Bourses remain in red in early afternoon session

Indian equity markets remained in red in early afternoon session amid volatility. Investors were keeping a close watch on US Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s speech, scheduled later in the day. Besides, traders were cautious about weekly F&O expiry.  Sector wise, textile industry stocks remained in limelight as credit rating agency, India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra) in its latest report has said that the FTA between India and the UK will open up incremental export opportunities for the Indian textile industry. The rating agency also noted that Indian textile exports to the UK are charged an import duty of up to 12%, which has been reduced to zero under FTA. On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in red as there is still some uncertainty over the Trump Administration's tariff moves against some of its major trading partners. 

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 81118.35, down by 212.21 points or 0.26% after trading in a range of 80762.16 and 81705.54. There were 9 stocks advancing against 21 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index gained 0.20%, while Small cap index was up by 0.79%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Industrials up by 0.90%, Metal up by 0.85%, Basic Materials up by 0.78%, Auto up by 0.72% and Realty was up by 0.68%, while Utilities down by 0.81%, Power down by 0.55%, TECK down by 0.51%, IT down by 0.44% and Bankex was down by 0.31% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tata Motors up by 2.68%, Adani Ports up by 1.03%, Tata Steel up by 0.77%, Asian Paints up by 0.54% and Tech Mahindra up by 0.48%. On the flip side, Power Grid down by 1.59%, NTPC down by 1.56%, Indusind Bank down by 1.34%, Infosys down by 1.20% and Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 0.87% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, highlighting India's significant strides in next-generation wireless technology, Union Minister of State (MoS) for Telecom Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani has said that over 111 research projects have been funded in India with sanction amount of Rs 300 crore and the country now ranks among the top six nations globally in 6G patent filings. He said that 6G will utilize TeraHertz frequency bands enabling data rates up to 1 terabit per second which is 100 times faster than 5G.

The minister said ‘we have a vast amount of talent pool and we have enough time. There is no reason for us not to lead in 6G’. He noted that as India continues its journey towards becoming a global technology leader, its path forward with 6G technology will define the nation's prosperity for decades to come. 

He further said 6G will create entirely new industries and revolutionize existing ones, potentially adding $1 trillion to India's economy by 2035. He said ‘Indigenous 6G development will also ensure that our secure communications are developed within India and secure’.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 24639.70, down by 27.20 points or 0.11% after trading in a range of 24494.45 and 24807.75. There were 22 stocks advancing against 28 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Hero MotoCorp up by 4.66%, JSW Steel up by 2.84%, Tata Motors up by 2.75%, Shriram Finance up by 2.37% and Adani Enterprises up by 1.24%. On the flip side, Power Grid down by 1.59%, NTPC down by 1.39%, Indusind Bank down by 1.22%, Infosys down by 1.11% and Cipla down by 1.07% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Nikkei 225 slipped 338.88 points or 0.9% to 37,789.25, Hang Seng declined 206.6 points or 0.87% to 23,434.05, Taiwan Weighted lost 52.62 points or 0.24% to 21,730.25, Shanghai Composite weakened 21.55 points or 0.63% to 3,382.40 and KOSPI was down by 18.09 points or 0.69% to 2,622.48. On the flip side, Straits Times rose 13.27 points or 0.34% to 3,884.32 and Jakarta Composite was up by 79.06 points or 1.12% to 7,058.94.