Sensex, Nifty trade in fine-fettle on positive global cues

Indian equity benchmarks made a gap-up opening on Thursday tracking firm trade in global peers after the US Federal Reserve’s decision to keep interest rates unchanged at 4.25% - 4.50%, continuing its pause on rate cuts that began in January. Sensex and Nifty are trading in fine-fettle in early deals with gains of over half a percent each. Some support came as RBI March Bulletin said that sound fiscal policies, a well-calibrated monetary framework, and digital transformation initiatives are expected to provide a strong foundation for long-term sustainable economic growth. Meanwhile, the Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved the 'Incentive Scheme for promotion of low-value BHIM-UPI transactions Person to Merchant (P2M)' for the financial year 2024-25.

On the global front, Asian markets are trading mostly higher, following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight, on an improved outlook for interest rates after the US Fed announced its widely expected decision to again leave interest rates unchanged but signaled that it is still likely to lower rates twice later this year. Traders now looked ahead to the monetary policy announcements from the Bank of England and the Swiss National Bank later in the day. The Japanese market is closed for Vernal Equinox holiday.

Back home, FMCG stocks are in focus as Crisil Ratings said India's FMCG sector is expected to witness a mild revenue rebound of 100 to 200 basis points to 6-8 per cent in fiscal 2026 on the back of a gradual recovery in urban and steady rural demand. In stock specific development, RattanIndia Enterprises traded higher as its Revolt Motor will enter the Nepal market in partnership with the country's MV Dugar Group, and open its first showroom in Kathmandu in April 2025.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 75884.07, up by 435.02 points or 0.58% after trading in a range of 75767.99 and 76013.82. There were 19 stocks advancing against 11 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.30%, while Small cap index was up by 0.44%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were TECK up by 1.83%, IT up by 1.74%, Telecom up by 1.10%, Auto up by 1.00% and Consumer Discretionary up by 0.64%, while Metal down by 0.36%, Capital Goods down by 0.35%, Power down by 0.33%, Industrials down by 0.26% and Utilities down by 0.08% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Bharti Airtel up by 2.28%, Infosys up by 2.23%, HCL Technologies up by 1.70%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.68% and Titan Company up by 1.68%. On the flip side, Larsen & Toubro down by 1.14%, Bajaj Finance down by 1.12%, Adani Ports & SEZ down by 0.82%, Tata Steel down by 0.79% and Ultratech Cement down by 0.32% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the RBI March Bulletin has said that India’s sound fiscal policies, a well-calibrated monetary framework, and digital transformation initiatives are expected to provide a strong foundation for long-term sustainable economic growth. It also said that macroeconomic fundamentals remain strong, and economic growth is poised to sustain momentum driven by robust domestic demand, steady investment activity, and ongoing policy-driven infrastructure development along with a pick-up in government spending.

An article on ‘State of the Economy’ published in the Bulletin noted that the resilience of the global economy is being tested by escalating trade tensions and a heightened wave of uncertainty around the scope, timing, and intensity of tariffs. While engendering heightened volatility in global financial markets, these have also caused apprehensions about the slowdown in global growth. It said ‘Amidst these challenges, the Indian economy continues to demonstrate resilience as evident in the robust performance of the agriculture sector and improving consumption’. It added the reverberations of a tumultuous external environment, however, are being reflected in sustained foreign portfolio outflows.

The article further said high frequency indicators suggest that aggregate demand continued to remain resilient in Q4:2024-25. Activity indicators such as E-way bills and toll collections recorded double digit (y-o-y) growth in February 2025. Also, high frequency food price data for March so far (up to 17th) show an increase in cereal prices, both for rice and wheat. Edible oil prices have firmed up as well – mainly driven by palm, soybean and sunflower oil. Pulses prices, on the other hand, continued to show broad-based moderation. Prices of key vegetables including potato, onion and tomato witnessed further correction.

According to the article, India’s financial landscape is also navigating these external risks manifested through various channels while addressing domestic funding needs. It said ‘The Reserve Bank has remained agile, swiftly tackling liquidity shortages triggered by government tax flow dynamics,currency leakages and foreign portfolio investor (FPI) outflows’. The RBI has deployed a strategic mix of interventions, including open market operations (OMO), daily variable rate repo (VRR) auctions, and dollar/rupee buy-sell swap auctions. These proactive measures have helped stabilise market liquidity conditions, ensuring financial resilience in an unpredictable global environment. The RBI said the views expressed in the Bulletin article are of the authors and do not represent the views of the Reserve Bank of India.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 23027.55, up by 119.95 points or 0.52% after trading in a range of 22994.40 and 23071.10. There were 34 stocks advancing against 15 stocks declining, while 1 stock remained unchanged on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Bharti Airtel up by 2.26%, Infosys up by 2.05%, TCS up by 1.79%, Wipro up by 1.75% and HCL Technologies up by 1.66%. On the flip side, Bajaj Finance down by 1.00%, Larsen & Toubro down by 0.93%, Tata Steel down by 0.67%, Apollo Hospital down by 0.66% and Trent down by 0.58% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mostly in green; Taiwan Weighted jumped 384.85 points or 1.72% to 22,345.68, Jakarta Composite surged 104.04 points or 1.62% to 6,415.70, Straits Times rose 25.55 points or 0.65% to 3,933.86 and KOSPI increased 11.74 points or 0.44% to 2,640.36. On the other hand, Hang Seng declined 315.91 points or 1.29% to 24,455.23 and Shanghai Composite was down by 2.27 points or 0.07% to 3,424.16.