhile, China's economy accelerated in the first quarter, supported by robust export growth, which helped offset tepid domestic demand, even as the growth outlook was clouded by the Iran war-fueled energy shock threatening global demand.

Gross domestic product grew 5% in the three months to March, data from the National Statistics Bureau showed Thursday, accelerating from 4.5% in the prior quarter.

Overnight on Wall Street, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite rose to new all-time highs on Wednesday, building on the week's strong gains as investors remained hopeful about the Iran war potentially ending soon.

The broad market index gained 0.80%, ending at 7,022.95. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 1.59% to 24,016.02, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 72.27 points, or 0.15%, to close at 48,463.72.

The U.S. economy grew at a 'slight to modest pace' over the past six weeks while consumers battled higher prices, resulting in more people reaching out for assistance, the Federal Reserve reported Wednesday.

In the central bank's periodic 'Beige Book' accounting of activity, the 12 Fed districts reported the Iran war as 'a major source of uncertainty' for businesses. Price growth was reported as 'moderate' even with a sharp rise in energy and fuel costs. Consumers struggled to deal with the conditions, according to the report, which covered the prior six weeks.