Sensex, Nifty 50 | Stock Market Highlights: Sensex jumps 753 pts, Nifty 50 ends above 24,550; FMCG, banking stocks shine

The rally on Tuesday was mainly driven by major banking stocks, with ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, and Axis Bank playing significant roles in the upward trend. The index closed at the 24,576 level, marking a daily gain of 0.87%, and formed a pronounced bullish candle on the daily chart, suggesting a boost in positive sentiment among traders.

Among the Nifty 50 stocks, companies like Nestle India, Hindustan Unilever, and Trent were among the leading gainers, further bolstering the index. Conversely, SBI Life and BEL experienced some profit-taking and were the top decliners for the day.

From a sectoral viewpoint, the Nifty FMCG and Realty indices showed strong performance and ended in positive territory, while the Nifty Consumer Durables and Nifty Pharma indices wrapped up the day on a lackluster note. At the same time, the volatility index, India VIX, significantly decreased, dropping by nearly 7%.

The broader market indices, such as the Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100, also closed the session with modest gains, even though both indices experienced a slight pullback from their respective highs of the day. Market breadth was robust, with the Advance/Decline ratio clearly favoring the advancing stocks.

Across the wider Nifty 500 universe, a total of 339 stocks finished in the green, highlighting the persistence of broad-based buying activity throughout various market segments.

Sudeep Shah, Head - Technical and Derivatives Research at SBI Securities, said that going ahead, the 100 day EMA zone of 24,660–24,700 zone will act as an crucial hurdle for the index. A sustained move above 24,700 could trigger further upside towards 24,950. On the downside, the 24,460–24,430 zone is expected to act as immediate support.

Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Ltd, said - ""Amid hopes for progress in Iran–U.S. peace talks and supportive global cues, India’s equity markets rebounded strongly. FMCG and realty stocks led the rally, backed by solid earnings updates, while banking stocks gained after the RBI eased forex restrictions.

Small caps outperformed broader indices. In the near term, investors are expected to remain focused on corporate earnings, which are tracking in line with expectations, while monitoring developments in the U.S.–Iran conflict and trends in the rupee and crude oil prices, where signals remain positive."

Among the sectoral indices, Nifty Bank closed up by 1.39%, whereas the Financial Services index increased by 1.18%.

Nifty FMCG (up 2.55%) and Realty (up 2.14%) attracted the most attention. Nifty Pharma (down 0.08%) and Consumer Durables (down 0.02%) experienced a decline.

Nestle India, Hindustan Unilever, and Trent emerged as the leading gainers in the Nifty 50 index, where 35 constituents closed in the positive territory.

Conversely, SBI Life Insurance Company, Bharat Electronics (BEL), and Jio Financial Services were identified as the primary decliners in the index.

Sensex jumps 753 points, Nifty 50 ends above 24,550; investors earn ₹3 lakh crore in a day

Kaynat Chainwala, AVP Commodity Research, Kotak Securities, said that today, gold slipped below $4,780/oz and silver dipped under $79/oz, pressured by a stronger US dollar and steady yields. Near-term direction will hinge on developments in US–Iran talks and incoming US macro data, including retail sales, housing, and labor indicators, which will shape interest rate expectations.

Sudeep Shah - Head of Technical & Derivative Research at SBI Securities said that the 24,400 – 24,380 zone will act as a crucial support area, while the 24,600 – 24,630 zone is likely to act as an immediate resistance band. On the downside, a decisive break below 24,380 may lead to further weakness towards the 24,280 – 24,250 zone. On the upside, a sustained move above 24,630 could trigger an extension of the rally towards the 24,750 level.

Nestle India Q4 Results (YoY):

> Net profit rises 25.82% to ₹1,114 crore from ₹885.4 crore

> Revenue up 22.6% to ₹6,747.7 crore from ₹5,504 crore

> EBITDA grows 27.6% to ₹1,771.5 crore from ₹1,389 crore

> Margin improves to 26.30% from 25.20%

Nestle India share price was trading 3.86% higher at ₹1,337.05 apiece on the BSE.

