The Indian stock market ended lower on Thursday, as investors booked profits after a strong seven-day bull rally.

Sentiments were also hit by the Pahalgam terror attack, along with the expiry of the April derivatives contracts on the National Stock Exchange (NSE).

The Sensex opened slightly lower at 80,058 and briefly touched a high of 80,174 in early trade. However, selling pressure dragged the index down through the day.

It fell to an intra-day low of 79,725 before settling at 79,801, down 315 points. With this, the Sensex snapped its seven-day winning streak, during which it had jumped 6,269 points.

The Nifty also saw a similar trend. It traded within a narrow range of 131 points, moving between a high of 24,348 and a low of 24,216.

India’s ethanol revolution is proving to be a game-changer, not only boosting farmers’ income and creating jobs but also saving the country billions in foreign exchange and reducing carbon footprint, Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister, Hardeep Singh Puri, said on Thursday.

According to the Union Minister, India’s ethanol drive has so far added Rs 1,07,580 crore to farmers’ earnings while saving Rs 1,26,210 crore in foreign exchange by curbing crude oil imports.

The Union Minister further highlighted that the government’s ethanol initiative aligns with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of turning ‘annadatas’ (food providers) into ‘urjadatas’ (energy providers).

“This initiative not only increases farmers’ income and creates jobs, but also helps save foreign exchange and is a boon for the environment,” Puri wrote on social media platform X.

As part of this green transformation, a bamboo-based, bio-ethanol refinery in Assam is now nearing completion and is set to significantly benefit the northeastern region.

Mid-sized Global Capability Centers (GCCs) are experiencing unprecedented growth in India, outpacing the overall GCC market with a 6.2 per cent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) compared to the market average of 4.5 per cent, according to a report released on Thursday.

According to the Inductus GCC survey, India will see over 120 new mid-market GCCs by 2026 with the potential of creating 40,000 new jobs, building on the existing base of over 800 centres currently, employing 220,000 professionals.

The mid-market GCC segment in the country is projected to see a 15-20 per cent revenue increase between 2024-2026, reflecting the strong confidence global companies are placing in these operations.

The report states that these mid-size operations employing between 200-1,000 professionals are rapidly becoming the strategic preference for global companies seeking specialized expertise and operational flexibility.

The official X handle of the Government of Pakistan has been withheld by India following the dastardly terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam, which killed 26 people and injured several others.

Earlier, in a strong diplomatic offensive following the brutal attack, India summoned Pakistan's top diplomat in New Delhi, Saad Ahmad Warraich, and handed over a formal Persona Non Grata note for all its military attaches, sources said.

These moves come after 26 people were killed and many others injured in the deadly assault that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has termed a "cowardly attack on innocent civilians."

The attack, believed to be orchestrated by Pakistan-based terror outfit The Resistance Front, has triggered a series of sweeping retaliatory actions from India.

The domestic benchmark indices opened lower on Thursday amid mixed global cues, as selling was seen in the auto, metal and realty sectors in the early trade.

At around 9.30 am, Sensex was trading 221.03 points or 0.28 per cent down at 79,895.46 while the Nifty declined 75.55 points or 0.31 per cent at 24,253.40.

Nifty Bank was down 152.60 points or 0.28 per cent at 55,217.45. The Nifty Midcap 100 index was trading at 55,004.40 after declining 36.70 points or 0.07 per cent. Nifty Smallcap 100 index was at 16,980.60 after climbing 10.85 points or 0.06 per cent.

According to market watchers, "Nifty extended its winning streak for the seventh day on April 23, closing strong, though today's session may see heightened volatility as traders roll over April F&O positions."

Despite global uncertainties and downward revisions in growth forecasts for other large economies, India is set to maintain its leadership in global economic growth, the government said on Wednesday.

Supported by strong fundamentals and strategic government initiatives, the country is well-positioned to navigate the challenges ahead.

"With reforms in infrastructure, innovation, and financial inclusion, India continues to enhance its role as a key driver of global economic activity," said the Ministry of Finance.

India is poised to lead the global economy once again, with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) projecting it to remain the fastest-growing major economy over the next two years.

The Centre has fast-tracked 17 mega projects being carried out with an investment of Rs 14,096 crore across the states of Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab, and Uttarakhand.

A high-level meeting headed by Secretary, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Amardeep Bhatia, took stock of as many as 19 issues related to the these projects with a focus on fast-tracking resolution of implementation challenges through enhanced inter-ministerial and inter-state coordination, according to an official statement issued on Wednesday.

The review meeting, conducted under the aegis of the Project Monitoring Group (PMG), was attended by senior officials from Central ministries, state governments, and project proponents.

Among the major projects reviewed was the four-laning of the Jaunpur-Akbarpur road project, valued at Rs 3,164.72 crore. The project involves two key issues across two work packages, and is crucial for improving regional connectivity and road infrastructure.

The Secondary Market Advisory Committee of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) is likely to meet on May 7 to review the recent changes made to the futures and options segment.

According to a report, the committee is likely to discuss whether the curbs introduced in the past few months have had the desired effect on market activity.

While the full agenda of the meeting is not yet public, the report said that some of the goals of the new rules have already started showing results.

Therefore, they believe that SEBI is unlikely to introduce any further curbs or strict regulations in the futures and options space for now.

One of the key proposals that SEBI had made on February 25 was to change the way open interest (OI) is calculated in the equity derivatives market.

The regulator had suggested moving from the traditional notional value-based method to a 'Future Equivalent' method.

India’s office real estate market maintained its upward trajectory in Q1, driven by robust leasing and tight new supply, pushing overall vacancy down for the seventh consecutive quarter to 15.7 per cent — a cumulatively steep drop of 275 basis points (bps) from 18.45 per cent in Q2 2023, a report showed on Wednesday.

Supply constraints and strong occupier demand in the first quarter of the year across India’s top eight office markets have resulted in a drop-in vacancy rate by 55 basis points (bps) to 15.7 per cent from 16.25 per cent in Q4 2024, according to Cushman & Wakefield’s latest Q1 2025 Office Market Report.

The total new office completions in Q1 2025 stood at 10.7 million square feet (MSF).

Bengaluru (3.28 MSF), Pune (3.21 MSF), and Delhi-NCR (2.71 MSF) contributed a combined 86 per cent (9.2 MSF) of this new supply.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha arrived at Srinagar Police Control Room on Wednesday to pay tributes to the tourists killed in the Pahalgam terror attack in which 16 people were killed.

The bodies of the tourists killed in Tuesday’s terror attack were brought to the Police Control Room in Srinagar on Wednesday morning.

After paying tributes to the slain tourists, the Home Minister is scheduled to visit GMC Anantnag to meet those injured in the attack.

He is also likely to conduct an aerial survey of the attack site in Baisaran, Pahalgam, where 16 lives were tragically lost.

The bodies of tourists killed by terrorists in Pahalgam were brought to Srinagar on Wednesday as authorities are making arrangements for their return to their native places.