Indian equity benchmarks snapped their three-day winning streak, with both the Nifty and Sensex closing near the day’s low points, weighed down by sell-off in the IT sector stocks. Markets made a negative start and remained under pressure throughout the session, as traders stayed cautious amid rising geopolitical tensions following a lack of progress in US-Iran talks and continued uncertainty surrounding the outcome of the next round of negotiations.  

Some of the important factors in trade:

Foreign fund outflows: Sentiment remained downbeat due to foreign fund outflows, with Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) remaining net sellers, recording outflows of Rs 1,918.99 crore on April 21, 2026.

India’s fiscal deficit may rise to 4.5% of GDP: Traders remained concerned after research firm BMI, part of Fitch Solutions, said India's fiscal deficit is likely to breach the budgeted target for current fiscal and hit 4.5% of GDP as the government's policy response to the West Asia conflict could strain public finances.

Government extends interest subvention to boost iron & steel exporters: Traders failed to take any sense of relief with reports that the government has extended interest subvention benefits to micro and small enterprises exporting 167 specific iron and steel product categories, to support the trading community, which is reeling under the impact of global uncertainties.

On the global front: European markets were trading mostly in red after U.S. President Donald Trump announced a unilateral extension of the ceasefire amid renewed conflict in the Strait of Hormuz. Asian markets ended mixed due to lingering uncertainty surrounding U.S.-Iran peace talks.

The BSE Sensex ended at 78516.49, down by 756.84 points or 0.95% after trading in a range of 78442.30 and 79031.03. There were 10 stocks advancing against 20 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Utilities up by 2.48%, Power up by 1.97%, Capital Goods up by 1.11%, FMCG up by 0.98% and Industrials up by 0.81%, while IT down by 3.66%, TECK down by 3.01%, Auto down by 0.59%, Bankex down by 0.39% and Telecom down by 0.14% were the top losing indices on BSE. (Provisional)

The top gainers on the Sensex were Hindustan Unilever up by 2.66%, NTPC up by 2.31%, Eternal up by 1.10%, Ultratech Cement up by 1.02% and Asian Paints up by 0.74%. On the flip side, HCL Technologies down by 10.78%, Infosys down by 3.42%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 3.14%, TCS down by 2.89% and Tech Mahindra down by 2.42% were the top losers. (Provisional)

Meanwhile, with US initiating the process of refunding reciprocal tariffs starting April 20, the think tank Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) has suggested that Indian exporters should proactively engage with American buyers to seek a share of the refunded duties. It pointed that the engagement will be important as the refunded payments go only to US importers, and exporters have no legal right to claim them. Therefore, Indian exporters must negotiate with US buyers to take the benefit and seek a share of refunds where earlier prices included tariff costs.

In order to take benefit of these refunds, GTRI suggested that exporters can reopen contracts, add rebate-sharing clauses, ask for price revisions or credit notes, and use invoices and tariff data to show how costs were absorbed. Further, it noted that exporters with stronger bargaining power, especially in textiles and engineering goods, may secure better terms in future orders. Besides, it highlighted that out of total refunds worth around $166 billion, refunds worth about $12 billion are linked to India. Out of these, textiles and apparel may account for about $4 billion, engineering goods another $4 billion, and chemicals about $2 billion, with smaller shares from other sectors.

In April 2025, the US imposed reciprocal tariff on its trading partners with tariffs starting at 10%. Further, it raised the tariffs on India to 25% by August 7, 2025 and to 50% by August 28, which remained at that level until early February 2026. On February 20, the US Supreme Court ruling invalidated the entire framework of Trump tariffs, making the tariffs legally void and triggering refunds. Further, to get the refunds, US importers must file detailed claims online with shipment data, tariff lines and proof of payment.

The CNX Nifty ended at 24378.10, down by 198.50 points or 0.81% after trading in a range of 24352.90 and 24515.95. There were 19 stocks advancing against 31 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The top gainers on Nifty were Tata Consumer Products up by 3.33%, Hindustan Unilever up by 2.35%, NTPC up by 2.28%, Hindalco up by 1.79% and Tata Motors Passenger up by 1.74%. On the flip side, HCL Technologies down by 10.77%, Infosys down by 3.38%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 3.00%, TCS down by 2.88% and Tech Mahindra down by 2.39% were the top losers. (Provisional)

European markets were trading lower; Germany’s DAX lost 73.67 points or 0.3% to 24,197.20, France’s CAC fell 23.92 points or 0.29% to 8,211.80 and UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 12.11 points or 0.12% to 10,485.98.