Indian equity benchmarks made a positive start of a holiday shortened week tracking gains in Asian peers. Sensex and Nifty were trading higher with gains of over half a percent each in early deals on Monday on account of bargain hunting after three consecutive sessions of selling. Some optimism came as the government said that the three-day trade talks between Indian and US officials concluded, with both sides agreeing to stay engaged to sustain the momentum ahead. Traders took note of report that India and New Zealand are set to sign their free trade agreement on April 27, aimed at doubling bilateral trade between the two countries. Besides, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said India’s forex reserves jumped by $2.362 billion to $703.308 billion during the week ended April 17. However, upside remained capped amid concerns around rising crude oil prices and continued foreign investor selling. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) have remained net sellers for five consecutive sessions. On Friday alone, FIIs sold equities worth Rs 8,827 crore.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly higher, with Japan and South Korea hitting record highs, as some support came from a strong U.S. lead, where the Nasdaq and S&P 500 closed at fresh highs, lifting sentiment toward chipmakers and AI-linked stocks across Asia. Investor focus is on the Bank of Japan, which will conclude its two-day meeting on Tuesday with its rate decision and quarterly outlook report. Back home, in stock specific development, Sun Pharma surged after it reportedly announced a major acquisition of US-listed Organon. 

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 77117.48, up by 453.27 points or 0.59% after trading in a range of 76754.20 and 77210.85. There were 26 stocks advancing against 4 stocks declining on the index.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Healthcare up by 1.97%, IT up by 1.65%, Metal up by 1.61%, Realty up by 1.50% and Basic Materials up by 1.41%, while there was no loser on the BSE sectoral front.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Sun Pharma up by 5.97%, Adani Ports & SEZ up by 2.88%, Tech Mahindra up by 1.79%, Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 1.78% and Infosys up by 1.74%. On the flip side, Axis Bank down by 4.14%, Bharat Electronics down by 0.49%, Reliance Industries down by 0.20% and Bajaj Finance down by 0.16% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, with an aim of fast-tracking the trade pact, the Commerce and Industry Ministry has said that three-day trade talks between Indian and US officials concluded on April 23, 2026 with both sides agreeing to remain engaged to sustain the momentum. During the discussions, the two sides covered several areas, including market access, non-tariff measures, technical barriers to trade, customs and trade facilitation, investment promotion, economic security alignment, and digital trade.

The ministry stated ‘The meetings were conducted in a constructive and positive spirit, with meaningful and forward-looking discussions enabling progress on key matters. Both sides agreed to remain engaged to maintain this momentum as they move forward.’ India and the US had earlier issued a joint statement on February 7, 2026, finalising a framework for an interim trade agreement focused on reciprocal and mutually beneficial trade.

The framework reaffirmed both countries’ commitment to the broader India-US Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) negotiations. The Indian delegation visited Washington, D.C., for an in-person round of meetings with their US counterparts to finalise the details of the interim agreement and advance negotiations under the broader BTA.

Meanwhile, India’s outbound shipments to the US grew marginally by 0.92 per cent to $87.3 billion during the last fiscal year (FY26), while imports rose by 15.95 per cent to $52.9 billion. As a result, the trade surplus declined to $34.4 billion in 2025-26 from $40.89 billion in 2024-25.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 24045.40, up by 147.45 points or 0.62% after trading in a range of 23936.20 and 24067.50. There were 45 stocks advancing against 5 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Sun Pharma up by 6.62%, Adani Ports & SEZ up by 3.14%, JSW Steel up by 2.74%, Tech Mahindra up by 2.10% and Wipro up by 2.03%. On the flip side, Axis Bank down by 3.86%, Shriram Finance down by 3.57%, Bharat Electronics down by 0.62%, Reliance Industries down by 0.23% and Bajaj Finance down by 0.22% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; Taiwan Weighted jumped 1090.41 points or 2.8% to 40,022.81, Nikkei 225 surged 1063.82 points or 1.78% to 60,780.00, KOSPI strengthened 158.97 points or 2.45% to 6,634.60, Hang Seng advanced 33.93 points or 0.13% to 26,012.00, Jakarta Composite gained 24.58 points or 0.34% to 7,154.07 and Shanghai Composite added 5.98 points or 0.15% to 4,085.88, while Straits Times was down by 18.83 points or 0.38% to 4,904.03.