Domestic indices maintain gains in late morning deals

Domestic equity indices maintained their gains in late morning deals on account of buying by funds and retail investors. Meanwhile, broader indices underperformed their large peers with BSE Mid cap index and Small cap index gaining in the range of 0.05-0.30%. Hectic buying in Larsen & Toubro, Bajaj Finserv, Bajaj Finance, Axis Bank and Ultratech Cement companies’ stocks helped the markets to maintain their gains. There was encouragement in markets as the Department of Economic Affairs (DEA), Ministry of Finance said that Indian economy is estimated to achieve a growth of 6.5 per cent in FY25 despite considerable external headwinds. On the BSE sectoral front, traders were seen pilling up positions in Bankex, PSU, Capital Goods, Energy and Industrials, while selling was witnessed in Healthcare and Auto, Consumer Disc.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mixed following the negative cues from US markets overnight. Back home, the auto industry related stocks remained under pressure after U.S. President Donald Trump announced 25 percent tariffs on auto and auto parts starting next week.    

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 77627.77, up by 339.27 points or 0.44% after trading in a range of 77082.51 and 77747.46. There were 21 stocks advancing against 9 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.05%, while Small cap index up by 0.29%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Bankex up by 0.84%, PSU up by 0.83%, Capital Goods up by 0.77%, Energy up by 0.75% and Industrials up by 0.74%, while Healthcare down by 0.86%, Auto down by 0.84% and Consumer Disc down by 0.17% were the few losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Larsen & Toubro up by 2.38%, Bajaj Finserv up by 1.25%, Bajaj Finance up by 1.16%, Ultratech Cement up by 1.09% and Axis Bank up by 1.08%. On the flip side, Tata Motors down by 4.93%, Sun Pharma down by 1.89%, HCL technology down by 0.71%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 0.43% and Bharti Airtel down by 0.38% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has said that India and the US are holding ‘very active’ and ‘intense’ discussions on trade, as the world waits with anxiety over US President Donald Trump's reciprocal tariff that will kick in on April 2, 2025. He said there is a strong ‘business case’ for a bilateral trade agreement (BTA) between the two countries.

Jaishankar said ‘on trade, we had a very open discussion and it is the result of the decision by PM Modi and US President Trump to have a bilateral trade agreement by fall this year. I have every confidence that they (negotiators) will negotiate what is the best possible deal for us. While noting the concerns, I wouldn't prejudge the outcome. I would wait and see really what happens in terms of our ability to reach an understanding with the United States.’ On Trump's policies, he said ‘overall, our assessment was that we saw many changes which suited us or which in some way formed convergence on which we could build upon.’ He said the US president's tariff tussle has stoked fears of a global trade war with many countries already announcing counter-measures to deal with it.

The US was the largest trading partner of India with overall bilateral trade in goods and services amounting to $190 billion for calendar year 2023. In the financial year 2023-24, the US was the third largest source of foreign direct investment (FDI) into India with inflows of $4.99 billion accounting for almost per cent of total FDI equity inflows. 

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 23580.15, up by 93.30 points or 0.40% after trading in a range of 23412.20 and 23626.75. There were 33 stocks advancing against 17 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Hero MotoCorp up by 2.64%, HDFC Life Insurance up by 2.33%, Larsen & Toubro up by 2.23%, Wipro up by 1.74% and Bajaj Finserv up by 1.28%. On the flip side, Tata Motors down by 4.90%, Sun Pharma down by 1.98%, Dr. Reddy's Lab down by 1.14%, HCL technology down by 0.74% and Apollo Hospital down by 0.56% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mixed; Hang Seng advanced 172.36 points or 0.73% to 23,655.68, Jakarta Composite gained 14.72 points or 0.23% to 6,487.08, Shanghai Composite strengthened 6.67 points or 0.2% to 3,375.37 and Straits Times rose 13.45 points or 0.34% to 3,977.16. However, KOSPI dropped 36.75 points or 1.41% to 2,607.19, Nikkei 225 slipped 370.14 points or 0.98% to 37,657.15 and Taiwan Weighted lost 308.53 points or 1.41% to 21,951.76.