Indian equity markets continued to witness gains and were trading higher by over quarter percent in late morning deals on account of buying in Infosys, Larsen & Toubro, Eternal, Trent and Bharat Electronics companies’ stocks. Positive cues from the global markets supported domestic sentiments. Sentiments were upbeat as President Donald Trump said the war is very close to over. Moreover, he said the stock market is going to boom when the conflict ends. Further, some support also came as foreign institutional investors (FIIs) net bought Indian equities worth Rs 666.15 crore on April 15, 2026. However, gains remained limited as the government data showed the country's merchandise exports dropped 7.44% to $38.92 billion in March.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green as hopes of a U.S.-Iran deal grew. Back home, on the BSE sectoral front, traders were seen piling up positions in Metal, Industrials, Basic Materials, IT and PSU, while selling was witnessed in Telecom, Energy, Auto, Realty and Oil & Gas.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 78341.85, up by 230.61 points or 0.30% after trading in a range of 78222.38 and 78730.32. There were 20 stocks advancing against 10 stocks declining on the index.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 1.39%, Industrials up by 1.06%, Basic Materials up by 0.98%, IT up by 0.98% and PSU up by 0.80%, while Telecom down by 0.21%, Energy down by 0.17%, Auto down by 0.09%, Realty down by 0.08% and Oil & Gas down by 0.07% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Trent up by 1.96%, Bharat Electronics up by 1.54%, Eternal up by 1.52%, Larsen & Toubro up by 1.40% and Infosys up by 1.36%. On the flip side, Titan down by 0.98%, Sun Pharma down by 0.66%, Bharti Airtel down by 0.66%, HCL Technologies down by 0.56% and Reliance Industries down by 0.37% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the commerce ministry in its latest data has showed that India’s merchandise exports slipped marginally by 7.44 per cent to $38.92 billion in March 2026 as compared to $42.05 billion in the same month last year, due to ongoing logistical disruptions arising from the West Asia crisis. Merchandise imports also decreased by 6.51 per cent to $59.59 billion in March 2026 from $63.74 billion recorded a year ago. As a result, trade deficit (difference between imports and exports) narrowed sharply to $20.67 billion in March 2026, down from $27.1 billion in February 2026 and $21.69 billion a year earlier.  

According to the data, merchandise exports during FY 2025-26 (April-March) were $441.78 billion as compared to $437.70 billion during FY 2024-25. Merchandise imports during FY 2025-26 were $ 774.98 billion as compared to $721.20 billion during FY 2024-25. Merchandise trade deficit during FY 2025-26 was $333.19 billion as compared to $283.50 billion during FY 2024-25.  

It further showed that non-petroleum and non-gems & jewellery exports in March 2026 were $31.69 billion compared to $34.25 billion in March 2025. Non-petroleum and non-gems & jewellery exports in FY 2025-26 were $359.67 billion, compared to $344.50 billion in FY 2024-25. Non-petroleum, non-gems & jewellery (gold, silver & precious metals) imports in March 2026 were $41.87 billion compared to $37.99 billion in March 2025. Non-petroleum, non-gems & jewellery (gold, silver & precious metals) imports in FY 2025-26 were $498.56 billion, compared to $454.59 billion in FY 2024-25. 

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 24299.70, up by 68.40 points or 0.28% after trading in a range of 24264.40 and 24400.95. There were 31 stocks advancing against 19 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Hindalco up by 2.94%, Trent up by 1.99%, Max Healthcare up by 1.63%, Adani Enterprises up by 1.61% and Eternal up by 1.57%. On the flip side, ONGC down by 1.25%, Titan down by 0.91%, Coal India down by 0.72%, Bharti Airtel down by 0.69% and Eicher Motors down by 0.68% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; Nikkei 225 surged 1490.76 points or 2.56% to 59,625.00, Taiwan Weighted added 359.17 points or 0.97% to 37,081.31, Shanghai Composite strengthened 15.7 points or 0.39% to 4,042.91, KOSPI increased 115.31 points or 1.89% to 6,206.70, Hang Seng advanced 440.68 points or 1.7% to 26,388.00 and Straits Times rose 0.24 points to 5,021.44. However, Jakarta Composite plunged 27.49 points or 0.36% to 7,596.10.