| The key equity benchmarks continued to trade with sharp losses in mid-morning trade as investor sentiment remained cautious amid stalled US-Iran negotiations, uncertainty over the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and a sharp surge in crude oil prices above the $105-per-barrel mark. Until signs of de-escalation emerge, the overhang on crude oil prices, the rupee, and institutional flows is expected to persist. Investors are also closely monitoring Q4 earnings for further cues. The Nifty traded below the 23,950 mark. Media shares declined after advancing in the past seven consecutive trading sessions. At 11:25 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex declined 857.38 points or 1.10% to 76,806.62. The Nifty 50 index slumped 243.95 points or 1.10% to 23,929.60. The broader market underperformed the frontliner indices. The BSE 150 MidCap Index slipped 1.19% and the BSE 250 SmallCap Index dropped 1.33%. The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 1,112 shares rose and 2,779 shares fell. A total of 189 shares were unchanged. The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, rallied 3.72% to 19.28. In the commodities market, Brent crude for June 2026 settlement jumped 33 cents or 0.31% to $105.40 a barrel. Buzzing Index: The Nifty Media index declined 1.62% to 1,442.30. The index jumped 7.77% in the past seven consecutive trading sessions. Zee Entertainment Enterprises (down 3.4%), Network 18 Media & Investments (down 3.1%), Sun TV Network (down 2.84%), Prime Focus (down 2.1%), Nazara Technologies (down 1.66%) D B Corp (down 1.64%), Saregama India (down 0.9%), Hathway Cable & Datacom (down 0.09%) plunged. Stocks in Spotlight: Hindustan Construction Company (HCC) declined 3.01%. The company said that it has secured a significant infrastructure contract worth Rs 2,917 crore from the City and Industrial Development Corporation of Maharashtra (CIDCO). Aditya Birla Real Estate fell 2.54%. The realtor announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, Birla Estates, recorded a booking value of Rs 8,136 crore in FY26, following a strong performance in the previous year, driven by robust demand across key residential markets. Aditya Birla Sun Life AMC advanced 1.04%. The company's consolidated net profit declined 17.96% to Rs 187.11 crore in Q4 FY26 as against Rs 228.08 crore in Q4 FY25. However, revenue from operations jumped 6.85% year on year to Rs 458.23 crore in Q4 FY26. Global Markets: Asia markets traded mixed as investors remained cautious despite a three-week extension of the Israel-Lebanon ceasefire, underscoring lingering geopolitical uncertainty. Israel and Lebanon agreed to extend their ceasefire by three weeks following a meeting in the White House with top U.S. officials, President Donald Trump said Thursday. The temporary truce, originally set to expire after 10 days, will now provide additional time for diplomatic efforts, with Washington also pledging to work with Lebanon to strengthen its defenses against Hezbollah. Japan's core inflation in Japan accelerated for the first time in five months, rising to 1.8% in March, with Iran war fueling energy worries. Government data showed the inflation figure, which strips out prices of fresh food, was in line with the 1.8% estimate that was widely reported in the media and was higher than the 1.6% seen in February. Overnight in the U.S., stocks pulled back on Thursday, led by a drop in software shares and higher oil prices, as investor uncertainty about the trajectory of the Iran war weighed on markets. The S&P 500 traded down 0.41% to close at 7,108.40, after earlier hitting a new all-time intraday high. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite declined 0.89% to finish at 24,438.50. It had also scored a new all-time high in the session. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 179.71 points, or 0.36%, to finish at 49,310.32. |