Benchmark stock indices Sensex and Nifty closed nearly 1% lower on Thursday (April 30, 2026) as crude oil prices, weak global trends and foreign fund outflows weighed on investor sentiment.

The 30-share BSE Sensex tumbled 582.86 points or 0.75% to settle at 76,913.50. During the day, it plunged 1,237.5 points, or 1.59%, to 76,258.86, but recovered some of the losses in the second half of the session.

The 50-share NSE Nifty dived 180.10 points or 0.74% to end at 23,997.55.

Among the 30-Sensex firms, Eternal, Hindustan Unilever, Tata Steel, Larsen&Toubro, UltraTech Cement and Mahindra & Mahindra were the major laggards.

Sun Pharma, Infosys, Bajaj Finance and Adani Ports were among the gainers.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, traded 1.52% lower at $116.2 per barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth ₹2,468.42 crore on Wednesday (April 29, 2026), according to exchange data.

“Indian markets closed a volatile session with a clear shift in intra-day sentiment, where early panic selling was gradually absorbed, leading to a disciplined recovery from the lows. The Nifty-50 opened with a sharp gap down near the crucial 24,000 support, reflecting weak global cues and a risk-off undertone.

“Escalating geopolitical tensions in West Asia and Brent crude surging above USD 120 triggered concerns around inflation, currency stability, and margin pressures. This was further aggravated by the rupee hitting record lows, accelerating FII outflows and weakening overall sentiment,” Hariprasad K., Research Analyst and Founder, Livelong Wealth, said.

However, the second half marked a notable turnaround, he said. In broader markets, the BSE MidCap Select index dropped 0.84% and the BSE SmallCap Select index declined 0.58%. Among sectoral indices, metal tanked the most by 2.13%, followed by PSU Bank (1.66%), Realty (1.44%), Commodities (1.36%), FMCG (1.13%), Financial Services (1.08%) and Industrials (1.05%).

“The decline was primarily driven by a sharp surge in crude oil prices, which spiked to multi-year highs amid escalating geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and concerns over supply disruptions through the Strait of Hormuz. “This raised fears of inflationary pressures and macroeconomic instability for oil-importing economies like India. Weak global cues, a sharp depreciation in the rupee to record low levels, and continued foreign institutional outflows further weighed on sentiment,” Ajit Mishra – SVP, Research, Religare Broking Ltd, said.

Information Technology, Telecommunication and Focused IT were the winners. “The rise in oil prices, along with persistent FII outflows and weak global cues, led to broad-based weakness across sectors. However, the market witnessed a partial recovery in the latter half, supported by value buying at lower levels and selective institutional participation,” Gaurav Garg, Research Analyst at Lemonn Markets Desk, said.

A total of 2,532 stocks declined, while 1,649 advanced and 156 remained unchanged on the BSE. In Asian markets, South Korea’s benchmark Kospi, Japan’s Nikkei 225 index and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index ended over 1% lower, while Shanghai’s SSE Composite index settled marginally higher.

Markets in Europe were trading mixed. U.S. markets ended mostly lower on Wednesday (April 29, 2026).

“Brent crude crossed the $120 per barrel mark for the first time in four years, intensifying inflation concerns and pressuring global risk assets. In India, rising oil prices weighed on the INR and revived worries about capital outflows and widening deficits, given the economy’s heavy reliance on crude imports.

“The Fed kept rates unchanged but maintained a firm policy stance, supporting the dollar and tightening conditions for emerging markets. Domestically, autos, banks, metals, and real estate led the decline, while IT and pharma saw selective defensive buying,” Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Limited, said.

Stock and forex markets will remain closed on Friday (May 1) for Maharashtra Day.

Published – April 30, 2026 06:35 pm IST

A man walks past the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) building in Mumbai. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters

From the 30-Sensex firms, ICICI Bank dropped 3% after its consolidated profit for the December quarter declined 2.68% to ₹12,537.98 crore, hit by an RBI-mandated ₹1,283-crore provision for agricultural loans wrongly classified as priority sector advances. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters

People walk past the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) building in Mumbai.
| Photo Credit: REUTERS

Domestic equity indices Sensex and Nifty climbed in early trade on Friday (September 20, 2024) tracking a rally in global markets after the US Federal Reserve cut its benchmark interest rate after more than four years.

The 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 439.75 points to 83,624.55 in early trade. The NSE Nifty climbed 132.05 points to 25,547.85.

From the 30 Sensex firms, JSW Steel, Tata Steel, Mahindra & Mahindra, Larsen & Toubro, Bajaj Finserv and Maruti were the biggest gainers.

NTPC, Titan, Tata Motors, Asian Paints, Tech Mahindra and Axis Bank were among the laggards.

In Asian markets, Seoul, Tokyo and Hong Kong were trading in the green while Shanghai traded lower.

The US markets ended remarkably higher on Thursday.

