Bourses trade in green in early afternoon session

Indian equity markets traded in green in early afternoon session led by gains in banking sector’s stocks. Traders took note of report that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US Vice-President JD Vance have welcomed the significant progress in the ongoing trade talks between both countries. India and the US have finalised the terms of reference outlining the roadmap for negotiations of the proposed Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA). Sector wise, steel stocks remained in limelight as Government of India has imposed a 12% safeguard duty on the import of certain non-alloy and alloy steel flat products in an effort to protect domestic steel manufacturers from the adverse impact of import surges and to ensure fair competition in the market.  On the global front, Asian markets were trading mixed as traders remained concerned about a global trade war while they awaited signs of progress from US President Donald Trump's trade talks. 

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 79616.68, up by 208.18 points or 0.26% after trading in a range of 79253.44 and 79824.30. There were 18 stocks advancing against 12 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index gained 0.90%, while Small cap index was up by 0.91%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 1.80%, FMCG up by 1.38%, Consumer Durables up by 0.96%, Healthcare up by 0.75% and Bankex was up by 0.69%, while TECK down by 0.58%, Power down by 0.52%, Utilities down by 0.31%, IT down by 0.30% and Capital Goods was down by 0.14% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were SBI up by 1.91%, Hindustan Unilever up by 1.84%, Eternal up by 1.54%, Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 1.53% and Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.29%. On the flip side, Indusind Bank down by 4.49%, Power Grid down by 1.92%, Infosys down by 1.75%, Bharti Airtel down by 1.06% and Larsen & Toubro down by 0.50% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Ministry of Commerce & Industry in its latest data has showed the output of eight key infrastructure sectors slowed down to 3.8 per cent (provisional) in March 2025, as against 6.3 per cent growth registered a year ago. On a monthly basis, the growth rate in the production of these sectors was slightly higher than the 3.4 per cent (provisional) expansion recorded in February. The Eight Core Industries - coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertilizers, steel, cement and electricity - comprise 40.27 per cent of the weight of items included in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP).  

Coal production having 10.33 per cent weight increased by 1.6 per cent in March, 2025 over March, 2024 and its cumulative index increased by 5.1 per cent during April to March, 2024-25 over corresponding period of the previous year. Petroleum Refinery production having 28.04 per cent weight increased by 0.2 per cent in March, 2025 over March, 2024 and its cumulative index increased by 2.8 per cent during April to March, 2024-25 over corresponding period of the previous year. Fertilizer production having 2.63 per cent weight increased by 8.8 per cent in March, 2025 over March, 2024 and its cumulative index increased by 2.9 per cent during April to March, 2024-25 over corresponding period of the previous year.

Steel production having 17.92 per cent weight increased by 7.1 per cent in March, 2025 over March, 2024 and its cumulative index increased by 6.7 per cent during April to March, 2024-25 over corresponding period of the previous year. Cement production having 5.37 per cent weight increased by 11.6 per cent in March, 2025 over March, 2024 and its cumulative index increased by 6.3 per cent during April to March, 2024-25 over corresponding period of the previous year. Electricity generation having 19.85 per cent weight increased by 6.2 per cent in March, 2025 over March, 2024 and its cumulative index increased by 5.1 per cent during April to March, 2024-25 over corresponding period of the previous year.

On the other hand, Crude Oil production having 8.98 per cent weight declined by 1.9 per cent in March, 2025 over March, 2024 and its cumulative index declined by 2.2 per cent during April to March, 2024-25 over corresponding period of the previous year. Natural Gas production having 6.88 per cent weight declined by 12.7 per cent in March, 2025 over March, 2024 and its cumulative index declined by 1.2 per cent during April to March, 2024-25 over corresponding period of the previous year.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 24195.70, up by 70.15 points or 0.29% after trading in a range of 24072.00 and 24242.60. There were 31 stocks advancing against 19 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Tata Consumer up by 2.36%, SBI up by 2.14%, Hindustan Unilever up by 1.83%, Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 1.70% and Eternal up by 1.55%. On the flip side, Indusind Bank down by 4.40%, Hero MotoCorp down by 2.30%, Power Grid down by 1.84%, Infosys down by 1.79% and Bajaj Auto down by 1.61% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mixed; Hang Seng advanced 111.29 points or 0.52% to 21,506.43, Jakarta Composite gained 51.17 points or 0.79% to 6,497.14, Straits Times rose 32.08 points or 0.85% to 3,791.30 and Shanghai Composite was up by 11.62 points or 0.35% to 3,303.05. On the flip side, KOSPI dropped 1.78 points or 0.07% to 2,486.64, Nikkei 225 slipped 59.32 points or 0.17% to 34,220.60 and Taiwan Weighted was down by 312.77 points or 1.66% to 18,793.43.