Markets maintain gains in late morning deals

Domestic equity indices maintained their gains in late morning deals as market participants indulged in enlarging their positions. There was broad based buying witnessed in the markets and apart from the blue chips, the broader markets too participated in the rally. Hectic buying in Indusind Bank, Adani Ports, Tata Motors, Larsen & Toubro and Axis Bank companies’ stocks supported the markets to maintain their gains. Positive cues from the global markets supported domestic sentiments. Support also came as Crisil in its report said that India's domestic demand is showing recovery signs, fueled by healthy rabi output and easing inflation expected in fiscal 2025's fourth quarter. Further, sentiments got boost after U.S. President Donald Trump announced tariff exemptions for electronic goods

On the global front, Asian markets were mostly trading in green following positive cues from the US markets overnight. Back home, all the sectoral indices on the BSE were trading in green led by Realty, Auto, Capital Goods, Industrials and Utilities.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 76753.18, up by 1595.92 points or 2.12% after trading in a range of 76435.07 and 76907.63. There were 27 stocks advancing against 3 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 2.02%, while Small cap index up by 2.61%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 4.69%, Auto up by 3.35%, Capital Goods up by 3.27%, Industrials up by 3.24% and Utilities up by 2.76%, while there were no losers.  

The top gainers on the Sensex were Indusind Bank up by 6.91%, Adani Ports up by 4.64%, Tata Motors up by 4.57%, Larsen & Toubro up by 4.32% and Axis Bank up by 3.64%. On the flip side, Hindustan Unilever down by 0.52%, ITC down by 0.24% and Nestle down by 0.19% were the few losers.

Meanwhile, with US tariffs changing the global trade dynamics, the Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) in its report has indicated that US crackdown on low-value Chinese e-commerce shipments has opened a rare and potentially lucrative window for Indian exporters. According to the GTRI, India having over 100,000 e-commerce sellers and $5 billion in current exports, is well positioned to fill the gap left by China--particularly in customized, small-batch products like handicrafts, fashion, and home goods. However, it has raised doubts about India's current trade system, which is still being geared toward large, traditional exporters--not small online sellers and suggested urgent reforms to seize the opportunity.

More on reforms, GTRI suggested reforms in banking systems hinting the Indian banks being a major hurdle as they struggle to handle the high volume and small-value nature of e-commerce exports. The report suggested that the RBI should raise the gap between declared shipping value and final payment to 100 percent, as the current 25 percent gap is too tight for online exports, where discounts, returns, and platform fees often lead to larger differences, meanwhile, giving banks flexibility to approve legitimate cases would help the small e-commerce exports to flourish further. Besides, GTRI highlighted that bank fees creating issues for the low-value exporters as reconciling each small shipment can cost Rs 1,500 to Rs 2,000--sometimes half the shipment's value and these charges should be waived for low-value exports, and processes must go fully digital. It added that RBI should also set strict service timelines and grievance mechanisms to ensure timely support for exporters. 

Highlighting other issues faced by small exporters, GTRI has emphasized the need of India's customs system to move to online mode with 24/7 automated inspections and easy-to-follow digital checklists for small exporters. It added that the courier-mode shipments should also be updated to accommodate terms like ‘Delivered Duty Paid (DDP),’ ensuring that paperwork matches real-world logistics and avoids unnecessary delays. GTRI’s report also emphasized the need for a mechanism for better access to the credit as the big players get 7-10 percent interest loans and purchase-order-based financing, the small online sellers pay 12-15 percent and are left out of public credit programs. GTRI suggested including small online sellers under priority sector lending could help level the playing field. Additionally, it also emphasized the need to extend incentives for the exporters, adding that the extension of the advance authorization scheme, RoDTEP (Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products), duty drawback, etc.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 23305.30, up by 476.75 points or 2.09% after trading in a range of 23207.00 and 23368.35. There were 46 stocks advancing against 4 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Indusind Bank up by 6.72%, Tata Motors up by 4.66%, Adani Ports up by 4.57%, Adani Enterprises up by 4.48% and Larsen & Toubro up by 4.34%. On the flip side, Hindustan Unilever down by 0.49%, Tata Consumer down by 0.27%, Nestle down by 0.24% and ITC down by 0.21% were the few losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; Hang Seng advanced 2.36 points or 0.01% to 21,419.76, Jakarta Composite gained 76.55 points or 1.19% to 6,445.07, Straits Times rose 60.77 points or 1.68% to 3,609.68, KOSPI increased 25.16 points or 1.01% to 2,481.05, Nikkei 225 surged 323.58 points or 0.94% to 34,305.94 and Taiwan Weighted added 359.7 points or 1.81% to 19,872.79. However, Shanghai Composite weakened 7.68 points or 0.24% to 3,255.13.