Mumbai, April 29, 2026, 15:31 IST
- Sensex jumped nearly 600 points. Nifty stayed above 24,150, led by gains in auto and FMCG counters.
- Earlier gains lost steam, with crude prices and geopolitical tensions dominating attention.
- Foreign outflows are running ahead of last year’s full-year record, leaving the rebound on shaky ground.
Indian stocks bounced back on Wednesday, snapping out of Tuesday’s drop. Quarterly results lured buyers into autos, consumer names, and some index bigweights. The Nifty 50 closed above 24,150, while the Sensex climbed roughly 600 points. Leading the charge: auto and FMCG stocks, according to Moneycontrol’s 3:30 p.m. closing note.
This shift is catching attention as investors weigh if corporate earnings might balance out oil’s impact. Brent crude hung close to $111 a barrel, Reuters said—a price point that threatens to push up India’s import costs, put the rupee under strain, and tighten margins for companies depending on fuel, shipping, or raw materials.
The surge lands even as foreign investors head for the exits. So far in the first four months of 2026, overseas funds have yanked more than $20 billion from Indian stocks—already topping last year’s record outflows. Since the Iran war erupted, $19 billion has flooded out, according to National Securities Depository data cited by Reuters.
Early session saw stronger buying. By 1:30 p.m., the Sensex jumped 1,028.75 points, or 1.34%, reaching 77,915.12. The Nifty was up 320.70 points, also 1.34%, to 24,315.40. Market breadth tilted positive: 2,468 BSE stocks were in the green against 1,635 decliners, according to Business Standard.
Autos took the spotlight, with Maruti Suzuki jumping 4.34% to ₹13,452 and topping the Nifty. Mahindra & Mahindra, Eicher Motors, and other big consumer-oriented stocks also moved up. On an earnings call, Maruti Chairman R C Bhargava put capex for this year (FY27) at roughly ₹14,000 crore, flagging new capacity at Kharkhoda and plans for another site in Gujarat.
Earnings dominated as the key driver for stocks. Shares of Eternal, which owns Zomato and Blinkit, surged after the company posted a 346% jump in consolidated fourth-quarter profit to ₹174 crore. Maruti, despite a 7% drop in standalone profit for the March quarter, gained as brokerages homed in on its volume outlook and expectations for demand.
Traders pulled back late in the session, unwilling to set aside oil concerns. FMCG, IT, and auto stocks managed to stay in the green as the afternoon wore on, but consumer durables and media names dipped below the flatline. Bank shares traded without clear direction, and momentum faded across the broader market, according to Moneycontrol.
VK Vijayakumar, chief investment strategist at Geojit Investments, flagged the need for caution, pointing to the ongoing lack of resolution for the energy crunch near the Strait of Hormuz. “Brent crude at $110 is negative for India,” he said. With crude prices high, he warned, growth faces pressure on the downside, while inflation risks could climb. The Economic Times
The rupee slipped at the open, down 0.2% to 94.74 against the dollar after Tuesday’s 94.54 close, according to Economic Times. Investors kept an eye on the Federal Reserve decision expected later today.
The larger worry: foreign capital might stay away. Lilian Chovin, head of asset allocation at Coutts, pointed out that markets like India lean heavily on oil and food prices, leaving them vulnerable to fallout from the Middle East conflict. For CLSA, Vikash Kumar Jain and his team wrote that Indian shares will need overseas money to return if the rally is to last.
Right now, domestic earnings are keeping the market on its feet. The next move, though? That hinges less on a single solid session and more on crude, the rupee, cues from the Fed, and whether foreign investors finally stop selling into rallies.
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