Benchmarks continue to trade higher in late afternoon trade

Indian bourses continued to trade higher in late afternoon session as optimism raised in domestic markets after the rating agency Fitch kept India’s FY26 forecast unchanged to 6.5 percent while projecting a higher 6.3 percent growth for FY27, up from 6.2 percent in its December update. Investor sentiments turned positive after the rating agency stated that the India’s lower reliance on external demand is expected to shield the country from Trump’s action on tariffs. However, gains remained capped as the traders remained cynical about Federal Reserve’s rat cut ahead of monetary policy meeting outcome later in the day.

On the global front, Asian equity markets are trading mixed as investors awaited the Federal Reserve's projections for economic growth and inflation against the backdrop of U.S. President Donald Trump's aggressive stance on tariffs. European equity markets were trading mostly in red as the tensions intensified in the Red Sea with Iran-backed Houthi rebels claiming their fourth attack on a U.S. warship within 72 hours increasing safety risk of crucial trade route. 

Back home, shares of air conditioner and refrigerator related stocks shined after the government exempted key components from mandatory BIS certification, easing supply concerns ahead of an expected harsh summer. 

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 75521.84, up by 220.58 points or 0.29% after trading in a range of 75201.48 and 75568.38. There were 20 stocks advancing against 10 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index up by 2.28%, while Small cap index was up by 2.08%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 2.94%, Industrials up by 2.62%, Power up by 2.41%, Utilities up by 2.35% and Capital Goods up by 2.32%, while IT down by 0.83%, TECK down by 0.39% and FMCG down by 0.35% were the few losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Zomato up by 2.56%, Power Grid Corporation of India up by 2.55%, Tata Steel up by 2.42%, Ultratech Cement up by 1.83% and Larsen & Toubro up by 1.62%. On the flip side, Tech Mahindra down by 2.19%, ITC down by 1.50%, TCS down by 1.48%, Infosys down by 1.31% and HCL Technologies down by 1.10% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the commerce ministry has 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. Malaysia is one of the key members of the 10-member ASEAN and chair of the group for this year. The decision to speed up the review came at the bilateral meeting between Minister of State of Commerce Jitin Prasada and Malaysian Deputy Minister of Investment, Trade, and Industry Liew Chin Tong.

The ministry said the agreement came into force in 2010 and the review of the pact was agreed to in 2019 on the demand by India after imports from ASEAN surged and trade balance became heavily in favour of the 10-member grouping.

It said both sides also discussed the bilateral trade issues including greater, market access for goods, collaboration in the semiconductor industry, cooperation in the service sector and the issues related to the Foreign Manufacturers Certification Scheme (FMCS) of the Bureau of Indian Standard (BIS). Malaysia is India's third largest trading partner of India in ASEAN with total trade of $20.02 billion during 2023-24.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 22925.95, up by 91.65 points or 0.40% after trading in a range of 22807.95 and 22940.70. There were 36 stocks advancing against 14 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Shriram Finance up by 3.74%, HDFC Life Insurance up by 3.18%, Power Grid Corporation of India up by 2.53%, Apollo Hospitals Enterprise up by 2.48% and Tata Steel up by 2.45%. On the flip side, Tech Mahindra down by 2.14%, TCS down by 1.48%, Infosys down by 1.38%, ITC down by 1.34% and HCL Technologies down by 1.17% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mixed; Hang Seng advanced 30.57 points or 0.12% to 24,771.14, Jakarta Composite gained 102.19 points or 1.62% to 6,325.58, KOSPI increased 16.28 points or 0.62% to 2,628.62 and Straits Times rose 14.96 points or 0.38% to 3,909.93, while Nikkei 225 slipped 93.54 points or 0.25% to 37,751.88, Taiwan Weighted lost 310.84 points or 1.42% to 21,960.83 and Shanghai Composite weakened 3.33 points or 0.1% to 3,426.43.

European markets were trading mostly in red; UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 25.33 points or 0.29% to 8,679.90 and Germany’s DAX lost 71.68 points or 0.31% to 23,309.02, while France’s CAC rose 4.67 points or 0.06% to 8,119.24.