Domestic indices trade under pressure in late morning deals

Domestic equity indices traded lower with cut of over 0.35 percent each in late morning deals as investors awaited the RBI's monetary policy decision due tomorrow amidst ongoing trade war concerns. Selling in Indusind Bank, Zomato, Infosys, Adani Ports and Asian Paints companies’ stocks dragged the markets to trade lower. Traders overlooked a private report that the government's indirect tax collection is expected to increase by 8.3% in the financial year 2025-26 (FY26). The report also noted that this growth is higher than the 7.1% increase seen in FY25 and is mainly driven by rise in GST revenue from strong urban consumption. On the BSE sectoral front, traders were seen pilling up positions only in IT and Healthcare, while selling was witnessed in Consumer Durables, Realty, Telecom, Metal and FMCG. 

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green following positive cues from the US markets overnight. Sentiments got boost as concerns over a global trade war eased amid amicable measures from both the US and China. Back home, in the stock specific development, Triveni Engineering & Industries surged as the company and Rolls-Royce Marine North America Inc have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to explore opportunities to collaborate on programmes for 4MW marine gas turbine generators (GTG) for customers in India. 

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 77974.49, down by 296.79 points or 0.38% after trading in a range of 77938.19 and 78551.66. There were 10 stocks advancing against 20 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading mixed; the BSE Mid cap index was down by 0.46%, while Small cap index up by 0.09%.

The only gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were IT up by 0.22% and Healthcare up by 0.07%, while Consumer Durables down by 1.54%, Realty down by 1.03%, Telecom down by 0.94%, Metal down by 0.78%, FMCG down by 0.59% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Indusind Bank up by 1.09%, Zomato up by 0.93%, Infosys up by 0.60%, Adani Ports up by 0.59% and Asian Paints up by 0.35%. On the flip side, Titan down by 1.71%, Bharti Airtel down by 1.67%, Tata Steel down by 1.53%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 1.50% and Ultratech Cement down by 1.31% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the negotiations for a proposed Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between India and Oman are progressing at a healthy pace and the two sides will hold another round of talks to resolve the pending issues. Issues pertaining to petrochemical products have been resolved. 

On January 27 in Muscat, trade ministers of India and Oman reviewed progress of the proposed agreement and focused on advancing the negotiations for the pact. On January 14, India and Oman held the fifth round of talks for the agreement, aiming to boost bilateral economic ties. The negotiations for the agreement, officially dubbed the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), formally began in November 2023. In such agreements, two trading partners either significantly reduce or eliminate customs duties on a maximum number of goods traded between them. They also ease norms to promote trade in services and attract investments.

Oman is the third largest export destination among the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries for India. India already has a similar agreement with another GCC member UAE which came into effect in May 2022. The bilateral trade has declined to $8.94 billion (exports $4.42 billion and imports $4.5 billion) in 2023-24 from $12.39 billion (exports $4.47 billion and imports $7.91 billion) in 2022-23. India's key imports are petroleum products and urea. These account for over 70 per cent of imports. Other key products are propylene and ethylene polymers, pet coke, gypsum, chemicals, and iron and steel.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 23605.90, down by 90.40 points or 0.38% after trading in a range of 23597.10 and 23773.55. There were 19 stocks advancing against 32 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were BPCL up by 1.89%, Cipla up by 1.75%, HDFC Life Insurance up by 1.14%, Indusind Bank up by 1.00% and Dr. Reddy's Lab up by 0.93%. On the flip side, Titan down by 1.77%, Tata Steel down by 1.55%, Bharti Airtel down by 1.55%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 1.39% and Ultratech Cement down by 1.33% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; Hang Seng advanced 108.84 points or 0.53% to 20,705.93, Shanghai Composite strengthened 25.34 points or 0.78% to 3,254.83, Straits Times rose 14.84 points or 0.39% to 3,830.21, KOSPI increased 16.77 points or 0.67% to 2,526.04, Nikkei 225 surged 182.76 points or 0.47% to 39,014.24 and Taiwan Weighted added 155.02 points or 0.67% to 23,316.60. However, Jakarta Composite plunged 137.37 points or 1.99% to 6,886.86.