HCL Technologies share price traded higher ahead of the announcement of the Q4 results today. HCL Technologies is expected to post around 14-15% year-on-year (YoY) growth in revenue, led by the financial services and hi-tech. Auto vertical is expected to remain soft. Meanwhile, adjusted PAT is seen rising in the range of 6-12% YoY, according to analyst estimates. Catch Live Updates here

GRM Overseas share price rose over 2% after the company announced the launch of its “10X Basmati Rice Suitable for Diabetics.” The small-cap stock is currently trading just 11% below its 52-week high. Read here

Barring Yes Bank, all other constituents of the Bank Nifty index were trading in the green.

JPMorgan has initiated coverage on PhysicsWallah with an Overweight (OW) rating and a target price of ₹125, highlighting the company’s disruptive low-cost online model and strong growth visibility in India’s underpenetrated test prep market.

The brokerage noted PhysicsWallah’s scalable “one-to-many” digital delivery model and affordable pricing as key competitive advantages, enabling it to tap a large and expanding student base across income segments.

It expects the core online business to remain the primary growth and profitability driver, with ~30% revenue growth and margin expansion supported by operating leverage. Meanwhile, the offline and hybrid segments provide optionality, with improving utilisation likely to drive breakeven over the medium term.

JPMorgan projects a ~28% revenue CAGR over FY26–28E, alongside significant EBITDA expansion, as the company benefits from rising online penetration and strong demand for test preparation in India.

PhysicsWallah share price was trading 2.19% higher at ₹109.44 apiece on the BSE.

Adani Power has emerged as the most valuable publicly listed firm among the Adani Group companies, surpassing Adani Ports & SEZ. This milestone comes after a remarkable rise in Adani Power share price, which recently hit a new 52-week high, boosting its market value to nearly ₹4 lakh crore as of Tuesday, April 21.

Axis Securities has recommended a Bull Call Spread strategy for Nifty options contracts expiring on 28 April 2026, forecasting a moderately bullish view. The options strategy involves buying one lot of the 24,350 strike Call Option and simultaneously selling one lot of the 24,700 strike Call Option. Break even point is 24,493. According to Axis Securities, the maximum potential risk for this Nifty options trading strategy is ₹9,295, whereas the potential maximum reward is ₹13,455.

Post COVID, FY26E is expected to be the maiden year where PVR Inox will be profitable at pre-IND AS EBITDA level for four quarters in a row. In nutshell, FY26E brings in consistency, improved balance sheet health and renewed focus on business model. PVR Inox stock price trades at 9.4x/7.8x FY27E/FY28E pre-IND AS EBITDA estimates and the risk-reward is in the favour of investors, said Jinesh Joshi, Senior Research Analyst, Institutional Research – PL Capital.

PL Capital has a ‘Buy’ call on PVR Inox shares with a target price of ₹1,236 per share.

Billionbrains Garage Ventures share price jumped 1% after the company reported strong Q4 results. The parent company of stock broking platform Groww posted a consolidated net profit of ₹686 crore for Q4 FY26, up 122% from ₹309 crore YoY.

The Indian stock market traded with strong gains on Tuesday, following mixed global market cues, as investors remained cautiously optimistic about the US-Iran peace talks.

The Sensex jumped over 700 points to scale above 79,000 level, while the Nifty 50 surged 0.7% to rise above the crucial 24,500 level ahead of the weekly F&O expiry. Bank Nifty index outperformed, gaining over 1%.

Broader markets supported the rally, as the Nifty Smallcap 100 and the Nifty Midcap 100 indices gained nearly a percent each.

Reliance Power share price continued attracting Dalal Street bulls. The stock opened with an upside gap and touched an intraday high of ₹28.66 per share, logging a gain of over 2% during Tuesday’s trading. While climbing to this intraday high, the Reliance Power share price rose by over 40% in April 2026.

Nifty 50 index is hovering within the 24,300 – 24,500 range, which continues to act as a crucial resistance band. The recent price behaviour indicates lack of strong follow-through buying at higher levels, keeping momentum in check. A sustained breakout above 24,500 will be required to trigger further upside towards the 24,800 – 25,000 levels. On the downside, 24,300 – 24,250 remains as immediate support, followed by the 24,100 – 24,000 zone, which remains a key psychological and demand area, said Ponmudi R.

Holding above these levels will be essential to maintain the ongoing recovery structure. Opening view remains cautiously positive, with consolidation likely unless a decisive breakout above resistance is observed, he added.