Bourses remain sluggish in early afternoon session

Indian equity markets continued their sluggish trade in early afternoon session due to ongoing uncertainty surrounding the tariff threats from US President Donald Trump. Traders overlooked Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal’s statement that the ongoing talks between India and the US for the proposed trade agreement between India and the US are progressing well and will be for the good of both nations while protecting India's interests. Goyal also said that he is in regular and constant dialogue with the industry from different sectors including agriculture, engineering, electronics, textiles, and various interest groups. Meanwhile, Reserve Bank of India in its latest report ‘sectoral deployment of bank credit - February 2025’ has showed that credit to industry recorded a growth of 7.3 per cent (y-o-y) as on the fortnight ended February 21, 2025, compared with 8.4 per cent for the corresponding fortnight of the previous year. On the global front, all Asian markets are trading lower amid concerns over upcoming reciprocal tariffs and the 25% tariffs on auto and auto components imports in to the U.S. to go in to effect next week. 

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 77433.58, down by 172.85 points or 0.22% after trading in a range of 77309.79 and 77766.70. There were 12 stocks advancing against 18 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading mixed; the BSE Mid cap index declined 0.13%, while Small cap index was up by 0.23%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Oil & Gas up by 1.58%, Energy up by 1.01%, FMCG up by 0.98%, PSU up by 0.67% and Capital Goods was up by 0.35%, while IT down by 0.96%, TECK down by 0.88%, Realty down by 0.48%, Auto down by 0.46% and Telecom was down by 0.33% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tata Motors up by 1.38%, Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 1.31%, Hindustan Unilever up by 1.26%, Nestle up by 0.96% and Reliance Industries up by 0.59%. On the flip side, Indusind Bank down by 2.81%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 2.46%, Power Grid down by 1.68%, Infosys down by 1.39% and HCL Tech down by 1.16% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Union Minister for New & Renewable Energy Pralhad Joshi has said that India is on track to achieve the 500 GW renewable energy (RE) target by 2030 as investment commitments of Rs 32 lakh crore have been received. He said renewable energy project bids are out for a capacity of around 169 GW, and the country has crossed 223 GW of non-fossil-fuel capacity, including 103 GW solar and nearly 50 GW wind capacity.

The minister said that the government has come out with viability gap funding as far as offshore wind projects are concerned. He said ‘we have received a commitment of Rs 32 lakh crore investments. I am quite confident that this will be realised. He said the banks are also enthusiastic because anyone would look at profit and investing here is profitable’. He further said that a detailed workshop with CEOs and MDs of both private and public sector banks, and NBFCs and the heads was conducted recently to apprise them about opportunities in green project financing. 

Meanwhile, as India accelerates its transition towards a sustainable future, its renewable energy (RE) sector has witnessed unprecedented growth. In 2024, the country made significant strides in solar and wind energy installations, policy advancements, and infrastructural improvements, setting the stage for ambitious targets in 2025. With a commitment to achieving 500 GW of non-fossil fuel-based energy capacity by 2030, India is emerging as a global leader in clean energy.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 23540.90, down by 51.05 points or 0.22% after trading in a range of 23504.95 and 23649.20. There were 22 stocks advancing against 28 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were ONGC up by 4.85%, Tata Consumer up by 3.68%, JIO Financial Serv. up by 2.13%, Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 1.51% and Tata Motors up by 1.50%. On the flip side, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 2.60%, Indusind Bank down by 2.41%, Shriram Finance down by 2.36%, Wipro down by 2.13% and Power Grid down by 2.03% were the top losers.

All Asian markets are trading lower; Nikkei 225 slipped 679.64 points or 1.83% to 37,120.33, Taiwan Weighted lost 348.87 points or 1.61% to 21,602.89, Hang Seng declined 107.35 points or 0.46% to 23,471.45, KOSPI dropped 49.17 points or 1.92% to 2,557.98, Shanghai Composite weakened 17.67 points or 0.52% to 3,356.08 and Straits Times was down by 5.54 points or 0.14% to 3,976.03.