The Indian equity benchmarks showed mixed performance on Tuesday, April 28, with the SENSEX declining 208.84 points to 77,094.79 and the NIFTY50 dipping 42.8 points to 24,049.90 in opening trade. According to The Hindu, the market witnessed significant volatility with Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, trading 0.99% higher at $109.3 per barrel, adding to investor concerns. The subdued performance was attributed to surging oil prices and foreign fund outflows that unnerved investors, creating a cautious trading environment across major indices.
PSU banks faced significant pressure following new regulatory developments, with State Bank of India, Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, and ICICI Bank among the major decliners. As reported by The Hindu, from the 30-Sensex firms, State Bank of India, Eternal, UltraTech Cement, InterGlobe Aviation, Trent and Axis Bank were among the biggest laggards in opening trade. The banking sector weakness was attributed to RBI introducing new rules for asset classification, which created uncertainty among investors. This regulatory development overshadowed the previous day's strong performance of banking stocks like Kotak Mahindra Bank and Axis Bank, which had gained 1.27% and 0.92% respectively in the earlier session.
Bank of Maharashtra delivered strong Q4 FY25 results with net profit of ₹5,520 crore, up 36% YoY, driven by 18% credit growth and stable NIMs at 4%. The bank's GNPA improved to 1.74% while CASA rebounded to 53.28%. Management has guided for 17% loan growth, 3.75% NIM, and <2% GNPA in FY26, as reported by Quartr. These results demonstrate the bank's operational strength and growth trajectory despite the broader market challenges facing the PSU banking sector.
Despite the overall market weakness, several stocks continued to show resilience with UltraTech Cement Ltd emerging as a standout performer with a 2.26% gain to ₹12,282.00, followed by NTPC Ltd which surged 0.93% to ₹414.00. Coal India Ltd also posted strong gains with a 0.82% increase to ₹456.20, while Max Healthcare Institute Ltd rose 0.81% to ₹1,018.00. These stocks outperformed broader indices, attracting investor interest and heavy trading volumes, as reported by ET Now.
The domestic market weakness aligned with broader Asian market trends, with Japan's Nikkei falling 0.6%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng declining 0.54%, and China's Shanghai Composite dropping 0.11%. However, South Korea's KOSPI rose 0.9%, providing some regional support. Overnight, US markets showed mixed performance with S&P 500 rising 0.12%, Dow Jones declining 0.13%, and Nasdaq advancing 0.2%. The uncertainty over Iran war developments and rising oil prices contributed to the cautious global sentiment affecting Indian markets, with foreign fund outflows adding to domestic market pressure.
