Markets wipe out opening gains to trade in red amid India-Pakistan tension

Indian equity benchmarks made flat-to-positive start on Thursday following gains in global peers as well as overnight fall in crude oil prices. Soon, markets turned volatile and are trading in red in early deals amid continued cross-border shelling by Pakistani troops along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu & Kashmir. Some volatility also came ahead of the weekly F&O expiry. However, broader indices -- BSE Mid & Small cap are outperforming larger peers and trading higher. Traders took note of report that Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) Chairman Sudhir Sekhri said the free trade agreement (FTA) with the UK will help to double India's ready-made garment exports to Britain in the next three years. 

On the global front, Asian markets are trading mostly higher, following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight, amid optimism surrounding the upcoming U.S.-China trade talks to take place in Switzerland this week and China's new stimulus measures. Meanwhile, the US Fed left interest rates unchanged, and also warned of increasing risks of higher unemployment and higher inflation.

Back home, telecom stocks are buzzing as Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) reported that India's total wireless subscriber base, including mobile and 5G fixed wireless access (FWA), rose to 1,163.76 million in March current year from 1,160.33 million in February, marking a monthly growth of 0.28 per cent. In stock specific development, Coal India gained on reporting a 12 percent in its Q4 consolidated net profit.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 80718.60, down by 28.18 points or 0.03% after trading in a range of 80657.30 and 80927.99. There were 16 stocks advancing against 14 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.19%, while Small cap index was up by 1.00%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Telecom up by 0.60%, Industrials up by 0.59%, IT up by 0.49%, Bankex up by 0.37% and TECK up by 0.35%, while FMCG down by 0.47%, Healthcare down by 0.44%, Realty down by 0.27% and Metal down by 0.07% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tata Motors up by 2.57%, Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 1.36%, HCL Technologies up by 1.16%, Power Grid up by 1.11% and Axis Bank up by 1.10%. On the flip side, Eternal down by 1.73%, ITC down by 1.31%, Maruti Suzuki down by 1.06%, HDFC Bank down by 0.86% and Mahindra & Mahindra down by 0.67% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, after the UAE, India has opened its central government procurement for British companies under the free trade agreement (FTA) announced on May 06, 2025. The British firms would be allowed to participate in the procurement of goods and services of the non-sensitive central-level entities only. However, access to state and local government-level entities will be excluded. Eligible UK suppliers would be allowed to bid for domestic tenders as deemed Class II local suppliers only. Carve out is also provided for 'Make in India' policy as well as medium and small enterprises.

Earlier, India opened the government procurement segment in the comprehensive trade pact with the UAE. Under that pact, UAE firms are allowed to participate in procurement tenders worth over Rs 200 crore. In 2020, the government modified public procurement norms to give maximum preference to companies whose goods and services have 50 per cent or more local content to promote 'Make in India'. The revised Public Procurement (Preference to Make in India), Order 2017, has introduced a concept of Class-I, II and non-local suppliers, based on which they will get preference in government purchases of goods and services.

Class-I local suppliers will get the most preference in all government purchases because their domestic value addition is 50 per cent or more. They will be followed by Class-II suppliers, whose value addition range is more than 20 per cent but less than 50 per cent. India's government procurement (GP) market is one of the largest in the world and it is estimated at nearly $600 billion annually, or around 15 per cent of the country's GDP. This expenditure fuels development across infrastructure, healthcare, power, education, transport, and defence. However, GP is more than a budgeting tool as it is a critical industrial policy instrument, used to promote local manufacturing, build MSME capacity, and advance national programs like Make in India and Atmanirbhar Bharat.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 24391.50, down by 22.90 points or 0.09% after trading in a range of 24373.45 and 24447.25. There were 21 stocks advancing against 29 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Tata Motors up by 2.65%, Coal India up by 1.55%, Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 1.48%, Axis Bank up by 1.17% and HCL Technologies up by 1.11%. On the flip side, Eternal down by 1.73%, ITC down by 1.38%, Dr. Reddy's Lab down by 1.33%, Tata Consumer Products down by 1.33% and Apollo Hospital down by 1.30% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mostly in green; Hang Seng soared 250.03 points or 1.1% to 22,941.91, Taiwan Weighted jumped 162.14 points or 0.79% to 20,708.63, Nikkei 225 surged 131.36 points or 0.36% to 36,911.02, KOSPI increased 15.16 points or 0.59% to 2,588.96, Shanghai Composite strengthened 12.59 points or 0.38% to 3,355.26 and Straits Times was up by 7.73 points or 0.2% to 3,873.10, while Jakarta Composite was down by 53.78 points or 0.78% to 6,872.45.