Stock Market LIVE Updates: BSE Sensex closed at 77,664, down 852.49 points or 1.09 per cent.

As of 3:00 PM, the Nifty50 was trading 0.75 per cent or 181.85 points down at 24,196.25, and the Sensex was trading 0.94 per cent or 738.97 points down at 77,777.  

Stock Market LIVE Updates: Coal India arm BCCL has reported a 58.9 per cent decline in net profit at Rs 27.28 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2026 on the back of lower revenue. 

European markets traded mostly lower. Spain's IBEX 35 fell 1.29 per cent, the sharpest decline among the indices shown, while the FTSE 100 dropped 0.77 per cent and Germany's DAX slipped 0.54 per cent.

Across platforms, SIP participation in cryptocoins has surged 60-80 per cent year-on-year. Monthly active SIP mandates are also rising steadily. Read full report here

Indian markets are under pressure in Thursday's session as escalating tensions in the Middle East, FII selling, and rising crude prices have triggered a broad risk‑off move again. 

In a post on X, the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas said there is no proposal under consideration to increase retail fuel prices. Read full report here

The non-oil deficit remains deeply negative. This means Russia still relies heavily on energy exports to balance books. Read full report here

Invesco Mutual Fund today announced the launch of Invesco India BSE Sensex Index Fund (An open ended scheme replicating/tracking BSE Sensex Index) and Invesco India Nifty Bank Index Fund (An open ended scheme replicating/tracking Nifty Bank Index), designed to offer investors passive investment options across India's core equity and banking sector. 

The Nifty Auto fell the most among sectoral indices.

Larsen & Toubro's building and factories business vertical received orders worth in the range of Rs 1,000-Rs 2,500 crore. The vertical received orders from Oberoi Realty for the construction of seven high-rise residential towers in Gurugram, National Capital Region, Larsen & Toubro said in the exchange filing. 

The India Volatility Index jumped 4.5 per cent to 19.12. The index was 3.16 per cent higher at 18.9 as of 9:36 AM

India's New Labour Codes: A standard workweek is 48 hours. Work beyond that qualifies for overtime. Read full report here

THE THESIS

With Brent whipsawing above $100 on Strait of Hormuz attacks before easing to ~$98, US indices red on Iran uncertainty, and India VIX cooling but still elevated, the conviction tilt is unambiguously defensive-quality. The book is leaning into FMCG with pricing power and large-cap industrial compounders - not chasing risk-on cyclicals into a geopolitical shock window. GIFT Nifty's flat-positive print suggests a range-bound tape where stock selection, not beta, drives returns.

WHERE WE'RE CONCENTRATED

The cluster is overwhelmingly consumer staples and premium quality industrials, with selective metals exposure as the only real cyclical bet. Financials are conspicuously light. The thesis breaks if crude collapses on a sudden US-Iran de-escalation - that flips rotation back toward rate-sensitives and discretionary, leaving defensives as relative laggards.

CONVICTION PICKS

Britannia HIGHEST CONVICTION

FMCG defensive with pricing power - ideal for a crude-shock, inflation-risk tape.

Astral HIGHEST CONVICTION

Large-cap quality industrial capturing the capex-quality rotation as global beta turns unreliable.

Radico Khaitan

Premium spirits franchise - consumption resilience without auto or discretionary fragility.

Larsen & Toubro

Capex bellwether - the cleanest expression of India's investment cycle when global beta is unreliable.

JSW Steel

The lone cyclical conviction - the metals bid persists despite crude noise.

ONE THING TO WATCH

Brent settling. A break below $95 reopens cyclical rotation and pressures this defensive book; a sustained move above $102 validates it decisively.

Downgrade India to underweight, from neutral. Given India's reliance on imported energy and the potential knock-on effects on inflation and domestic demand, we are concerned about the durability of the ongoing earnings recovery. 

Brent oil comfortably crosses $100 per barrel amid no ​clarity on resolving the conflict between the US and Iran.

Reuters poll of economists showed the U.S. Federal Reserve will likely wait at least six months before cutting interest rates ⁠this year as war-driven energy shocks reignite already-elevated inflation.

Traders now see ⁠a 23% chance of a 25-basis-point Fed rate cut in December, down from 28% a week ago. Before ‌the war, there were expectations of two reductions for this year.

Infosys, Adani Energy Solutions, Tata Capital, Union Bank of India, Aditya Birla Sun Life AMC, and LTM are scheduled to announce their earnings report for the fourth quarter (Q4FY26) on Thursday.

Gold prices were largely steady in volatile trading on Thursday, as investors awaited clarity on potential peace talks between the United States and Iran, following fresh signs of strain between the two nations.

As many as 19 states now report female investor participation above the national average. More than 3 crore demat accounts are operated by women. Read full report here

At the close on Wednesday (April 22), the total market cap of all 30 BSE Sensex companies stood at Rs 4,69,36,799.