Profit Booking Meets Profit Making: Eternal, Cement Shine Bright on Dull Tuesday

Unknown Apr 02, 2026 650 Views

Market Overview: Volatility Marks Midday Trade Indian stock markets traded flat and cautious by early afternoon, with the Sensex at 82,162, down 38 points, and Nifty50 at 25,083, slipping 7 points as of 12 PM. The session was marked by heightened stock-specific activity amid Q1FY26 e...

Market Overview: Volatility Marks Midday Trade

Indian stock markets traded flat and cautious by early afternoon, with the Sensex at 82,162, down 38 points, and Nifty50 at 25,083, slipping 7 points as of 12 PM. The session was marked by heightened stock-specific activity amid Q1FY26 earnings and moderate profit-booking following a positive close on Monday.

Key Highlights from Domestic Markets

Market mood remained subdued after an early rally, with benchmark indices unable to build sustained gains.

Broader market indices witnessed muted moves; Nifty MidCap dipped 0.37 percent, while the Nifty SmallCap index was marginally lower by 0.09 percent.

Top performing stock, Eternal (parent of Zomato), soared up to 15 percent, fueled by robust figures from its Blinkit division, which posted a 140 percent year-over-year spike in gross order value. Rival Swiggy rallied 7 percent.

Cement companies saw renewed interest, with shares of Dalmia Bharat, Sagar Cements, Birla Corporation, and India Cements gaining 2 to 4 percent. The uptick followed strong operational results across the sector.

Private lender Dhanlaxmi Bank climbed 5 percent after swinging to profit in Q1.

Oberoi Realty slipped nearly 3 percent following weak Q1 earnings, while Blue Jet Healthcare fell 10 percent post results.

Among Sensex heavyweights, Tata Steel, Trent, Bharat Electronics, ICICI Bank, Titan, and Tech Mahindra registered notable gains. On the flip side, UltraTech Cement, Bajaj Finserv, Tata Motors, L&T, Reliance Industries, Sun Pharma, and State Bank of India lagged, falling up to 2 percent.

Sectoral trends were mixed. IT saw a marginal uptick, while auto, media, pharma, and realty indices fell up to 1 percent, reflecting a cautious overall tone.

Foreign Flows and Macro Moves

Foreign Institutional Investors continued offloading, with recent net sales adding to July’s outflows, even as Domestic Institutional Investors increased support.

The Indian rupee weakened, closing at 86.29 per US dollar, marking a multi-week low.

The previous session’s rally was propelled by financial heavyweights ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank.

Snapshot: Global Markets

Wall Street advanced to new highs, buoyed by tech majors ahead of key earnings; S&P 500 closed at 6,305.68 and Nasdaq Composite ended at 20,974.18 on the prior session. US investor focus rested on Alphabet and Tesla’s upcoming results.

In Europe, stocks dipped slightly, with the STOXX 600 index down 0.3 percent, amid trade worries and mixed corporate earnings. The chemicals sector endured the most pressure.

Asian equities, led by Australia and Japan, posted gains, mirroring the risk-on sentiment from New York.

Outlook

Indian equities remain subdued, torn between strong stock-specific surges and sectoral profit-taking, as the global spotlight rests on earnings and trade developments. With technical levels holding near key supports, volatility may persist until fresh domestic and global cues emerge.

Source: Business Standard, CNBC TV18, DSIJ, Reuters, Moneycontrol, NDTV Profit, IC Markets Europe Fundamental Forecast

Stay Ahead – Explore Now! First 'Made in India' Airbus C-295 Plane Completes Maiden Test Flight