The numbers, however, masked the turbulence beneath.
Markets staged a dramatic intraday turnaround on Thursday, April 2, 2026, with the Nifty 50 recovering over 500 points from its session low to close marginally higher, as geopolitics, crude oil, and a surprise rupee rally collided in one of the most volatile sessions of the year.
The BSE Sensex closed at 73,319.55, up 185.23 points or 0.25 per cent, while the Nifty 50 settled at 22,713.10, gaining 33.70 points or 0.15 per cent. The numbers, however, masked the turbulence beneath. The Nifty had earlier slipped over 2 per cent after US President Donald Trump said the US would hit Iran hard in the next two to three weeks, dashing hopes of an early ceasefire. Brent crude spiked 5.8 per cent to around $107 per barrel on fears of supply disruptions through the Strait of Hormuz.
IT rallies
IT was the lone sectoral gainer, rising 2.6 per cent, while auto, PSU banks, oil & gas, pharma, and consumer durables each shed approximately 1 per cent. Broader markets lagged, with Midcap and Smallcap indices declining 0.3 per cent and 0.4 per cent, respectively. Bank Nifty ended at 51,548.75, up a modest 0.19 per cent.
Rupee rebounds
The rupee delivered a stunning reversal, posting its strongest single-session gain in over 12 years, recovering sharply from recent lows beyond ₹95 to trade around ₹93.15. The RBI’s twin regulatory actions — capping banks’ net open rupee positions and barring NDF offerings to corporates — forced dollar unwinding. As Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Investments, noted: “The RBI’s twin regulatory actions…achieved their intended effect, mechanically forcing dollar unwinding and engineering a meaningful rupee recovery. A short-covering-driven intraday recovery followed, though it lacked the depth of genuine conviction.”
Gold drops
Gold retreated sharply, falling ₹5,000 to ₹1,49,000 per 10 grams, pressured by the rupee’s surge and selling on COMEX toward $4,625 per ounce. On the institutional front, FIIs offloaded ₹1.22 lakh crore in March 2026 alone — surpassing the previous peak of ₹1.14 lakh crore in October 2024. India VIX rose 2.04 per cent to close at 25.52, keeping risk-reward dynamics particularly challenging in the derivatives segment.
Triggers ahead
The week ahead is packed with triggers. The RBI MPC meeting takes centre stage — a rate pause is widely expected, but commentary on the rate trajectory matters against a backdrop of a four-year low Manufacturing PMI and crude-driven inflation risks. The US March CPI print and weekly jobless claims will also be in focus. Siddhartha Khemka, Head of Research at Motilal Oswal Financial Services, warned: …”Market sentiment is expected to remain volatile, with direction contingent on developments in the US–Iran conflict over the weekend and movements in global energy prices.” Markets return after the Good Friday holiday on April 3, making any weekend geopolitical development — escalation or ceasefire — the decisive variable heading into next week.
Published on April 2, 2026
