Sensex, Nifty trade higher with decent gains in early deals

Indian equity benchmarks made cautious start on Friday and soon added some gains tracking broadly positive cues from global peers as US Treasury yields eased on improved US data and comments from a US Fed official that he still sees a path to interest rate cuts later this year. Sensex and Nifty are trading higher with decent gains in early deals supported by buying in IT and TECK counters. Traders took note of report that Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal held a meeting with Howard Lutnick, the United States Secretary of Commerce, to discuss the prospects of a mutually beneficial trade agreement between the two nations. Separately, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri met Japan's senior foreign ministry officials and reviewed the salient issues in the multi-dimensional bilateral ties, including defence and security, economic cooperation and people-to-people exchanges. In stock specific development, ITC surged after reporting a marginal rise in adjusted profit for Q4.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 81375.66, up by 423.67 points or 0.52% after trading in a range of 80897.00 and 81402.68. There were 28 stocks advancing against 2 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.26%, while Small cap index was up by 0.35%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were IT up by 1.32%, TECK up by 1.01%, FMCG up by 0.90%, Oil & Gas up by 0.86% and Energy up by 0.70%, while Healthcare down by 0.34% was the sole losing index on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Eternal up by 2.53%, Infosys up by 1.81%, Tech Mahindra up by 1.28%, ITC up by 1.27% and HCL Technologies up by 1.27%. On the flip side, Sun Pharma down by 3.26% and ICICI Bank down by 0.10% were the only losers.

Meanwhile, in a positive development towards India-U.S. trade pact, Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal held a meeting with Howard Lutnick, the United States (U.S.) Secretary of Commerce, to discuss the prospects of a mutually beneficial trade agreement between the two nations. The meeting focused on deepening economic ties and exploring new opportunities for collaboration in trade and investment. The statement reflects the growing commitment from both sides to strengthen bilateral trade relations and promote economic growth through increased cooperation.

India and the United States are poised to sign the first tranche of the much-anticipated Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) before July. A round of meetings with the United States Trade Representative has already concluded. Officials from both nations have discussed various issues related to goods trade, with India pushing for concessions on labour-intensive exports such as leather and textiles. Service sector issues have also featured prominently in the discussions.

The India-US trade deal would mark a significant milestone in economic relations between the world's largest and fifth-largest economies, potentially opening new avenues for bilateral commerce and investment. For the fourth consecutive year in 2024-25, the US was India's largest trading partner, with bilateral trade valued at $131.84 billion. India had a trade surplus of $41.18 billion in goods in 2024-25.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 24781.40, up by 171.70 points or 0.70% after trading in a range of 24614.05 and 24784.80. There were 48 stocks advancing against 2 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Eternal up by 2.74%, Infosys up by 1.98%, Grasim Industries up by 1.73%, Tech Mahindra up by 1.64% and SBI Life Insurance up by 1.54%. On the flip side, Sun Pharma down by 3.18% and Hindalco down by 0.30% were the only losers.

Asian markets are trading mostly in green; Nikkei 225 surged 204.11 points or 0.55% to 37,189.98, Hang Seng rose 144.76 points or 0.61% to 23,689.07, Jakarta Composite gained 23.31 points or 0.33% to 7,190.29, KOSPI increased 4.55 points or 0.18% to 2,598.22, Shanghai Composite was up by 2.77 points or 0.08% to 3,382.96. On the other hand, Taiwan Weighted lost 26.16 points or 0.12% to 21,644.80 and Straits Times was down by 7.75 points or 0.2% to 3,872.34.