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The key equity benchmarks traded with decent gains in early afternoon trade, supported by optimism over potential peace talks between the US and Iran. Investor sentiment also remained upbeat amid easing crude oil prices. However, market participants shifted their focus to Q4 earnings. The Nifty traded above the 24,550 mark. Private sector bank shares gained after declining in the previous trading session. At 12:28 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex jumped 701.67 points or 0.89% to 79,225.06. The Nifty 50 index added 194.90 points or 0.80% to 24,559.75. The broader market outperformed the frontline indices. The BSE 150 MidCap Index gained 0.78% and the BSE 250 SmallCap Index added 1.05%. The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2,669 shares rose and 1,392 shares fell. A total of 212 shares were unchanged. Economy: India's Index of Eight Core Industries (ICI) fell by 0.4% in March 2026 compared to the same month last year, according to provisional data. Output declined in sectors such as fertilizers, crude oil, coal and electricity, pulling down overall performance. The overall growth of these core industries for the full financial year 2025'26 stood at 2.6% compared to the previous year. Derivatives: The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, declined 6.14% to 17.64. The Nifty 28 April 2026 futures were trading at 24,563.70 at a premium of 3.95 points as compared with the spot at 24,559.75. The Nifty option chain for the 28 April 2026 expiry showed a maximum call OI of 98.5 lakh contracts at the 26,000 strike price. A maximum put OI of 58.8 lakh contracts was seen at the 24,000 strike price. Buzzing Index: The Nifty Private Bank index added 1.29% to 27,344.90. The index declined 0.34% in the previous trading session. ICICI Bank (up 1.86%), HDFC Bank (up 1.57%), Axis Bank (up 1.06%), IDFC First Bank (up 1.04%), RBL Bank (up 0.99%), (up 0.95%), IndusInd Bank (up 0.91%), Bandhan Bank (up 0.87%), Kotak Mahindra Bank (up 0.47%) added. Stocks in Spotlight: E2E Networks hit an upper circuit of 5% after the company reported standalone net profit of Rs 6.43 crore in Q4 FY26 compared with net loss of Rs 5.69 crore in Q3 FY26. Revenue from operations jumped 36.59% QoQ to Rs 95.64 crore in Q4 FY26. On year on year (YoY) basis, the company's consolidated net profit declined 51.37% while revenue from operations surge 185.75% in Q4 FY26. RateGain Travel Technologies advanced 1.26% after the company announced a strategic partnership with Easebuzz, a leading digital payments platform in India, as a Gold Partner for RG Pay. PNB Housing Finance jumped 8.29% after the company reported 19.2% rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 656 crore on a 10.8% increase in net interest income to Rs 813 crore in Q4 FY26 as compared with Q4 FY25.
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