Markets maintain gains to trade higher in late afternoon

Despite some early hiccups the bourses continued to trade higher in late afternoon session amid rising optimism about going trade negations between India-US. The market sentiments also remained upbeat on the back of rising expectation of RBI’s interest rate cut on April 9. Besides, the markets have experienced some cherry picking as investors opted to buy share at low level, following recent correction, which also fuelled the up move. However, gains remained capped as the implications of trade war between China and US continues to worry the market participants after Trump threatened to impose additional 50% tariffs on China. 

On the global front, Asian equity markets are trading mixed after U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Japan is likely to be prioritized in trade talks with the Trump administration, meanwhile, Trump has threatened to impose additional 50% tariffs on China, if it imposes tariffs on US goods. European markets were trading higher after European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stated that the EU had offered U.S. President Donald Trump a 'zero-for-zero tariffs' deal for industrial goods as part of the trade negotiations.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 74596.88, up by 1458.98 points or 1.99% after trading in a range of 73424.92 and 74859.39. All the 30 stocks are advancing on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index up by 2.05%, while Small cap index was up by 2.27%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Oil & Gas up by 2.93%, Consumer Durables up by 2.78%, Realty up by 2.64%, TECK up by 2.59% and IT up by 2.45%, while there were no losers on BSE sectoral index.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Titan Company up by 3.99%, Eternal up by 3.96%, Larsen & Toubro up by 3.46%, Infosys up by 3.39% and Bajaj Finance up by 3.27%.

Meanwhile, Underscoring the need for unity and collaboration among nations and industries to tackle evolving global challenges, Union Minister of Commerce & Industry, Piyush Goyal has said that India is well poised to convert the current global situation into an opportunity, just as it did during the Covid-19 pandemic and in the late 1990s when the Indian IT sector leveraged the Y2K bug crisis to mark its emergence on the global stage.

Minister further emphasized that the collective consciousness of the Indian industry can help drive the country towards self-reliance and sustained growth. Goyal urged Indian businesses to support each other, focus on quality, and avoid the pitfalls of short-term gains. He also warned against predatory pricing and over-dependence on cheap imports. He noted ‘Low-cost goods may seem attractive today, but in the long run, they can hurt businesses and economies. This has been evident in several parts of the world where supply chains have collapsed due to over-dependence on a single geography’.

Goyal pointed out that resilient and diversified supply chains, along with energy and food security, have become global priorities. Minister said ‘More and more developed countries are recognising that this is not just about geopolitics, but about national resilience and self-reliance, especially in critical technologies’. Minister stressed that India’s demographic dividend, a 1.4 billion-strong consumer base, and the fastest-growing economy in the world present an unparalleled opportunity. He said ‘From a $4 trillion economy today, India is poised to grow to $30-35 trillion in the next 25 years. We have an opportunity of a lifetime.’

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 22630.55, up by 468.95 points or 2.12% after trading in a range of 22270.85 and 22697.20. All the 50 stocks are advancing on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were JIO Financial Services up by 4.60%, Shriram Finance up by 4.23%, Eternal up by 3.99%, Titan Company up by 3.94% and Larsen & Toubro up by 3.57%.

Asian markets are trading mixed; Hang Seng advanced 299.38 points or 1.49% to 20,127.68, KOSPI increased 6.03 points or 0.26% to 2,334.23, Nikkei 225 surged 1876 points or 5.68% to 33,012.58 and Shanghai Composite strengthened 48.97 points or 1.56% to 3,145.55, while Jakarta Composite plunged 518.05 points or 8.64% to 5,992.5, Taiwan Weighted lost 772.4 points or 4.18% to 18,459.95 and Straits Times fell 52.57 points or 1.48% to 3,487.93.

European markets were trading higher; UK’s FTSE 100 increased 134.04 points or 1.71% to 7,836.12, France’s CAC rose 89.86 points or 1.28% to 7,016.98 and Germany’s DAX gained 269.41 points or 1.34% to 20,059.03.