Sensex, Nifty trade higher after cautious start on account of value buying

Indian equity benchmarks made a cautious start on Tuesday following weakness in global stock markets amid US President Donald Trump's vow that the US tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico will go forward next week onwards. Investors avoided to take significant risk ahead of market holiday tomorrow on account of Mahashivratri. Sensex and Nifty managed to garner gains and were trading higher in early deals on account of value buying after five sessions of continued selling. Some support came as the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data showed that the private corporate sector showed improvements across various segments in Q3FY25, with the operating profit margin of listed non-financial companies increasing sequentially by 50 bps to 16.2%.

On the global front, Asian markets are trading lower, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight, as traders remained concerned about the lingering US tariff threats and uncertainty about the outlook for global economic growth. US President Donald Trump directed a top government committee to limit Chinese investment in energy, technology, and other vital U.S. industries. 

Back home, railways stocks are in focus as Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said railways will achieve 100 per cent electrification in the next fiscal year and is making rapid progress in the usage of renewable energy as well. In stock specific development, Camlin Fine Sciences traded higher as it entered into a Share Purchase Agreement to acquire a majority stake in Vinpai.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 74697.10, up by 242.69 points or 0.33% after trading in a range of 74400.37 and 74758.56. There were 22 stocks advancing against 8 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.32%, while Small cap index was up by 0.52%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Telecom up by 1.11%, Auto up by 0.71%, Consumer Discretionary up by 0.57%, Consumer Durables up by 0.47% and Utilities up by 0.33%, while Metal down by 0.51%, Realty down by 0.24%, Capital Goods down by 0.16%, IT down by 0.11% and Basic Materials down by 0.08% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Mahindra & Mahindra up by 2.42%, Zomato up by 2.36%, Bajaj Finserv up by 1.95%, Bharti Airtel up by 1.43% and Bajaj Finance up by 1.32%. On the flip side, Larsen & Toubro down by 1.03%, Sun Pharma down by 1.02%, NTPC down by 0.72%, TCS down by 0.52% and Ultratech Cement down by 0.39% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has said that India and the UK resumed their negotiations for the proposed free trade agreement (FTA), which is expected to double or even triple bilateral trade from the current $20 billion in the next 10 years. Goyal made a case for faster and liberal issuance of visas for smooth movement of businessmen and professionals, besides a social security agreement to avoid double contribution to social security funds by Indian professionals working for limited period in Britain.

The 14th round of negotiations for the FTA, which began on January 10 last year, was underway till May 2024 when the process was paused by the UK side due to their elections. The resumption of talks would aim to addressing issues which are yet not ironed out. The Indian industry is demanding greater access for its skilled professionals from sectors like IT and healthcare in the UK market, besides market access for several goods at nil customs duty. On the other hand, the UK is seeking a significant cut in import duties on goods such as scotch whiskey, electric vehicles, lamb meat, chocolates and certain confectionary items.

Britain is also looking for more opportunities for UK services in Indian markets in segments like telecommunications, legal and financial services, including banking and insurance. According to Goyal, both sides have the flexibility to significantly reduce tariffs to make their businesses more competitive. The negotiations have started after a gap of over eight months due to elections. The talks are happening after the UK general elections that resulted into the Labour Party coming to power. The negotiations were launched on January 13, 2022.

Goyal said it’s never ‘too early’ or ‘too late’ to conclude a good agreement as these pacts are for a long-term future. He added ‘One has to crystal gaze may be 20-30-50 years into the future and make a robust agreement which is a win-win for both sides and therefore neither should we rush into things, but it’s always good to conclude fast. So we will have speed, but not haste’.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 22621.90, up by 68.55 points or 0.30% after trading in a range of 22516.45 and 22625.30. There were 31 stocks advancing against 18 stocks declining, while 1 stock remain unchanged on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Mahindra & Mahindra up by 2.51%, Bajaj Finserv up by 1.68%, Bharti Airtel up by 1.34%, Adani Ports & SEZ up by 1.22% and Bajaj Finance up by 1.20%. On the flip side, Hindalco down by 2.76%, Sun Pharma down by 0.99%, Coal India down by 0.84%, Larsen & Toubro down by 0.76% and Wipro down by 0.71% were the top losers.

All Asian markets are trading lower; Nikkei 225 slipped 398.51 points or 1.03% to 38,378.43, Taiwan Weighted lost 244.24 points or 1.04% to 23,321.07, Hang Seng declined 157.96 points or 0.68% to 23,183.65, Jakarta Composite weakened 108.02 points or 1.6% to 6,641.58, KOSPI dropped 10.18 points or 0.38% to 2,635.09, Shanghai Composite fell 4.79 points or 0.14% to 3,368.24 and Straits Times was down by 3.75 points or 0.1% to 3,924.00.