Bourses trade flat ahead of upcoming U.S. tariffs

Indian equity markets traded flat with negative bias in morning deals as traders were concerned about Donald Trump's administration's upcoming tariffs next week. Besides, monthly F&O expiry due on tomorrow. Traders took note of report that Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Jitin Prasada has said that India and the US would focus on increasing market access, reducing import duty and non-tariff barriers, and enhancing supply chain integration in the proposed bilateral trade agreement. He said that as on date, reciprocal tariffs have not been applied by the US on India. He said that the government continues to engage with the US to achieve enhancement and broadening of bilateral trade ties in a mutually beneficial and fair manner. Sector wise, pharma sector remained in limelight as Department of Pharmaceuticals (DoP) has taken steps to promote research and development (R&D) in the sector, including in the areas of arti?cial intelligence (AI) and machine learning, in the pharmaceutical sector through the Scheme for Promotion of Research and Innovation in the Pharma Medtech sector.

On the global front, Asian markets are trading mostly in green as producer prices in Japan were flat on month in February, after slipping 0.5 percent in January. On a yearly basis, producer prices were up 3.0 percent, easing from an upwardly revised 3.2 percent in the previous month (originally 3.1 percent).

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 77948.55, down by 68.64 points or 0.09% after trading in a range of 77784.23 and 78167.87. There were 16 stocks advancing against 14 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading mixed; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.34%, while Small cap index was down by 0.09%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Power up by 0.78%, Utilities up by 0.52%, Metal up by 0.52%, Basic Materials up by 0.48% and Capital Goods was up by 0.37%, while Healthcare down by 0.64%, FMCG down by 0.26%, Bankex down by 0.04% and IT down by 0.01% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Indusind Bank up by 3.34%, Power Grid up by 1.44%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.37%, Adani Ports up by 1.14% and Bajaj Finserv up by 0.79%. On the flip side, Eternal down by 2.53%, NTPC down by 1.29%, Maruti Suzuki down by 1.25%, Tech Mahindra down by 1.01% and Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 0.94% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Minister for Road Transport & Highways, Nitin Gadkari, has said that in the next two years, the Indian roads will be better than those of the United States. He stated ‘I don’t think there is any problem in the road sector. The changes this year and next year will be so significant that earlier I used to say our highway road network would match that of the US, but now I say that within two years, our highway network will be even better than the US.’

Moreover, he exuded confidence that India will surpass the US in EV adoption and manufacturing in the next five years. He also revealed that he has set a target to build a 60-kilometer road network every day. Further, talking about Tesla’s entry into the country, He said it is an open market; whoever has the power, come and make it and compete in the prices. He added that the transport manufacturers in the country are quality-centric rather than cost-centric. 

He expressed confidence that the car manufacturers will make good vehicles and offer them at a competitive price. Besides, he reiterated his commitment to reducing logistics costs, adding that the cost would be in the single digits, making India competitive with the world. The country’s logistics cost is currently around 14-16 per cent. 

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 23657.25, down by 11.40 points or 0.05% after trading in a range of 23614.70 and 23736.50. There were 22 stocks advancing against 27 stocks declining on the index, while 1 stock remained unchanged. 

The top gainers on Nifty were Indusind Bank up by 3.41%, Power Grid up by 1.58%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.44%, Adani Enterprises up by 1.28% and Adani Ports up by 1.27%. On the flip side, Dr. Reddy's Lab down by 1.81%, NTPC down by 1.28%, Tech Mahindra down by 1.13%, Maruti Suzuki down by 1.07% and Britannia down by 1.04% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mostly in green; Nikkei 225 surged 312.06 points or 0.82% to 38,092.60, Jakarta Composite gained 206.28 points or 3.2% to 6,441.90, Hang Seng advanced 57.8 points or 0.25% to 23,402.05, KOSPI increased 30.80 points or 1.16% to 2,646.61, Straits Times rose 12.3 points or 0.31% to 3,966.83 and Shanghai Composite was up by 5.99 points or 0.18% to 3,375.97. On the flip side, Taiwan Weighted was down by 0.6 points to 22,272.59.