“The Dow and S&P 500 setting yet another record highs yesterday is indicative of the strength of this ongoing global bull run led by the mother market US,” V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Financial Services, said.

The BSE benchmark Sensex climbed 236.57 points or 0.29 per cent to settle at a lifetime high of 83,184.80 on Thursday. During the day, it jumped 825.38 points or 0.99 per cent to scale a new all-time intra-day high of 83,773.61.

The Nifty gained 38.25 points or 0.15 per cent to 25,415.80. During the day, it surged 234.4 points or 0.92 per cent to hit a fresh intra-day peak of 25,611.95.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 2,547.53 crore on Thursday, according to exchange data.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude dipped 0.17 per cent to USD 74.75 a barrel.

India’s blue-chip Sensex rose to a record high on April 8. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters

India’s blue-chip Sensex rose to a record high on April 8, while Nifty 50 inched towards a fresh all-time high, led by metals on positive business updates from Tata Steel and JSW Steel.

The NSE Nifty 50 was up 0.34% to 22,588.70 as of 9:20 a.m., while the S&P BSE Sensex added 0.35% to 74,503.11.

Metal index rose 0.8%. Tata Steel and JSW Steel rose 2.2% and 1% and were among the top three Nifty 50 gainers.

FPIs pumped ₹3.4 lakh crore into the capital market, according to data available with the depositories. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Foreign investors made a strong return by injecting more than ₹2 lakh crore into Indian equities in 2023-24, driven by optimism surrounding the country’s robust economic fundamentals amidst a challenging global environment.

Looking forward to 2025, Bharat Dhawan, Managing Partner at Mazars in India, said that the outlook is cautiously optimistic and anticipates sustained Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPI) inflows supported by progressive policy reforms, economic stability, and attractive investment avenues. “However, we remain mindful of global geopolitical influences that may introduce intermittent volatility, emphasising the importance of strategic planning and agility in navigating market fluctuations,” he added.

The outlook for FY25 from an FPI perspective continues to remain strong,  Naveen KR, smallcase Manager and Senior Director at Windmill Capital, said. In the current fiscal 2023-24, FPIs have made a net investment of around ₹2.08 lakh crore in the Indian equity markets and ₹1.2 lakh crore in the debt market. Collectively, they pumped ₹3.4 lakh crore into the capital market, as per data available with the depositories.

The dazzling resurgence came following an outflow from equities in the preceding two financial years. In 2022-23, Indian equities witnessed a net outflow of ₹37,632 crore by FPIs on aggressive rate hikes by the central banks globally. Before this, they pulled out a massive ₹1.4 lakh crore. However, in 2020-2021, FPIs made a record investment of ₹2.74 lakh crore.

The flows from foreign investors were largely driven by factors such as inflation and interest rate scenarios in developed markets such as the US and UK, currency movement, the trajectory of crude oil prices, geopolitical scenario, and the health of the domestic economy among others,  Himanshu Srivastava, Associate Director – Manager Research, Morningstar Investment Research India, said. “Investors increasingly favoured Indian equities, drawn by the market’s demonstrated resilience during uncertain periods. Compared to other similar markets, India’s economy stood out as more robust and stable amidst global economic turbulence, further attracting foreign investment,” he said.

FPIs increase investments in debt market

After withdrawing funds in the preceding fiscal, FPIs poured a staggering ₹1.2 lakh crore into the debt market too, marking a noteworthy shift in their capital flow. They took out funds to the tune of ₹8,938 crore in FY23.

FPIs’ debt investments have been extremely robust this fiscal due to attractive yields on Indian sovereign debt relative to the US treasury. This has been supported by strong macros in the form of the robust growth outlook for the Indian economy, stable inflation and a stable currency, and the stated objective of the Government to improve its fiscal deficit, Nitin Raheja, Executive Director, Julius Baer India, said. Additionally, the upcoming inclusion of Indian bonds in JP Morgan’s index has led to an inflow in advance into the Indian debt markets. Further, the expected global tapering in policy rates should make bond yields in emerging economies look even more attractive to investors making this trend of inflows into Indian debt more sustainable, he added.

Overall, FPIs started the year 2023-24 on a positive note in April and incessantly purchased equities till August on the resilience of the Indian economy amid an uncertain global macro backdrop. During these five months, they brought in ₹1.62 lakh crore.  After this, FPIs turned net sellers in September and the bearish stance continued in October, with an outflow of over ₹39,000 crore in these two months. However, FPIs became net investors in November and the optimism persisted in December too, when they purchased equity to the tune of Rs 66,135 crore.  Again, they turned sellers and pulled out Rs 25,743 crore in January.

This could be on account of China opening up after the lockdown. This led FPIs to pull out their investments from other emerging markets like India and divert them toward China. However, China struggled to sustain investor interest. Moreover, the fiscal year ended on a positive note as FPIs bought shares worth over Rs 35,000 crore in March.