Key gauges trade flat with negative bias

The Indian equity markets continued to trade flat with negative bias in late afternoon trade amid uncertainty surrounding Trump’s tariffs. However, losses remained capped as optimism raised among market participants after Ministry of Commerce & Industry in its latest data has showed that the output of eight key infrastructure sectors rose by 4.6 per cent in January against a 4.2 per cent expansion in the same month of last year. Moreover, markets took support of data showing that the Indian economy grew by 6.2% in the October-December quarter led by higher government and consumer spending. 

On the global front, Asian equity markets were trading mixed as new PMI data suggested China's manufacturing had a solid start to 2025; European equity markets were trading higher amid easing geopolitical tension in the region after European leaders pledged to assemble a 'coalition of the willing' to develop a plan for ending Ukraine's war with Russia.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 73156.01, down by 42.09 points or 0.06% after trading in a range of 72784.54 and 73649.72. There were 19 stocks advancing against 11 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading mixed; the BSE Mid cap index up by 0.26%, while Small cap index was down by 0.83%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Capital Goods up by 1.55%, Realty up by 1.34%, Consumer Durables up by 1.27%, Power up by 1.26%, TECK up by 0.92%, while Energy down by 1.05%, Oil & Gas down by 0.34%, Bankex down by 0.18%, FMCG down by 0.10% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Ultratech Cement up by 2.25%, Bharti Airtel up by 1.83%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.35%, Larsen & Toubro up by 1.32% and Infosys up by 1.06%. On the flip side, Reliance Industries down by 2.30%, Bajaj Finserv down by 1.82%, HDFC Bank down by 1.64%, Adani Ports down by 1.37% and Indusind Bank down by 1.17% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the Controller General of Accounts (CGA) in its latest data has showed that the Centre's fiscal deficit touched 74.5 per cent of the annual target at the end of January 2025. The deficit was 63.6 per cent of Revised Estimates (RE) of 2023-24 in the year-ago period. In actual terms, the fiscal deficit -- the gap between expenditure and revenue -- was Rs 11,69,542 crore during the April-January 2024-25 period.

The CGA data showed that the central government's tax revenue (net) was Rs 19.03 lakh crore, or 74.4 per cent of the RE of 2024-25. It was at 80.9 per cent during the corresponding year of the last financial year. The total expenditure was at Rs 35.7 lakh crore, or 75.7 per cent of the RE. In the year-ago period it was at 74.7 per cent of that year's RE.

According to the data, Rs 10,74,179 crore has been transferred to state governments as devolution of share of taxes by Government of India up to January, which is Rs 2,53,929 crore higher than the previous year. Out of the total revenue expenditure (Rs 28.12 lakh crore), Rs 8,75,461 crore was on account of interest payments and Rs 3,37,733 crore on account of major subsidies.

In the Union Budget presented in Parliament, the fiscal deficit for 2024-25 has been pegged at 4.8 per cent of GDP (lower than earlier estimate of 4.9 per cent) and at 4.4 per cent for 2025-26. In absolute terms, the fiscal deficit for the financial year ending March 2025 is estimated at Rs 15.69 lakh crore.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 22132.30, up by 7.60 points or 0.03% after trading in a range of 22004.70 and 22261.55. There were 32 stocks advancing against 18 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Bharat Electronics up by 4.87%, Eicher Motors up by 3.17%, Grasim Industries up by 2.97%, Wipro up by 2.76% and JSW Steel up by 2.61%. On the flip side, Coal India down by 2.56%, Reliance Industries down by 2.36%, Bajaj Auto down by 1.99%, HDFC Bank down by 1.75% and Bajaj Finserv down by 1.74% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mixed; Hang Seng advanced 64.95 points or 0.28% to 23,006.27, Jakarta Composite gained 266.33 points or 4.07% to 6,536.93, Straits Times rose 13.59 points or 0.35% to 3,909.29 and Nikkei 225 surged 629.97 points or 1.67% to 37,785.47, while KOSPI dropped 0.00 points or 0% to 2,532.78, Taiwan Weighted lost 296.93 points or 1.3% to 22,756.25 and Shanghai Composite weakened 3.97 points or 0.12% to 3,316.93.

European markets were trading higher; UK’s FTSE 100 increased 24.61 points or 0.28% to 8,834.35, France’s CAC rose 3.35 points or 0.04% to 8,114.98 and Germany’s DAX gained 36.7 points or 0.16% to 22,588.13.