Indian equity benchmarks ended marginally lower on Thursday as investors remained cautious ahead of key Q4 earnings announcements. Markets made a positive start, amid improved global cues and easing geopolitical concerns, following reports that Iran may allow shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, which helped offset worries about supply disruptions. However, indices slipped into negative territory during the afternoon session due to profit booking at higher levels. Markets later recovered from the day’s lows but ultimately closed slightly in red.

Some of the important factors in trade:

India’s merchandise exports dropped 7.44% to $38.92 billion in March: Sentiment remained subdued as government data showed that the country's merchandise exports dropped 7.44% to $38.92 billion in March. Imports too dipped by 6.51% to $59.59 billion in March, reflecting disruptions in major trade routes like the Strait of Hormuz due to the conflict in West Asia.

Unemployment in India grows slightly to 5.1% in March: Some cautiousness also came as the government data showed that the unemployment rate (UR) for individuals aged 15 and above rose slightly to 5.1% in March, up from 4.9% in February, mainly due to higher joblessness in urban areas.

India, UK FTA likely to come into force from May: Traders took note of Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal’s statement that India and the UK Free Trade agreement (FTA), signed in July last year, is likely to come into force from May.

On the global front: European markets were trading in green, while Asian markets ended mostly higher, amidst hopes of a peace deal and further easing in the Middle East tensions.

The BSE Sensex ended at 77988.68, down by 122.56 points or 0.16% after trading in a range of 77674.93 and 78730.32. There were 15 stocks advancing against 15 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 1.49%, Utilities up by 1.37%, Industrials up by 1.17%, Basic Materials up by 1.11% and Capital Goods up by 1.02%, while Bankex down by 0.32%, Telecom down by 0.27%, Oil & Gas down by 0.24%, Auto down by 0.22% and Energy down by 0.15% were the top losing indices on BSE. (Provisional)

The top gainers on the Sensex were Trent up by 2.81%, Eternal up by 2.64%, Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone up by 1.85%, Bharat Electronics up by 1.79% and Larsen & Toubro up by 1.05%. On the flip side, HDFC Bank down by 1.90%, Titan Company down by 1.45%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 0.99%, Bharti Airtel down by 0.96% and Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 0.84% were the top losers. (Provisional)

Meanwhile, the Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal has said that India's exports and imports to the West Asia region fell by over 50 per cent in March 2026 due to ongoing logistical disruptions triggered by the US-Israel attack on Iran. He said while India’s exports to West Asia dipped by 57.95 per cent in March, imports from the region also declined 51.64 per cent due to the conflict. A joint US-Israel military operation against Iran in February has led to temporary closure of a key sea trading route - Strait of Hormuz. It is a key waterway (33 km wide) for shipments from India to the Middle East or west Asian nations that include the UAE, Oman, Iran, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.

Agrawal noted that India normally exports goods worth about $6 billion every month to the region, but in March it was only about $2.5 billion. Exports fell by around $3.5 billion in March to that region. The main five sectors that have recorded dip in shipments include gems and jewellery, engineering goods, electronic items, petroleum products and rice. 

He said ‘logistical challenges would pose difficulties for Indian exports but our export industry is going to adapt, and we are going to look at new markets also.’ He expressed hope that whatever India was not able to send or sell to the Middle East because of these logistical challenges, exporters will be able to diversify to other markets. He said ‘because of this, recalibration of supply chains does take place in such kind of crisis. It's not only India-Middle East logistics challenge, it's a world-Middle East logistics challenge that we are anticipating’.

The CNX Nifty ended at 24196.75, down by 34.55 points or 0.14% after trading in a range of 24102.80 and 24400.95. There were 24 stocks advancing against 26 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The top gainers on Nifty were Adani Enterprises up by 3.06%, Hindalco up by 2.81%, Trent up by 2.64%, Eternal up by 2.56% and Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone up by 2.20%. On the flip side, HDFC Bank down by 1.78%, ONGC down by 1.69%, HDFC Life Insurance down by 1.40%, Titan Company down by 1.34% and Apollo Hospital down by 1.16% were the top losers. (Provisional)

European markets were trading higher; France’s CAC rose 59.23 points or 0.72% to 8,333.80, Germany’s DAX gained 120.5 points or 0.5% to 24,187.20 and UK’s FTSE 100 increased 46.16 points or 0.44% to 10,605.74.