Stock Market Today Highlights: The Indian stock market rallied on Wednesday, April 1, following a surge in global markets, amid hopes that the US-Iran war in the Middle East can end soon. It comes after the US President Donald Trump said the Middle East conflict could end within three weeks, while Iran’s president said Tehran had “the necessary will” to bring the crisis to an end. The remarks boosted investor sentiment across the region, even as the dollar remained under pressure and Treasuries extended their gains.
The Sensex ended 1187 points or 1.65% to 73,132 while Nifty 50 rose 348 points or 1.56% to settle at 22,679.
In intra-day deals, the Sensex jumped over 2,000 points, or 2.8%, to the day’s high of 73,965, while the NSE counterpart Nifty 50 rose by more than 600 points, or 2.7%, to the day’s high of 22,941. Nifty Midcap 100 rose over 2% while Nifty Smallcap 100 advanced over 3% in today’s deals.
Investors earned ₹13 lakh crore as the overall market capitalisation of BSE-listed firms rose to ₹425 lakh crore from ₹412 lakh crore in the previous session.
Global Markets Today
Global equities moved higher as optimism grew that the Middle East war may be nearing an end, pushing Brent crude briefly below $100 per barrel and supporting bond prices, while the U.S. dollar recorded its sharpest drop in a week. The S&P 500 was set to gain 0.4%, building on its strongest daily advance since May, after U.S. President Donald Trump said he expected the conflict with Iran to end within two to three weeks. European markets rallied, with stocks rising 2%, while Asian equities surged 4.9%.
Crude oil prices remained volatile, with Brent falling as much as 5.4% before trimming losses, even as the Strait of Hormuz largely stayed shut and missile and drone attacks continued across the Gulf. Trump, who is scheduled to address the nation at 9 p.m. Eastern Time, said Iran could still reach a deal with the U.S., although he noted that such an agreement is not necessary for the war to conclude.
Among global markets, the Stoxx Europe 600 rose 2%, S&P 500 futures gained 0.4%, Nasdaq 100 futures climbed 0.6%, and Dow Jones futures advanced 0.5%. In Asia, the MSCI Asia Pacific Index jumped 4.9%, while the MSCI Emerging Markets Index rose 4.4%.
Stay tuned to this segment for live updates on the Indian stock market today.