The Nifty traded above the 24,250 mark. Metal and IT shares declined while all the sectoral indices on the NSE traded in the green.

At 13:28 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex advanced 265.24 points or 0.34% to 78,254.14. The Nifty 50 index rose 95.40 points or 0.39% to 24,292.15.

The broader market outperformed the frontline indices. The BSE 150 MidCap Index rose 0.93% and the BSE 250 SmallCap Index jumped 1.36%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2,834 shares rose and 1,350 shares fell. A total of 191 shares were unchanged.

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, declined 3.30% to 17.49.

Gainers & Losers:

Hindustan Unilever (up 4.76%), Nestle India (up 2.14%), Apollo Hospitals Enterprise (up 1.83%), Power Grid Corporation of India (up 1.49%) and Tech Mahindra (up 1.46%) were the major Nifty50 gainers.

Wipro (down 2.81%), HDFC Life Insurance Company (down 2.53%), Sun Pharmaceutical Industries (down 1.08%), HCL Technologies (down 1.02%) and Mahindra & Mahindra (down 0.94%) were the major Nifty50 losers.

Stocks in Spotlight:

VST Industries soared 10.17% after its standalone net profit zoomed 120.16% to Rs 116.69 crore in Q4 FY26, compared with Rs 53 crore posted in Q4 FY25. Revenue from operations (excluding excise duty) jumped 31.09% YoY to Rs 457.06 crore in the quarter ended 31 March 2026.

Waree Renewable Technologies zoomed 9.14% after the company's consolidated net profit jumped 66% to Rs 155.74 crore on 131.3% surge in revenue from operations to Rs 1,102.40 crore in Q4 FY26 over Q4 FY25.

Karbonsteel Engineering surged 4.89% after the company announced receipt of new orders aggregating Rs 101.01 crore from a leading domestic infrastructure and engineering company.

Rail Vikas Nigam rose 3.18% after the company emerged as the lowest bidder (L1) for a major infrastructure contract from East Coast Railway. The project involves construction of key bridges under the third and fourth railway line expansions between Nergundi-Barang and Khurda Road-Vizianagaram on the Bhadrak-Vizianagaram section. The total contract value stands at approximately Rs 968 crore.

Angel One advanced 9.43% after the company reported a robust performance for the quarter ended March 2026. The company's consolidated net profit (PAT) jumped 83.49% year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 320.24 crore in Q4 FY26, driven by a 38.20% increase in total revenue from operations to Rs 1,459.42 crore.

Alok Industries fell 1.46% after its consolidated net loss widened to Rs 192.54 crore in Q4 FY26 as against a net loss of Rs 74.47 crore reported in Q4 FY25. Revenue from operations rose 3.14% year on year (YoY) to Rs 982.97 crore in the quarter ended 31 March 2026.

Global Markets:

European stocks traded mixed on Friday, as the U.S.-Iran war continues to weigh on investor sentiment.

Asian markets traded lower, as cautious optimism over the Middle East conflict tempered sentiment, diverging from Wall Street's record-setting rally.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday said that the war in Iran 'should be ending pretty soon,' reiterating rosy predictions about the end of the conflict.

Hours earlier, Trump confirmed that Israel and Lebanon had agreed to a 10-day ceasefire. Iran's parliament speaker has said that Israel halting attacks on Lebanon is a key condition for U.S.-Iran negotiations to start.

The next round of in-person talks between the U.S. and Iran may occur 'probably, maybe, next weekend,' Trump reportedly said on Thursday. A two-week ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran will expire on April 21.

Meanwhile, Japan's export credit agency, the Japan Bank for International Cooperation, will set up an investment window of up to 600 billion yen ($3.8 billion) to help Asian countries secure energy supplies, Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama said.

Overnight on Wall Street, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite rose to fresh all-time highs on Thursday, adding to their strong gains this week on optimism for a possible resolution to the Iran war.

The broad market index gained 0.26% to close at 7,041.28, while the Nasdaq gained 0.36% to settle at 24,102.70. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 115 points, or 0.24%, and ended at 48,578.72.

Stocks have risen in recent days on hopes for an eventual peace deal between the two nations. The S&P 500 kicked off the week by wiping out all of its losses since the beginning of the Iran war.