Key indices continue to trade higher in late afternoon session

Key Indian equity indices jumped back and forth to trade higher in late afternoon session. The markets experienced some profit booking following the recent 6-day rally as trader remained cautious and waited for further clarity in U.S. trade policies. Recently, U.S. president had announced 25% percent secondary tariffs on country purchasing Venezuelan oil or gas which seems to have made investors nervous. Besides, the uncertainty about fresh tariffs continues to weigh on market sentiment. However, losses remained capped as U.S. president is said to be adopting a more moderate approach while imposing tariffs, likely neglecting a set of industry-specific tariffs.

On the global front, Asian equity markets are trading mixed as the uncertainty about fresh tariffs continues to weigh on market sentiment. European equity markets were trading higher as a survey showed German business morale rose in line with forecasts in March after a successful vote on an historic change to the country's debt borrowing rules.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 78092.48, up by 108.10 points or 0.14% after trading in a range of 77880.84 and 78741.69. There were 9 stocks advancing against 21 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index down by 0.80%, while Small cap index was down by 1.40%.

The few gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were IT up by 1.47% and TECK up by 1.22%, while Consumer Durables down by 1.62%, Utilities down by 1.19%, Metal down by 1.04%, Consumer Disc down by 1.02% and Energy down by 1.01% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Ultratech Cement up by 3.59%, Infosys up by 2.66%, Bajaj Finserv up by 2.39%, HCL Technologies up by 1.69% and Axis Bank up by 1.67%. On the flip side, Eternal down by 5.12%, Indusind Bank down by 4.47%, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries down by 1.22%, ICICI Bank down by 1.21% and Adani Ports down by 1.21% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the commerce ministry has said that Indian and US officials will hold discussions this week to expand and deepen bilateral trade ties in a mutually beneficial manner and enhance supply chain integration. To discuss trade-related issues with India, Assistant US Trade Representative for South and Central Asia Brendan Lynch, along with a team of US government officials, will be visiting India from March 25, 2025- March 29, 2025. The visit of the US team comes against the backdrop of President Donald Trump's plan to impose reciprocal tariffs on various countries, including India. He has on multiple forums stated that India imposes high tariffs on US goods. 

The ministry said as directed by the leaders of the two countries, India remains committed to working with the US side in the trade and economic domains to enhance prosperity, and innovation and deepen supply chain integration between the two countries. It said ‘we look forward to productive and constructive discussions with the incoming US delegation to expand and deepen our bilateral trade and economic ties in a mutually beneficial manner’.

In 2023-24, the US was the largest trading partner of India with $119.71 billion bilateral trade in goods ($77.51 billion worth of exports, $42.19 billion of imports, with $35.31 billion trade surplus). In 2024, India's main exports to the US included drug formulations, biological ($8.1 billion), telecom instruments ($6.5 billion), precious and semi-precious stones ($5.3 billion), petroleum products ($4.1 billion), gold and other precious metal jewellery ($3.2 billion), ready-made garments of cotton, including accessories ($2.8 billion), and products of iron and steel ($2.7 billion). Imports included crude oil ($4.5 billion), petroleum products ($3.6 billion), coal, coke ($3.4 billion), cut and polished diamonds ($2.6 billion), electric machinery ($1.4 billion), aircraft, space crafts and parts ($1.3 billion), and gold ($1.3 billion).

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 23724.40, up by 66.05 points or 0.28% after trading in a range of 23627.55 and 23869.60. There were 20 stocks advancing against 30 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Ultratech Cement up by 3.62%, Trent up by 3.34%, Infosys up by 2.67%, Grasim Industries up by 2.65% and Bajaj Finserv up by 2.64%. On the flip side, Indusind Bank down by 4.41%, Dr. Reddy's Laboratories Lab down by 2.35%, Coal India down by 1.72%, Adani Enterprises down by 1.54% and Bajaj Auto down by 1.42% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mixed; Jakarta Composite gained 88.14 points or 1.41% to 6,249.36, Nikkei 225 surged 172.05 points or 0.46% to 37,780.54, Taiwan Weighted added 166.55 points or 0.75% to 22,273.19 and Straits Times rose 20.11 points or 0.51% to 3,956.44, while Shanghai Composite weakened 0.05 points or 0% to 3,369.98, Hang Seng declined 561.31 points or 2.4% to 23,344.25 and KOSPI dropped 16.26 points or 0.62% to 2,615.81.

European markets were trading higher; UK’s FTSE 100 increased 42.39 points or 0.49% to 8,680.40, France’s CAC rose 70.41 points or 0.87% to 8,092.74 and Germany’s DAX gained 108.61 points or 0.47% to 22,961.27.