Sensex, Nifty wipe out opening gains; trade slightly in red in early deals

Indian equity benchmarks made a positive start tracking overnight gains on Wall Street as well as firm trade in Asian counterparts as traders remained cautiously optimistic on the outlook for markets after the U.S.-China temporary trade truce. China also cut its benchmark lending rates for the first time in 7 months to boost its struggling economy amid rising trade tensions. Investors are now focusing on the outcome of US trade negotiations with India and Japan. However, soon Sensex and Nifty wiped out their gains and are trading slightly in red in early deals amid foreign fund outflows. Foreign and domestic institutional investors turned cautious in tandem on Monday, marking the first simultaneous selloff in over a month. Provisional NSE data showed that Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded Indian equities worth Rs 526 crore on May 19. In stock specific development, Waaree Energies rose after it announced the acquisition of Kamath Transformers for around Rs 293 crore.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 81904.66, down by 154.76 points or 0.19% after trading in a range of 81894.25 and 82250.42. There were 12 stocks advancing against 18 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index fell 0.51%, while Small cap index was down by 0.34%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 1.03%, IT up by 0.82%, TECK up by 0.42%, Basic Materials up by 0.26% and Energy up by 0.08%, while Telecom down by 0.71%, Industrials down by 0.62%, Auto down by 0.60%, Capital Goods down by 0.54% and Power down by 0.53% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tata Steel up by 2.10%, Infosys up by 1.13%, Tech Mahindra up by 0.64%, ITC up by 0.60% and HCL Technologies up by 0.57%. On the flip side, Eternal down by 1.22%, HDFC Bank down by 1.04%, Bajaj Finance down by 0.75%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 0.69% and Maruti Suzuki down by 0.57% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, expressing optimism over India’s manufacturing sector growth, S&P Global India Research Chapter's study, titled 'India Forward: Transformative Perspectives', has said that India made progress in making its manufacturing sector more attractive to global investors, and ongoing changes in international trade policy would benefit India in the long run. It said that as economies adapt to evolving trade dynamics and tariff challenges, India can capitalise on this momentum for accelerated manufacturing growth and greater global supply-chain integration.

It noted that a strategic shift towards local sourcing, proximity to end-markets, and enhanced regional integration should attract additional investment to the sector, accelerating India's technological advancement and manufacturing competitiveness and creating additional high-quality manufacturing jobs. It added ‘Beyond the near-term, changes in global trade policy would catalyse supply-chain diversification, to the benefit of India’. The study said India has made ‘notable progress’ in enhancing its competitiveness and making its manufacturing sector ‘more attractive to global investors’.

India remains the world's fastest-growing large economy despite a slowdown in real GDP growth in fiscal 2024-25. The S&P Global study said India has moderate dependence on external trade for growth, which cushions it somewhat from ongoing shifts in global trade and tariff policies, though it is not immune to the rising trade protectionism. While manufacturing value added accounts for a modest 17.2 per cent of the country's real gross domestic product (GDP), the government has implemented targeted policy interventions to build domestic manufacturing capacity and strengthen India's role in global supply chains. It noted ‘High-frequency HSBC Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) data ... highlights the domestic manufacturing sector's resilience to recent global headwinds compared with other major economies’.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 24898.05, down by 47.40 points or 0.19% after trading in a range of 24887.60 and 25010.35. There were 21 stocks advancing against 29 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Tata Steel up by 2.06%, Coal India up by 1.91%, Infosys up by 1.06%, Hindalco up by 1.01% and ONGC up by 0.80%. On the flip side, Eicher Motors down by 1.61%, Hero MotoCorp down by 1.37%, Shriram Finance down by 1.31%, Trent down by 1.23% and HDFC Bank down by 1.07% were the top losers.

All Asian markets are trading higher; Hang Seng jumped 292.3 points or 1.25% to 23,625.02, Nikkei 225 surged 121.23 points or 0.32% to 37,619.86, Taiwan Weighted rose 61.85 points or 0.29% to 21,585.68, Jakarta Composite gained 39.18 points or 0.55% to 7,180.27, Shanghai Composite strengthened 12.87 points or 0.38% to 3,380.45, Straits Times added 8.86 points or 0.23% to 3,885.06 and KOSPI was up by 2.24 points or 0.09% to 2,605.66.