Bourses continue gaining momentum in early afternoon session

Indian equity markets continued their gaining momentum in early afternoon session as investors continued to hunt for fundamentally strong stocks. Traders were closely monitoring Q4FY25 earnings. Traders took note of private report that finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said India hopes to ‘positively conclude’ the first part of a trade pact with the United States by this autumn as she started on a trip packed with engagements between the two nations. Meanwhile, amid the ongoing tariff war, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Sanjay Malhotra has said that the central bank will continuously monitor the rapidly evolving global situation and remain 'agile and proactive' in its policy actions. On the global front, Asian markets were trading mixed amid progress in tariff discussions between the Trump administration and other major economies. Meanwhile, the People's Bank of China left its interest rates unchanged for the sixth successive session. 

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 79519.50, up by 966.30 points or 1.23% after trading in a range of 78776.06 and 79538.19. There were 23 stocks advancing against 7 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index gained 2.03%, while Small cap index was up by 1.51%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were IT up by 3.02%, Oil & Gas up by 2.52%, Realty up by 2.37%, PSU up by 2.31% and Metal was up by 2.24%, while FMCG down by 0.69% was the only losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tech Mahindra up by 5.60%, Indusind Bank up by 4.53%, Bajaj Finserv up by 3.80%, Axis Bank up by 3.52% and Infosys up by 3.33%. On the flip side, Adani Ports down by 2.23%, ITC down by 1.23%, Hindustan Unilever down by 0.87%, Bharti Airtel down by 0.62% and Asian Paints down by 0.27% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, amid escalating global trade tensions, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said that the rise of protectionist policies has the potential to disrupt global supply chains but India will navigate the global disruptions with policy agility and long-term vision.

Finance Minister also noted that the government’s focus will remain firmly on building a robust domestic foundation. Sitharaman further said that the recalibration efforts on trade are very, very challenging.

Besides, Minister said that India’s financial markets have shown remarkable resilience despite recent global uncertainties and appreciated retail investors’ faith in the markets. Domestic institutional investors’ (DIIs) transition from being supportive to dominant roles in Indian markets underlines the growing maturity and depth of India’s capital market.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 24166.00, up by 314.35 points or 1.32% after trading in a range of 23903.65 and 24166.90. There were 42 stocks advancing against 8 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Tech Mahindra up by 5.52%, Indusind Bank up by 4.51%, Bajaj Finserv up by 3.89%, Trent up by 3.75% and Axis Bank up by 3.66%. On the flip side, Adani Ports down by 2.19%, HDFC Life Insurance down by 1.33%, ITC down by 1.23%, Hindustan Unilever down by 0.87% and Bharti Airtel down by 0.64% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mixed; Straits Times rose 44.07 points or 1.18% to 3,764.40, Shanghai Composite strengthened 14.92 points or 0.46% to 3,291.65, Jakarta Composite gained 6.03 points or 0.09% to 6,444.30 and KOSPI was up by 5.00 points or 0.2% to 2,488.42. On the flip side, Taiwan Weighted lost 288.83 points or 1.51% to 19,106.20 and Nikkei 225 was down by 450.36 points or 1.31% to 34,279.92.