The key equity benchmarks ended in sideways trend, as market participants monitored Prime Minster Narendra Modi's visit to Israel. The visit comes amid heightened geopolitical tensions in the region, U.S. warnings, and evolving global diplomatic dynamics, adding a layer of caution to market sentiment.

The Nifty briefly slipped into negative territory amid volatility surrounding the monthly F&O expiry before recovering marginally in the final hour to close little changed. Nifty ended near the 25,500 level.

The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex shed 27.46 points or 0.03% to 82,248.61. The Nifty 50 index rose 14.05 points or 0.06% to 25,496.55.

The broader market outperformed the frontline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rallied 0.55% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index added 0.07%. The market breadth was positive.

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, dropped 3.15% to 13.06.

PM Modi Visit to Israel:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Israel comes against the backdrop of ongoing India'Israel free trade agreement talks aimed at enhancing trade and investment between the two countries

Israeli President Isaac Herzog described India as 'an essential part of a great future for the Middle East', while emphasising the growing importance of India-Israel cooperation during his bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi as part of the latter's two-day state visit to the country.

Numbers to Track:

The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal paper rose 0.07% to 6.687 compared with the previous session close of 6.682.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 90.9400 compared with its close of 90.9100 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 2 April 2026 settlement fell 1.16% to Rs 159,273.

The US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was up 0.10% to 97.76.

The United States 10-year bond yield shed 0.05% to 4.047.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for April 2026 settlement declined $1.09 or 1.54% to $70.85 a barrel.

Global Markets:

The US Dow Jones index futures are currently down by 65 points, signaling a weak opening for US stocks today.

European stocks traded mixed on Thursday as investors digested a deluge of regional corporate earnings as well as numbers from chip giant Nvidia on Wall Street.

Asian markets ended mixed, with South Korean and Japanese stocks hitting record highs Wednesday, after a tech-driven rally on Wall Street that was fueled by easing concerns around artificial intelligence-led disruption to select industries.

U.S. equities rose on Tuesday, led by gains in Advanced Micro Devices and software stocks, as investors' fears around artificial intelligence disruption to certain industries eased.

The S&P 500 advanced 0.77% to close at 6,890.07, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 1.04% and settled at 22,863.68. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 370.44 points, or 0.76%, and ended at 49,174.50.

Shares of AMD jumped 8.8% after Meta Platforms announced a multiyear deal with the semiconductor company. The new partnership entails deploying up to 6 gigawatts of AMD's graphics processing units for AI data centers. Meta will also invest in AMD through a performance-based warrant for up to 160 million shares of the chipmaker.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Sundaram Clayton surged 8.51% after the company's board approved the appointment of R Venkatesh as chief executive officer (CEO) with effect from 1 April 2026. b The development comes after board approved the resignation of Vivek S Joshi as CEO with effect from 31st march 2026, due to personal reasons.

Aurobindo Pharma added 0.62%. The company announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, Eugia Pharma Specialities, has received final approval from the US Food & Drug Administration (USFDA) to manufacture and market Everolimus tablets.

Capillary Technologies India declined 1.19%. The company has announced the acquisition of Session M Inc., a U.S.-based loyalty and customer engagement platform, from payments giant Mastercard Inc. in an all-cash deal valued at approximately $20 million.

Alembic Pharmaceuticals shed 0.79%. The company announced that it has received final approval from the US Food & Drug Administration (USFDA) for its abbreviated new drug application (ANDA), Lamotrigine Orally Disintegrating Tablets USP, 25 mg, 50 mg, 100 mg, and 200 mg.

Balu Forge Industries hit an upper circuit of 10% after it has entered into a legally binding memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the supply of empty artillery shells from its greenfield manufacturing facility in Belgaum, Karnataka.

Tejas Networks soared 16.07% after the company announced that it has signed an agreement with NEC Corporation to manufacture and supply 5G massive MIMO radios.

E2E Networks added 1.66% after the company announced that its board has approved the opening of the issue of qualified institutional placement (QIP) of equity shares.

Praveg slipped 0.82%. The company has received a letter of award (LoA) from the Directorate of Tourism, Government of Meghalaya, for the development, operation and maintenance of luxury cottages at Umiam in Meghalaya.

Diamond Power Infrastructure advanced 2.89% after the company announced that it has secured an order worth Rs 93.08 crore from KPI Green Energy for the supply of power cables.

Dynacons Systems & Solutions rallied 3.68% after it has secured a contract worth Rs 108.88 crore from Punjab & Sind Bank for the supply, implementation and management of on-premises private cloud infrastructure.

IPO Update:

Omnitech Engineering received bids for24,51,900 shares as against 1,89,09,890 shares on offer , according to stock exchange data at 16:27 IST on Thursday (26 February 2026). The issue was subscribed 0.13 times.

The issue opened for bidding on 25 February 2026 and it will close on 27 February 2026. The price band of the IPO is fixed between Rs 216 and 227 per share.

PNGS Reva Diamond Jewellery received bids for 69,64,352 shares as against 57,06,235 shares on offer, according to stock exchange data at 16:27 IST on Thursday (26 February 2026). The issue was subscribed 1.17 times.

The issue opened for bidding on 24 February 2026 and it will close on 26 February 2026. The price band of the IPO is fixed between Rs 367 and 386 per share.

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