Bourses trade mixed in early afternoon session

Indian equity markets traded mixed in early afternoon session amid volatility. Sensex traded in green, while Nifty traded in red. Investors were hoping for some fruitful trade discussions between the US and China when they meet this weekend. Traders took note of report that Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) Chairman Sudhir Sekhri has stated that the free trade agreement (FTA) with the UK will help double India's ready-made garment exports to Britain in the next three years, despite of demand contraction in major economies owed to Russia-Ukraine conflict, Israel-Hamas war, American reciprocal tariff and Chinese belligerence, creating uncertainty and adversely disrupting the global trade. On the global front, Asian markets were trading mixed as US Fed left interest rates unchanged, and also warned of increasing risks of higher unemployment and higher inflation. 

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 80809.48, up by 62.70 points or 0.08% after trading in a range of 80657.30 and 80927.99. There were 15 stocks advancing against 15 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index gained 0.19%, while Small cap index was up by 1.35%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Industrials up by 1.11%, IT up by 0.84%, Telecom up by 0.82%, Capital Goods up by 0.81% and Consumer Durables was up by 0.75%, while Metal down by 0.67%, Auto down by 0.63%, Oil & Gas down by 0.62%, FMCG down by 0.52% and Healthcare was down by 0.50% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tata Motors up by 2.17%, HCL Tech up by 2.01%, Titan Company up by 1.67%, Adani Ports up by 1.60% and Tech Mahindra up by 1.21%. On the flip side, Eternal down by 2.89%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 1.85%, Maruti Suzuki down by 1.62%, Tata Steel down by 1.23% and Sun Pharma down by 0.94% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, S&P Global Ratings has said that the hostilities between India and Pakistan heighten risks to the credit metrics of both countries, and any escalation in clashes would put downward pressure on sovereign credit support. S&P, which rates India and Pakistan at 'BBB-' with a positive outlook and a 'CCC+' (outlook stable), said that in the current scenario, it does not see any immediate impact on sovereign credit rating and expects the tensions to remain high over the next two to three weeks, with significant further military actions on both sides possible.

S&P said it expects India to maintain strong economic growth that allows gradual fiscal improvements to continue, and also the Pakistan government to remain focused on supporting the recovery of its economy and fiscal stability. Both countries have no incentive to allow current tensions to become prolonged. Recently, S&P cut FY26 India's growth forecast to 6.3 per cent, from 6.5 per cent pegged earlier, citing uncertainty over US trade policy. A protracted military conflict will derail the improvements to Pakistan's external and fiscal metrics that would support a return to macro stability.

For India, S&P said a prolonged military conflict will also lead to difficulty attracting foreign investors seeking to reconfigure their international production activities amid the uncertain global economic environment. It said the current situation raises the ‘specter of miscalculations and accidental clashes’ that could escalate well beyond the intentions of both sides. Such a scenario would materially worsen credit risks. The downward pressures on sovereign credit support will exacerbate if there is no material de-escalation in the next few weeks. It anticipates tensions to remain high over the next two to three weeks, with significant further military actions on both sides possible. However, it said the situation is likely to de-escalate following that, leaving little persistent negative impact on sovereign credit metrics.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 24403.35, down by 11.05 points or 0.05% after trading in a range of 24373.45 and 24447.25. There were 18 stocks advancing against 32 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Tata Motors up by 2.18%, HCL Tech up by 2.06%, Titan Company up by 1.69%, Adani Ports up by 1.61% and Trent up by 1.30%. On the flip side, Tata Consumer down by 3.29%, Eternal down by 2.84%, ONGC down by 1.87%, Cipla down by 1.83% and Mahindra & Mahindra down by 1.79% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mixed; Nikkei 225 surged 148.97 points or 0.4% to 36,928.63, Hang Seng advanced 92.98 points or 0.41% to 22,784.86, Shanghai Composite strengthened 10.9 points or 0.33% to 3,353.57 and KOSPI was up by 5.68 points or 0.22% to 2,579.48. On the flip side, Taiwan Weighted lost 3.09 points or 0.02% to 20,543.40, Straits Times fell 17.44 points or 0.45% to 3,847.93 and Jakarta Composite was down by 49.46 points or 0.71% to 6,876.77.