Indian equity benchmarks ended lower on Tuesday as traders remained cautious ahead of the Nifty monthly F&O expiry. After making a negative start, soon indices turned positive, led by strong gains in metals, and oil & gas stocks. However, in afternoon session, markets erased all gains and settled lower amid continued foreign fund outflows, along with ongoing uncertainty over the US-Iran conflict and prolonged supply concerns from the Strait of Hormuz.

Some of the important factors in trade:

Continued foreign fund outflows: Some cautiousness came amid foreign fund outflows. Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) extended their selling streak and offloaded equities worth Rs 1,151.48 crore on April 27.

Piyush Goyal discusses ways to boost shipments, enhance utilisation of FTAs:  Investors overlooked the report that Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal held discussions with exporters and representatives of industry associations on ways to boost the country's shipments and enhance utilisation of free trade pacts (FTAs). 

Trade pact with EU, US in next few months: Traders paid no attention to Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal’s statement that the free trade agreement with New Zealand is the seventh such pact signed under his tenure in the past three-and-a-half years and two more agreements with the European Union and the US are expected in the coming months.

On the global front: European markets were trading in the green ahead of the upcoming Federal Reserve decision. Asian markets closed mostly lower amid uncertainty over the Iran conflict and surging energy prices.

The BSE Sensex ended at 76886.91, down by 416.72 points or 0.54% after trading in a range of 76741.06 and 77493.53. There were 11 stocks advancing against 19 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Energy up by 1.75%, Telecom up by 1.52%, Oil & Gas up by 1.50%, Metal up by 0.49% and Capital Goods up by 0.43%, while Bankex down by 1.61%, Auto down by 0.98%, IT down by 0.78%, Consumer Discretionary down by 0.56% and Realty down by 0.55% were the top losing indices on BSE. (Provisional)

The top gainers on the Sensex were Reliance Industries up by 1.98%, Bharti Airtel up by 1.74%, Eternal up by 1.37%, Tech Mahindra up by 1.15% and Tata Steel up by 1.08%. On the flip side, Maruti Suzuki down by 2.61%, Axis Bank down by 2.60%, Interglobe Aviation down by 2.48%, HCL Technologies down by 2.34% and Hindustan Unilever down by 2.03% were the top losers. (Provisional)

Meanwhile, NITI Aayog in its report titled 'DPI@2047 for Viksit Bharat-A Strategic Roadmap to Enable Non-linear Inclusive Socio-economic Growth’ has said that India’s digital public infrastructure (DPI) initiatives are projected to contribute 4% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by 2030, up from the current 1%. It said that India is at a ‘once-in-a-generation inflection point’.

The report recommends DPI 2.0 to be executed through decentralised state led initiatives with Government of India and NITI Aayog play the role of catalysts. It also recommends 2-year iterative cycles, with each cycle focusing on a specific set of sectoral transformations. Year 1 of each cycle will focus on working with few champion States/UTs on lighthouse pilot implementations for selected transformations to figure out exemplar pathways and demonstrate impact. Year 2 can focus on building ecosystem capacity and scaling the adoption of exemplar pathways figured out in year 1 across states. It noted that engagement of global partners as collaborators in state-led transformations as per 2026-27 plan will be important to figure out a structured global engagement model.

Outgoing NITI Aayog Vice Chairman Suman Bery emphasized that India's aspiration to realise a Viksit Bharat by 2047 necessitates development pathways that are at once inclusive, scalable, and capable of delivering broad-based gains in productivity across the economy. He said over the past decade, DPI has demonstrated the transformative potential of shared digital foundations in expanding access, enhancing service delivery, deepening inclusion, and catalysing innovation at a population scale. 

The CNX Nifty ended at 23995.70, down by 97.00 points or 0.40% after trading in a range of 23957.05 and 24181.80. There were 18 stocks advancing against 32 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The top gainers on Nifty were ONGC up by 5.39%, Adani Enterprises up by 3.94%, Coal India up by 3.29%, Eternal up by 1.73% and Nestle up by 1.71%. On the flip side, Interglobe Aviation down by 2.60%, Axis Bank down by 2.58%, Maruti Suzuki down by 2.50%, Shriram Finance down by 2.30% and HCL Technologies down by 2.30% were the top losers. (Provisional)

European markets were trading higher; UK’s FTSE 100 increased 47.92 points or 0.46% to 10,369.01, France’s CAC rose 28.68 points or 0.35% to 8,170.60 and Germany’s DAX gained 40.27 points or 0.17% to 24,123.80.