Key indices continue to trade higher in morning deals

Indian equity benchmarks continued to trade higher in morning deals, following a better-than-expected decline in CPI inflation in January and value-buying at lower levels. Continuing the downward trend, retail inflation fell to a five-month low of 4.31 per cent in January, mainly due to a decline in the prices of vegetables, eggs, and pulses. Some support also came with Commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal’s statement that the combination of growth driven by consumption, alongside growth propelled by investment can serve as twin pillars for India's economic advancement. Sector-wise, stocks related to steel sector remained in watch as rating agency ICRA said that Indian steel market may become a victim of diverted shipments putting pressure on local prices. ICRA’s statement comes after the US President Donald Trump has announced a 25 per cent tax on steel and aluminium imports from all countries. The new tariffs will be imposed on March 12. On the global front, Asian markets are trading mostly in green after U.S. President Donald Trump agreed with Russian leader Vladimir Putin to start talks about ending the war in Ukraine. The possibility that Trump may pause some of the tariffs he has announced was also a cause for optimism in Asian markets.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 76579.47, up by 408.39 points or 0.54% after trading in a range of 76013.43 and 76641.27. There were 26 stocks advancing against 4 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 1.16%, while Small cap index was up by 0.75%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 1.67%, Telecom up by 1.35%, Healthcare up by 1.31%, Basic Materials up by 1.11% and Power up by 1.10%, while IT down by 0.08% was the lone losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Bajaj Finserv up by 3.11%, Tata Steel up by 2.87%, Bajaj Finance up by 2.46%, Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 2.01% and Zomato up by 1.84%. On the flip side, Infosys down by 0.53%, HDFC Bank down by 0.33%, SBI down by 0.29% and TCS down by 0.20% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the Commerce Ministry investigation arm -- the Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) has terminated an anti-dumping investigation into the import of Chinese fasteners used in multiple sectors, including construction and auto. The authority had 'suo-motu' initiated the probe in September 2023 against the alleged dumping of the product. It stated that, “Due to lack of required data, the authority is unable to make any determination regarding evidence of dumping and injury to the domestic industry. Therefore, the authority is constrained to terminate the present investigation”. 

Generally, anti-dumping investigations are initiated based on an application filed by domestic producers, but since the fragmented industries did not have the knowhow of the procedures involved in the trade remedy probe, the directorate undertakes the exercise to investigate the matter on its own initiative. The move is aimed at granting protection to the MSME (micro, small and medium enterprises) producers against dumped goods from China.

The dumping happens when a country or a firm export an item at a price lower than the price of that product in the targeted market. The duty is imposed only after a thorough investigation by a quasi-judicial body, such as the DGTR, in India. It is aimed at ensuring fair trade practices and creating a level-playing field for domestic producers. Fasteners include screws, bolts, nuts, concrete nails, industrial staple pins, steel strapping seals, plastic strip nails, and cable clip nails. In another notification, it has recommended anti-dumping duty of up to $664 per tonne on imports of 'textured tempered glass' from China and Vietnam.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 23158.40, up by 113.15 points or 0.49% after trading in a range of 22992.20 and 23192.50. There were 41 stocks advancing against 9 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Bajaj Finserv up by 3.01%, Tata Steel up by 2.98%, Bajaj Finance up by 2.76%, Cipla up by 2.55% and JSW Steel up by 2.08%. On the flip side, Tata Consumer Product down by 0.55%, SBI down by 0.29%, HDFC Bank down by 0.28%, Infosys down by 0.28% and TCS down by 0.28% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mostly in green; Nikkei 225 surged 583.18 points or 1.5% to 39,546.88, Taiwan Weighted added 75.79 points or 0.33% to 23,365.54, Hang Seng advanced 333.09 points or 1.5% to 22,191.01 and KOSPI increased 25.83 points or 1.01% to 2,574.22.

On the flip side, Straits Times fell 2.03 points or 0.05% to 3,872.59, Jakarta Composite plunged 53.42 points or 0.8% to 6,592.36 and Shanghai Composite weakened 4.17 points or 0.12% to 3,342.22.