Bourses remain in green in early afternoon session

Indian equity markets protected their gains in early afternoon session. Traders got some support as commerce ministry in its latest data has showed that the bilateral trade between India and the UAE grew 21.35 per cent to $80.51 billion during the April-January period this fiscal year. While India's exports to the UAE rose 6.82 per cent to $30 billion during the first 10 months of this fiscal year, imports during this period rose 35.58 per cent to $50.51 billion. However, gains were limited ahead of the FOMC minutes, which will be released tonight. On the global front, Asian markets are trading mixed amid worries of a global trade war and geopolitical issues. A meeting between Russian and U.S. officials raised hopes of an end to the three-year war in Ukraine. 

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 76094.26, up by 126.87 points or 0.17% after trading in a range of 75581.38 and 76338.58. There were 18 stocks advancing against 12 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index gained 1.21%, while Small cap index was up by 2.36%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Industrials up by 2.57%, Capital Goods up by 2.20%, Realty up by 2.06%, PSU up by 1.52% and Power was up by 1.36%, while TECK down by 0.75%, IT down by 0.56% and Healthcare was down by 0.13% were the few losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Zomato up by 4.70%, Larsen & Toubro up by 1.94%, Axis Bank up by 1.83%, NTPC up by 1.16% and Tata Steel up by 1.15%. On the flip side, TCS down by 2.04%, Hindustan Unilever down by 1.56%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 1.15%, Bharti Airtel down by 1.08% and Infosys down by 1.05% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, with India and the US preparing to start negotiations for a bilateral trade agreement, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has said that the two countries can offer concessions and duty reductions, as their economies complement each other. During the recent visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Washington, India and the US announced their commitment to more than double the two-way commerce to $500 billion by 2030 and negotiate the first tranche of a mutually beneficial, multi-sector bilateral trade agreement (BTA) by fall of 2025.

Goyal said ‘we complement each other, we can give mutual concessions to each other, tariff reductions and make it easier to export and import between the two countries. We have started working on different ideas, engaging with different stakeholders within and outside the government and preparing ourselves for discussions, (which) we hope we will start soon.’ He added that the agreement will open opportunities for the domestic industry to expand trade with the US to $500 billion by 2030.

The minister said ‘we look at this opportunity as a way to make India more competitive, come out with quality products, look at mutual concessions and attractive trading conditions which will support growth both in America and in India’. On reciprocal tariffs, he said India's tariffs are there to protect domestic industry from imports from non-market economies. He said ‘what we are working on is for mutual benefit resolving these issues for both our countries…our situation with the US is different from the situation of many other countries’. Further, he said that there should be no cause of concern to the domestic industry from the trade negotiations with the US, and India should enter these negotiations from a position of strength.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 22969.40, up by 24.10 points or 0.11% after trading in a range of 22814.85 and 23049.95. There were 32 stocks advancing against 18 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Bharat Electronics up by 3.35%, Larsen & Toubro up by 2.01%, Axis Bank up by 1.80%, Hindalco up by 1.41% and Wipro up by 1.15%. On the flip side, Dr. Reddy's Lab down by 2.63%, TCS down by 2.14%, Hindustan Unilever down by 1.60%, Adani Enterprises down by 1.26% and Mahindra & Mahindra down by 1.21% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mixed; Taiwan Weighted lost 62.03 points or 0.26% to 23,604.08, Jakarta Composite plunged 44.76 points or 0.66% to 6,828.79, Hang Seng declined 69.26 points or 0.3% to 22,907.55 and Nikkei 225 was down by 105.79 points or 0.27% to 39,164.61. On the flip side, KOSPI increased 44.71 points or 1.67% to 2,671.52, Straits Times rose 4.71 points or 0.12% to 3,930.27 and Shanghai Composite was up by 25.17 points or 0.75% to 3,349.66.