Bourses remain sluggish in early afternoon session

Indian markets continued their sluggish trade in early afternoon session following mixed cues from other Asian markets. IT sector stocks were on the priority list of the sellers. Traders got worried, as United Nations (UN) in its latest report titled 'The World Economic Situation and Prospects as of mid-2025' has revised India's economic growth forecast for 2025, down to 6.3 per cent, and despite a projected moderation, the country remains one of the fastest-growing large economies, supported by resilient consumption and government spending. The 6.3 per cent growth projection for India in 2025 is slightly lower than the 6.6 per cent estimated in the UN World Economic Situation and Prospects 2025 published in January this year. On the global front, Asian markets were trading mixed as Japanese economy contracted a seasonally adjusted 0.2 percent on quarter in the first quarter of 2025. On an annualized basis, GDP was down 0.7 percent - again missing forecasts for a drop of 0.2 percent following the upwardly revised 2.4 percent increase in the previous quarter (originally 2.2 percent).

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 82263.09, down by 267.65 points or 0.32% after trading in a range of 82146.95 and 82514.81. There were 12 stocks advancing against 18 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index gained 0.66%, while Small cap index was up by 0.91%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Industrials up by 1.68%, PSU up by 1.58%, Capital Goods up by 1.57%, Realty up by 1.49% and Utilities was up by 1.31%, while TECK down by 1.18%, IT down by 0.76%, Healthcare down by 0.44%, Metal down by 0.31% and  Bankex was down by 0.22% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were NTPC up by 1.01%, Hindustan Unilever up by 0.90%, Eternal up by 0.78%, Tata Motors up by 0.69% and ITC up by 0.38%. On the flip side, Bharti Airtel down by 2.51%, Indusind Bank down by 2.35%, SBI down by 1.83%, HCL Tech down by 1.73% and Infosys down by 1.39% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, commerce ministry in its latest data has showed that India's merchandise exports rose by 9.03 per cent to $38.49 billion in April 2025 as compared to $35.30 billion in same month last year, the highest in six months, driven by healthy growth in sectors such as electronics and engineering goods. Besides, merchandise imports increased by 19.12 per cent to $64.91 billion in April 2025 as against $54.49 billion in April 2024, due to a rise in shipments of crude oil and fertiliser.  

According to the data, the spurt in imports widened the trade deficit, the difference between the value of imports and exports, to the highest since November 2024 when it was recorded at $31.77 billion. The trade deficit expanded to $26.42 billion in April 2025 as compared to $21.54 billion in March 2025.  

Data further stated that non-petroleum and non-gems & jewellery exports in April 2025 were $28.61 billion as compared to $26 billion in April 2024. Non-petroleum, non-gems & jewellery (gold, silver & precious metals) imports in April 2025 were $39.27 billion as compared to $33.26 billion in April 2024. 

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 24988.95, down by 73.15 points or 0.29% after trading in a range of 24953.05 and 25070.00. There were 19 stocks advancing against 31 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Bharat Electronics up by 4.37%, NTPC up by 1.05%, Eicher Motors up by 0.97%, Adani Enterprises up by 0.95% and Bajaj Auto up by 0.92%. On the flip side, Bharti Airtel down by 2.53%, Indusind Bank down by 2.35%, Shriram Finance down by 2.10%, SBI down by 1.83% and HCL Tech down by 1.77% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mixed; Hang Seng declined 101.4 points or 0.43% to 23,351.76, Shanghai Composite weakened 14.14 points or 0.42% to 3,366.68, Straits Times fell 4.03 points or 0.1% to 3,887.91 and Nikkei 225 was down by 1.79 points or 0% to 37,753.72. On the flip side, KOSPI increased 5.51 points or 0.21% to 2,626.87, Jakarta Composite gained 22.01 points or 0.31% to 7,062.17 and Taiwan Weighted was up by 113.44 points or 0.52% to 21,843.69.