Key benchmarks trade higher; broader markets trade in red

Key Indian benchmarks continued to trade higher in late afternoon trade as optimism raised among market participants after domestic rating agency ICRA in its latest report has stated that Indian companies are likely to clock 7-8 per cent revenue growth during the March quarter of the current fiscal year (Q4FY25), led by revival in rural demand and uptick in government spending. Besides, investors cherry picking fundamentally good stocks which were beaten up in FIIs sell off uplifted the trading sentiments. However, broader market traded in red as sentiments were downbeat amidst US tariffs on Mexico and Canada starting from next month and further escalation of US-China trade war after Trump’s move to curb Chinese spending on tech, energy and other strategic American sectors. Further, the US economic data indicating deteriorating consumer sentiment, elevating inflation hinting toward very low possibility of further rate cut by Fed weighed down the global investor sentiments. On the global front, Asian equity markets were trading lower, while the European markets were trading in red. On the global front, Asian equity markets were trading lower, while  the European markets were trading in red.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 74696.68, up by 242.27 points or 0.33% after trading in a range of 74400.37 and 74785.08. There were 17 stocks advancing against 13 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index down by 0.44%, while Small cap index was down by 0.28%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Telecom up by 0.92%, Auto up by 0.66%, FMCG up by 0.50%, Consumer Durables up by 0.30% and Consumer Disc up by 0.16%, while Metal down by 1.62%, Realty down by 1.16%, Oil & Gas down by 0.99%, Basic Materials down by 0.95% and Energy down by 0.78% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Mahindra & Mahindra up by 3.27%, Bharti Airtel up by 2.77%, Bajaj Finance up by 1.66%, Nestle up by 1.39% and Zomato up by 1.35%. On the flip side, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries down by 1.72%, Ultratech Cement down by 1.39%, Power Grid Corporation of India down by 1.20%, TCS down by 1.03% and Tech Mahindra down by 0.92% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has said that the Indian electronics and electrical industry should look at increasing exports to $100 billion over the next 5-7 years. He said the export volume of electronic goods ranks second in the country against 167th in 2015. In January, the export volume of electronic goods was $3 billion.

The minister also said India's electronic goods industry must work together towards more resilient supply chains, upgrade quality standards and provide high-quality goods and services to the world at competitive rates. He urged the participants to work together to bring competitive advantages to the manufacturing sector.

The minister stressed that the industry has a responsibility to ensure that consumers are provided better deals. He urged the industry leaders and participants to shun protectionism and focus on balancing the interests of the industry, particularly the MSME sector. He said protectionism beyond a point starts hurting the consumer, and added that balancing the interests of the MSME sector, along with the customers, should be the industry's biggest priority. 

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 22580.05, up by 26.70 points or 0.12% after trading in a range of 22516.45 and 22625.30. There were 21 stocks advancing against 29 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Mahindra & Mahindra up by 3.13%, Bharti Airtel up by 2.73%, Bajaj Finance up by 1.71%, Nestle up by 1.42% and ITC up by 1.24%. On the flip side, Hindalco down by 3.29%, Dr. Reddy's Laboratories down by 2.38%, Trent down by 2.22%, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries down by 1.60% and Wipro down by 1.42% were the top losers.

All Asian markets are trading lower; Hang Seng declined 307.59 points or 1.34% to 23,034.02, Jakarta Composite plunged 148.24 points or 2.2% to 6,601.36, KOSPI dropped 14.98 points or 0.57% to 2,630.29, Nikkei 225 slipped 539.15 points or 1.41% to 38,237.79, Taiwan Weighted lost 279.59 points or 1.2% to 23,285.72, Straits Times fell 9.87 points or 0.25% to 3,917.88 and Shanghai Composite weakened 26.99 points or 0.81% to 3,346.04.

European markets were trading mostly in red; UK’s FTSE 100 increased 7.4 points or 0.09% to 8,666.38, while France’s CAC fell 12.54 points or 0.16% to 8,078.45 and Germany’s DAX lost 27.89 points or 0.12% to 22,398.04.