Sensex, Nifty trade higher with marginal gains in early deals

Indian equity benchmarks made a flat-to-positive start but soon turned volatile as traders weighed geopolitical tensions and waited for the Federal Reserve to provide an update on the central bank's interest-rate decision. At this point of trade, Sensex and Nifty are trading higher with marginal gains amid foreign fund inflows. After remaining net sellers for last 17 sessions, the foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 694.57 crore on March 18. Some support came as commerce ministry said that India and Malaysia have agreed to take steps to speed up the review of the ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement (AITIGA) for its substantial conclusion by 2025. Besides, the Reserve Bank of India has announced a fresh open market operation to purchase government securities worth Rs 50000 crore on March 25 to ease the market liquidity condition.

On the global front, Asian markets are trading mostly higher with muted gains, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight, as traders remained cautious ahead to the interest rate decisions by the US Fed and the Bank of Japan later in the day. Concerns about the rising uncertainty and impact of President Donald Trump's trade policies continued to weigh along with worries about the economic outlook.

Back home, sugar stocks are in focus as Indian sugar industry body ISMA affirmed the stable and sufficient availability of sugar for the ongoing 2024-25 (October-September) marketing season, dispelling any concerns about potential shortages and supply constraints. In stock specific development, GR Infraprojects traded higher on receiving a Letter of Acceptance from the National Highways Authority of India for a project worth Rs 4,262.78 crore.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 75405.34, up by 104.08 points or 0.14% after trading in a range of 75201.48 and 75473.69. There were 21 stocks advancing against 9 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 1.07%, while Small cap index was up by 1.27%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Power up by 1.22%, Utilities up by 1.22%, Industrials up by 1.17%, Telecom up by 1.10% and PSU up by 1.02%, while IT down by 1.36%, TECK down by 0.87%, FMCG down by 0.10% were the few losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Zomato up by 2.54%, Indusind Bank up by 1.75%, Tata Steel up by 1.71%, Bajaj Finance up by 1.56% and NTPC up by 1.07%. On the flip side, TCS down by 1.86%, Infosys down by 1.71%, HCL Technologies down by 1.64%, Tech Mahindra down by 1.27% and Sun Pharma down by 0.74% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal has said that India and New Zealand are working to finalize a comprehensive and mutually beneficial Free Trade Agreement (FTA). The two countries had announced the launch of negotiations for an FTA earlier this week. Goyal emphasized the immense potential for collaboration between the two countries. He articulated an ambitious vision for the India-New Zealand partnership, targeting 10x growth in bilateral trade over the next decade. He called on business leaders from both countries to contribute towards achieving this goal.

Discussing global challenges, Goyal emphasized the importance of trusted partnerships. He said ‘The world is going through a lot of problems. A defining partnership between our two nations can serve as a model for how trusted partners work together. It’s not about the size of an economy; it’s about collaboration and shared values’. He noted that India’s economy, currently at $4 trillion, is poised to grow to $30-35 trillion in the next 22-25 years, presenting immense opportunities for collaboration. He highlighted the role of tourism in fostering stronger relations between India and New Zealand.

Prime Minister of New Zealand said that businesses play a critical role in both economies and in strengthening bilateral relations. The Prime Minister further emphasized the need to explore new frontiers and sectors where New Zealand holds a competitive advantage. He added ‘I feel incredibly optimistic about the future of both India and New Zealand. India for us is a game changer. As a smaller country in the world, India is a really consequential relationship for us. We all recognize that there is a lot more that these two countries should be doing together. When we look at the trading relationship today at $3 billion, there’s a huge opportunity for us here’.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 22867.55, up by 33.25 points or 0.15% after trading in a range of 22807.95 and 22888.30. There were 34 stocks advancing against 16 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Tata Steel up by 1.83%, Indusind Bank up by 1.61%, Bajaj Finance up by 1.49%, Apollo Hospital up by 1.38% and BPCL up by 1.32%. On the flip side, TCS down by 1.89%, Infosys down by 1.80%, HCL Technologies down by 1.71%, Tech Mahindra down by 1.36% and Sun Pharma down by 0.91% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mostly in green; Jakarta Composite surged 67.17 points or 1.08% to 6,290.56, Nikkei 225 rose 40.48 points or 0.11% to 37,885.90, Hang Seng advanced 36.44 points or 0.15% to 24,777.01, KOSPI increased 22.81 points or 0.87% to 2,635.15 and Straits Times was up by 19.63 points or 0.5% to 3,914.60. On the other hand, Taiwan Weighted lost 168.96 points or 0.76% to 22,102.71 and Shanghai Composite was down by 2 points or 0.06% to 3,427.76.