Weak trade persists in late afternoon session

Key Indian equity indices have recovered from day’s low but continue to trade lower in late afternoon session. Traders remained cautious amid uncertainty surrounding U.S President Trump’s trade tariffs set to take effect on April 2. The market participants opted to book some profits following the gains made in previous couple of sessions. While broader markets were trading in negative territory, the small cap stocks took the most hit owed to higher valuations. However, losses remained capped amid renewed investor sentiments after FIIs fund inflows.

On the global front, Asian equity markets are trading mostly in green following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight, amid optimism about earlier interest rate cuts by the US Fed after US consumer confidence deteriorated by more than expected in the month of March. European equity markets were trading mostly in red ahead of a looming deadline for implementing additional U.S. tariffs.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 77413.39, down by 603.80 points or 0.77% after trading in a range of 77345.43 and 78167.87. 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 0.40%, while Small cap index was down by 1.20%.

The only gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Auto up by 0.34% and Capital Goods up by 0.18%, while Healthcare down by 1.27%, Bankex down by 1.16%, Oil & Gas down by 1.14%, Utilities down by 1.09% and PSU down by 1.06% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Indusind Bank up by 2.36%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.13%, HCL Technologies up by 0.58%, Bajaj Finserv up by 0.35% and Ultratech Cement up by 0.29%. On the flip side, Eternal down by 3.10%, NTPC down by 3.04%, Tech Mahindra down by 2.55%, Axis Bank down by 2.17% and Bajaj Finance down by 1.94% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said that the Finance Bill 2025 provides unprecedented tax relief, and the 13.14 per cent projected growth in personal income tax collection is ‘realistic’ and supported by solid data. She said the customs duty rationalisation announced in the Budget will support manufacturing units, domestic value addition, promote exports, facilitate trade and also provide relief to the common people. 

The minister noted that in the 2025-26 Budget, the government has hiked income tax rebate to Rs 12 lakh per annum from Rs 7 lakh earlier. For the salaried class, this rebate will be Rs 12.75 lakh per year after taking into account the standard deduction. The hike in I-T rebate will lead to tax foregone to the tune of Rs 1 lakh crore in FY26. She said the Budget also provides ‘marginal relief’ under the Income Tax law for those taxpayers whose income exceeds Rs 12 lakh per annum by a small margin. 

She further stated that collections in personal income tax have shown considerable buoyancy in the last few years and they have been increasing around 20 per cent year-on-year. For the year 2025-26, the personal income tax collection is projected at Rs 13.6 lakh crore. The Revised Estimates for 2024-25 is Rs 12.2 lakh crore. So, Rs 12.2 lakh crore is going to be Rs 13.6 lakh and this is done with a certain realistic calculation. The personal I-T revenue is projected to grow by 13.14 per cent in FY26, after taking into account a 7 per cent dip after factoring in the Rs 1 lakh crore revenue foregone. So, the projected collections for income tax for 2025-26 are based on solid data. 

With regard to an amendment regarding the abolition of the 6 per cent Equalisation Levy on online advertisements, Sitharaman said it was done to address uncertainty in the international economic conditions. Talking about Customs tariff rationalisation, she said the Budget 2025 aims to boost domestic production and enhance export competitiveness by reducing duties on raw materials and inputs, making domestic products more cost-effective. 

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 23527.25, down by 141.40 points or 0.60% after trading in a range of 23500.60 and 23736.50. There were 19 stocks advancing against 31 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Trent up by 3.28%, Indusind Bank up by 2.37%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.11%, HCL Technologies up by 0.67% and Bharat Electronics up by 0.66%. On the flip side, NTPC down by 2.89%, Tech Mahindra down by 2.44%, Axis Bank down by 2.10%, Cipla down by 2.00% and Apollo Hospitals Enterprise down by 1.84% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mostly in green; Hang Seng advanced 139.07 points or 0.59% to 23,483.32, Jakarta Composite gained 245.68 points or 3.79% to 6,481.30, KOSPI increased 28.13 points or 1.06% to 2,643.94, Nikkei 225 surged 246.75 points or 0.65% to 38,027.29 and Straits Times rose 10.52 points or 0.27% to 3,965.05, while Taiwan Weighted lost 12.9 points or 0.06% to 22,260.29 and Shanghai Composite weakened 1.28 points or 0.04% to 3,368.70.

European markets were trading mostly in red; France’s CAC fell 43.61 points or 0.54% to 8,064.98 and Germany’s DAX lost 127.45 points or 0.55% to 22,982.34, while UK’s FTSE 100 increased 9.95 points or 0.11% to 8,673.75.