Sensex, Nifty pare losses; metal shares advance for 6th day
The domestic equity benchmarks pared all early losses and traded with minor gains in morning trade on Wednesday as investors assessed the impact of US strikes on Iran, which weighed on hopes of a peace deal and kept sentiment cautious. The Sensex and Nifty swung between gains and losses during the session. However, broader markets continued to outperform benchmark indices, indicating selective buying in midcap and smallcap stocks.
The Nifty traded above the 23,950 mark. Metal shares extended gains for sixth consecutive trading session.
At 10:30 ST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, added 121.96 points or 0.16% to 75,903.35. The Nifty 50 index rose 39.16 points or 0.16% to 23,952.76.
The broader market outperformed the frontline indices. The BSE 150 MidCap Index added 0.64% and the BSE 250 SmallCap Index jumped 0.54%.
The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 2,205 shares rose and 1,402 shares fell. A total of 231 shares were unchanged.
Buzzing Index:
The Nifty Metal index added 1.78% to 13,732.60. The index jumped 4.32% in the six consecutive trading session.
Hindalco Industries (up 3.78%), Welspun Corp (up 3.68%), National Aluminium Company (up 3.59%), APL Apollo Tubes (up 3.33%), Vedanta (up 2.23%), Hindustan Zinc (up 1.5%), NMDC (up 1.47%), Tata Steel (up 1.4%), Lloyds Metals & Energy (up 1.24%) and Steel Authority of India (up 1.04%) added.
Stocks in Spotlight:
KEC International rose 0.74%. The company announced that it has secured new orders worth Rs 1,303 crore across multiple business segments, including Transmission & Distribution (T&D), Civil, Renewables, and Cables & Conductors.
JK Tyre Industries jumped 5.62% after its consolidated net profit jumped 80.19% to Rs 177.99 crore in Q4 FY26 from Rs 98.78 crore in Q4 FY25. Revenue from operations increased 12.37% YoY to Rs 4223.44 crore in Q4 FY26.
AstraZeneca Pharma India tanked 5.82% after it reported 22.95% decline in consolidated net profit to Rs 44.88 crore in Q4 FY26 from Rs 58.25 crore in Q4 FY25. Revenue from operations climbed 20.42% YoY to Rs 578.61 crore in the quarter ended 31st March 2026.