Bourses continue downward trade in early afternoon session

Indian markets continued their downward trade in early afternoon session amid global trade war fears. Besides, traders were cautious about RBI interest rate decision, scheduled to be out on April 09. Traders took note of report that India's services sector activity eased slightly in March 2025, weighed down by a marginal slowdown in sales amid softer demand conditions and easing inflationary pressures. According to the survey report, the seasonally adjusted HSBC India Services PMI Business Activity Index fell from February's reading of 59.0 to 58.5 in March, but remained above its long-run average of 54.2. Sector wise, Pharma sector's stocks remained in limelight after U.S. President Donald Trump signaled that tariffs on the sector were imminent.

On the global front, all Asian markets are trading lower as traders continued to assess the impact of the steeper-than-expected reciprocal tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump on U.S. trade partners. 

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 75560.76, down by 734.60 points or 0.96% after trading in a range of 75435.75 and 76258.12. There were 9 stocks advancing against 21 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index declined 2.76%, while Small cap index was down by 2.98%.

The only gaining sectoral indices on the BSE was Bankex up by 0.30%, while Metal down by 5.03%, Oil & Gas down by 3.85%, Energy down by 3.72%, Capital Goods down by 3.53% and Industrials was down by 3.49% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were HDFC Bank up by 1.91%, Bajaj Finance up by 1.73%, Axis Bank up by 0.83%, Bharti Airtel up by 0.64% and Nestle up by 0.45%. On the flip side, Tata Steel down by 6.22%, Tata Motors down by 6.19%, Larsen & Toubro down by 4.58%, Indusind Bank down by 4.29% and Reliance Industries down by 4.15% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, IT industry body Nasscom President Rajesh Nambiar has said that as India looks to become a $7-trillion economy by 2030, the tech sector is poised to play a pivotal role by contributing about $1 trillion to the GDP, driving innovation that solves both domestic and global problems. He emphasised the critical role of technology in shaping India's future and noted that achieving this goal will require the tech sector to lead in innovation, particularly through deep tech, which will be instrumental in transforming various sectors such as healthcare and financial services.

Nambiar said India's vision of becoming a Viksit Bharat by 2047 will be shaped not just by economic growth, but by the depth and the impact of technological innovations. He underscored India's strong position in the global startup landscape, with the country now standing as the third-largest startup ecosystem worldwide. He pointed out that India's startup base is approximately 35,000 strong, and the nation added the second-highest number of unicorns globally last year. This momentum is further bolstered by the tripling of tech startup IPOs in 2024 compared to 2023. Additionally, the tech sector contributed a significant $283 billion to India's GDP in 2024, accounting for about 7.3 per cent of the total GDP.

Emphasising technological sovereignty as a national imperative, Nasscom President highlighted the need for India to transition from being a user of technology to a creator and builder of transformative technologies. This involves leading in patents, shaping global standards, and owning intellectual property that drives global progress. The deep tech ecosystem will be the fulcrum of this transformation, enabling India to lead globally by creating solutions to humanity's toughest problems. To achieve these ambitious goals, he identified several key areas that require attention. These include addressing structural gaps in the ecosystem, such as improving valuation models for deep tech ventures and enhancing collaboration between academia, industry, and government. He also stressed the importance of increasing global patent filings and investing in higher R&D.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 22987.35, down by 262.75 points or 1.13% after trading in a range of 22921.60 and 23214.70. There were 12 stocks advancing against 38 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Bajaj Finance up by 2.11%, HDFC Bank up by 1.87%, Tata Consumer up by 1.86%, Shriram Finance up by 0.89% and Axis Bank up by 0.77%. On the flip side, ONGC down by 6.78%, Hindalco down by 6.70%, Tata Steel down by 6.15%, Tata Motors down by 6.08% and Cipla down by 5.01% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading lower; KOSPI dropped 21.28 points or 0.86% to 2,465.42, Nikkei 225 slipped 955.35 points or 2.83% to 33,780.58 and Straits Times was down by 96.94 points or 2.46% to 3,845.29.