Bourses trade in green in early afternoon session

Indian markets continued to trade in green in early afternoon session ahead of monthly F&O expiry. Sentiments remained upbeat as India has surpassed Japan to become the world’s fourth-largest economy. NITI Aayog CEO B.V.R. Subrahmanyam said that India is now poised to displace Germany from the third rank in the next 2.5 to 3 years. Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump extended a deadline for European Union trade deal until 9 July, following a call with European Commission president. Earlier, Trump had threatened to impose 50 percent tariffs on imports from the European Union beginning June 1st, claiming talks with the bloc are ‘going nowhere’. On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in red as Japan's leading index decreased less than initially estimated in March to the lowest level in three months. The leading index, which measures future economic activity, dropped slightly to 108.1 in March from 108.2 in February. In the initial estimate, the score was 107.7.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 82150.65, up by 429.57 points or 0.53% after trading in a range of 81867.23 and 82492.24. There were 22 stocks advancing against 8 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index gained 0.45%, while Small cap index was up by 0.60%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Auto up by 1.14%, Industrials up by 0.95%, Capital Goods up by 0.93%, IT up by 0.83% and Consumer Durables was up by 0.80%, while there were no losing sectoral indices on the BSE. 

The top gainers on the Sensex were Mahindra & Mahindra up by 2.06%, Tata Motors up by 1.95%, Larsen & Toubro up by 1.33%, Trent up by 1.31% and Hindustan Unilever up by 1.20%. On the flip side, Eternal down by 4.19%, Sun Pharma down by 0.85%, Ultratech Cement down by 0.37%, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 0.31% and Asian Paints down by 0.31% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal held his second meeting with US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick in Washington on May 23, 2025 to discuss the proposed bilateral trade agreement currently under negotiation between the two countries. On May 20 also, Goyal held a meeting with Lutnick to expedite the talks on the first phase of the trade pact. The meeting assumes significance as both the countries are looking at finalising an interim trade pact by July 8. 

The four-day discussions between the chief negotiators have also concluded in Washington on May 22. In the interim trade deal, New Delhi is pushing for full exemption from the 26 per cent reciprocal tariff on Indian goods. The US on April 2 imposed an additional 26 per cent reciprocal tariff on Indian goods but suspended it for 90 days till July 9. However, the 10 per cent baseline tariff imposed by America remains in place. Due to the 90-day suspension of the 26 per cent additional import duty, Indian exporters are at present paying just 10 per cent baseline tariffs, instead of 26 per cent earlier proposed. At present, the Trump administration requires approval from the US Congress to bring tariffs below the MFN (most favoured nation) rates. But the administration has the authority to remove the reciprocal tariffs imposed on a number of countries, including India. 

India may look at certain commitments from the US on the duty concessions for its labour-intensive sector in the first tranche of the proposed bilateral trade agreement (BTA). Both countries have fixed a deadline to conclude the first phase of the pact by fall (September-October) of this year to more than double bilateral trade to $500 billion by 2030.

To boost bilateral trade, India is seeking duty concessions for labour-intensive sectors like textiles, gems and jewellery, leather goods, garments, plastics, chemicals, shrimp, oil seeds, chemicals, grapes, and bananas in the proposed pact with America. On the other hand, the US wants duty concessions in sectors like certain industrial goods, automobiles (electric vehicles in particular), wines, petrochemical products, dairy, and agriculture items such as apples, tree nuts and GM (genetically modified) crops. While the import of GM crops from the US continues to remain a non-starter due to regulatory norms in India, New Delhi is open to import of non-GM products like Alpha alpha hay (a kind of cattle feed).

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 24981.85, up by 128.70 points or 0.52% after trading in a range of 24900.50 and 25079.20. There were 38 stocks advancing against 12 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Bajaj Auto up by 2.43%, Hero MotoCorp up by 2.12%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.97%, Tata Motors up by 1.89% and Nestle up by 1.71%. On the flip side, Eternal down by 4.29%, JSW Steel down by 0.99%, Sun Pharma down by 0.88%, Grasim Industries down by 0.48% and Asian Paints down by 0.42% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Hang Seng declined 289.31 points or 1.23% to 23,311.95, Taiwan Weighted lost 115.67 points or 0.54% to 21,536.57, Jakarta Composite plunged 55.98 points or 0.78% to 7,158.18, Straits Times fell 8.74 points or 0.23% to 3,873.68, Shanghai Composite weakened 4.41 points or 0.13% to 3,343.96. On the flip side, KOSPI increased 52.31 points or 1.98% to 2,644.40 and Nikkei 225 was up by 371.06 points or 0.99% to 37,531.53.