Markets continue to witness gains in late morning deals

Indian equity markets continued to witness gains and were trading higher by around 0.90 percent in late morning deals on account of buying by funds and retail investors. Meanwhile, broader indices outperformed their large peers with BSE Mid cap index and Small cap index surging in range of 1.25-1.70%. Falling crude oil prices supported domestic sentiments. Traders were getting some encouragement as Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, external affairs minister, said he spoke to United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio on the early conclusion of the Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA). Shares of state-owned oil marketing companies (OMCs) were in focus after the Indian government has increased the price of a 14.2 kg liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cylinder by Rs 50. Simultaneously, the government has raised the excise duty on petrol and diesel by Rs 2 per litre. Bharat Petroleum Corporation, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation and Indian Oil Corporation traded higher. 

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green as traders were optimistic after the U.S. said almost 70 countries have contacted them to begin negotiations on tariffs after the U.S. slapped steeper-than-expected reciprocal tariffs on its trading partner countries. Back home, in the stock specific development, Titan company surged following the release of healthy Q4 business updates, driven by a surge in gold prices.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 73791.50, up by 653.60 points or 0.89% after trading in a range of 73424.92 and 74421.65. There were 28 stocks advancing against 2 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 1.29%, while Small cap index up by 1.66%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Consumer Durables up by 2.25%, Realty up by 2.05%, TECK up by 1.66%, IT up by 1.58% and Healthcare up by 1.55%, while there were no losers. 

The top gainers on the Sensex were Titan up by 3.36%, Infosys up by 2.65%, Asian Paints up by 2.56%, SBI up by 2.44% and Bajaj Finance up by 2.21%. On the flip side, Power Grid down by 0.67% and HDFC Bank down by 0.07% were the only losers.

Meanwhile, with the changing global trade dynamics, think tank -- Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) has indicated that Indian merchandise exports to the US from sectors such as marine items, gold, electrical, and electronics are expected to decline by $5.76 billion this year due to increased American duties. However, it added that India's competitive position in select product segments may help cushion some of the losses. It expects sectors such as textiles made-up, apparel, ceramic products, inorganic chemicals, and pharmaceuticals to witness modest gains amid changing US trade policies. 

The GTRI expects several key products to see reduction amid US’ announcement of an additional 26 per cent duty on Indian goods from April 9 with pharma, semiconductors and certain energy goods being some exceptions. It estimates the exports of fish and crustaceans to fall by 20.2 per cent; iron or steel articles by 18 per cent; diamonds, gold products by 15.3 per cent; vehicle and parts exports by 12.1 per cent; and electrical, telecom, and electronic products by 12 per cent. In addition, other categories such as plastics, carpets, petroleum products, organic chemicals, and machinery are also expected to be negatively impacted.

According to the think tank, the high-value items such as energy products, including petroleum, solar panels, and pharmaceuticals as well as copper were accounted for $20.4 billion or 22.7 per cent of India's exports to the US in 2024 and they will continue to face only the standard MFN (Most Favoured Nation) tariff. While the key industrial goods such as steel, aluminium, automobiles, and auto parts which contributed $2.2 billion, or 2.5 per cent of India's total exports to US will face a 25 per cent tariff with no change to their MFN status. However, GTRI has pointed out that the largest impact falls on the remaining basket of goods, which were valued at $67.2 billion or 74.8 per cent of total trade, will be hit with a 26 per cent tariff. It also suggested that the trade dynamics could reshape across a wide range of industries if MFN tariffs still apply.

The GTRI has mentioned that while this assessment provides a structured and data-driven estimate of the impact of new tariffs, it has several limitations as it assumes that all other factors such as exchange rates, global demand, supply chain dynamics, non-tariff barriers and even US tariffs remain constant, which may not hold true in real-world trade scenarios. Additionally, the report also does not account for how quickly Indian exporters can adapt, shift markets, or adjust pricing strategies in response to tariff changes.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 22363.05, up by 201.45 points or 0.91% after trading in a range of 22270.85 and 22577.55. There were 44 stocks advancing against 6 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Shriram Finance up by 4.40%, Titan up by 3.39%, Infosys up by 2.75%, Asian Paints up by 2.55% and SBI up by 2.53%. On the flip side, Power Grid down by 0.62%, Hindalco down by 0.41%, Trent down by 0.30%, Hero MotoCorp down by 0.24% and Nestle down by 0.17% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; Hang Seng advanced 46.6 points or 0.23% to 19,874.90, Shanghai Composite strengthened 15.57 points or 0.5% to 3,112.15, KOSPI increased 2.54 points or 0.11% to 2,330.74 and Nikkei 225 surged 1744.26 points or 5.3% to 32,880.84. However, Jakarta Composite plunged 502.14 points or 8.36% to 6,008.48, Straits Times fell 61.31 points or 1.76% to 3,479.19 and Taiwan Weighted lost 768.05 points or 4.16% to 18,464.30.