Benchmarks traded sanguine in late afternoon session tracking positive cues from their Asian and European peers. The Asian equity markets were trading mostly in green, while European equity markets were trading higher amid hopes of a peace deal between Iran and United States and reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. Back home, sentiments remained upbeat as crude oil prices remained steady with Brent crude oil prices trading in the range of $94-95 a barrel. Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in its latest report has showed that India's outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) commitments surged by 27.47% to $7061.60 million in March 2026 as against $5,539.75 million in March 2025. In February 2026, OFDI commitments stood at $2965.77 million. According to the report, equity commitments decreased 43.14% to $1457.89 million in March 2026, from $2,563.89 million in March 2025. 

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 79213.08, up by 692.78 points or 0.88% after trading in a range of 78522.96 and 79310.89. There were 24 stocks advancing against 6 stocks declining on the index.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 2.21%, FMCG up by 1.45%, Bankex up by 1.40%, Telecom up by 1.07% and Consumer Discretionart up by 0.90%. Meanwhile, there were no losers on BSE sectoral index.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Trent up by 3.17%, Bajaj Finance up by 2.55%, ICICI Bank up by 2.43%, HDFC Bank up by 1.89% and Hindustan Unilever up by 1.72%. On the flip side, Bharat Electronics down by 1.67%, Tech Mahindra down by 0.74%, Titan Company down by 0.65%, Reliance Industries down by 0.45% and NTPC down by 0.26% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the United Nations (UN) Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) in its report titled ‘Economic and Social Survey of Asia and the Pacific 2026’ has said that India's economy is projected to grow at 6.4% in 2026 and 6.6% in 2027. It noted that economies in South and South-West Asia grew by 5.4% in 2025, compared to 5.2% in 2024, driven largely by strong growth in India. India's growth edged up to 7.4% in 2025, supported by robust consumption, especially from the rural economy along with goods and services tax rate cuts, and export front-loading ahead of the United States’ (US') tariffs. However, economic activities moderated in the second half of 2025 as exports to the US declined by 25% following the introduction of 50% tariffs in August 2025. The services sector remained a key growth driver. 

The report projected inflation for India at 4.4% in 2026 and 4.3% in 2027. It further said that Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflows to developing Asian and Pacific economies declined amid trade tensions and geopolitical uncertainty. After an increase of 0.6% in 2024, FDI to the region declined by 2% in 2025, even as global flows increased by 14%. Within the Asia-Pacific region, the countries that attracted the largest share of greenfield FDI in the first three quarters were India, Australia, the Republic of Korea and Kazakhstan with $50 billion, $30 billion, $25 billion and $21 billion in announced investments, respectively.

Additionally, it said that personal remittances, sent by Asian and Pacific workers employed outside of their home countries, continued to rise, cushioning the impact of vulnerable domestic employment conditions. Remittances have helped sustain the consumption of many households, but are facing headwinds. In India and the Philippines, about 40% of the transfers are used for essential spending, including medical expenses, of recipient households. However, as the world's largest remittance recipient of $137 billion in 2024, India could face a sizeable loss as the US has levied a 1% tax on all remittances since January 2026.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 24550.60, up by 185.75 points or 0.76% after trading in a range of 24354.90 and 24584.65. There were 36 stocks advancing against 14 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Nestle up by 4.85%, Trent up by 3.17%, Bajaj Finance up by 2.53%, ICICI Bank up by 2.37% and HDFC Bank up by 1.92%. On the flip side, SBI Life Insurance Company down by 3.60%, Bharat Electronics down by 1.65%, Dr. Reddy's Laboratories down by 1.05%, Jio Financial Services down by 0.98% and Titan Company down by 0.86% were the top losers.

Asian equity markets were trading mostly in green; Nikkei 225 surged 560.11 points or 0.94% to 59,385.00, Taiwan Weighted added 646.31 points or 1.72% to 37,605.11, Hang Seng advanced 163.93 points or 0.62% to 26,525.00, KOSPI increased 169.38 points or 2.65% to 6,388.47, Straits Times rose 4.29 points or 0.09% to 5,008.36 and Shanghai Composite strengthened 2.95 points or 0.07% to 4,085.08, while Jakarta Composite plunged 54.85 points or 0.73% to 7,539.26.

European equity markets were trading higher; UK’s FTSE 100 increased 12.16 points or 0.11% to 10,621.24, France’s CAC rose 21.65 points or 0.26% to 8,352.70 and Germany’s DAX gained 145.9 points or 0.59% to 24,563.70.