Battered Indian investors may have felt a sense of relief on Thursday morning when the Sensex and Nifty extended the Wednesday rally at opening bell. But the relief was short-lived as incessant profit booking sent shares down by noon.
On the morning of April 16, 2026, the Sensex gained 619 points to a 78,730.32 high, but eased to almost flat by 12 noon. It also intermittently slipped to the red.
The morning also saw the NSE Nifty climb 169 points to 24,400.95 in early trade, building on Wednesday's sharp rally. But then the dive began.
The initial fuel behind the surge was the growing optimism that the US and Iran may be close to extending, and possibly ending. But now that seems to have lost steam.
Officials told agencies and US ground media on Wednesday that the two sides had reached an "in principle agreement" to extend the two-week ceasefire that is set to expire next week, and that progress was being made toward a further round of negotiations. US President Donald Trump, separately, said the war was "very close to over".
But Trump's words no longer seem to hold sway with regard to Indian stocks. Brent crude, steadying at around $94.97 per barrel, seems to have helped the country, but the incessant Foreign Institutional Investor (FII) outflows continue.
However, on Wednesday, FIIs turned net buyers, purchasing equities worth ₹666.15 crore, according to exchange data. Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) added another ₹569 crore in net purchases on the same day.
Despite Indian markets losing steam, the other Asian markets seem to have picked up. Tokyo's Nikkei 225 and South Korea's Kospi jumped 2 per cent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng inched up by 1 per cent.
On Wall Street overnight, the S&P 500 rose 0.8 per cent to 7,022.95, a fresh record high, eclipsing its prior all-time high set in January, powered by strong quarterly earnings from Bank of America and Morgan Stanley. The Nasdaq gained 1.6 per cent to 24,016.02. Safe-haven assets like gold also held firm.
The latest cautious movement in Indian markets could also be due to US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warning that Washington might prepare secondary sanctions against any country doing business with Iran and buying its oil, adding a new pressure lever to the talks. These include India and China, and such uncertainty might have added to investor fears, according to market watchers.
