Domestic indices continue to trade lower in late morning deals

Domestic equity indices continued to trade in red in late morning deals on account of selling in ITC, Mahindra & Mahindra, Asian Paints, Titan and Ultratech Cement companies’ stocks. Depreciation in Indian rupee against dollar weighed down sentiments. Rupee weakened by 28 paise to 85.68 against the dollar at the Inter-bank Foreign Exchange market on account of increased demand for the American currency from importers and banks. However, broader indices outperformed their large peers with BSE Mid cap index and Small cap index gaining in the range of 0.20-0.60%.  Traders were getting some encouragement as the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) has said that Indian export consignments have gradually started moving through the Red Sea route again. The gradual movement signals a cautious recovery in shipments after months of disruptions on the route caused by regional tensions. 

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green following positive cues from the US markets overnight. Back home, on the BSE sectoral front, traders were seen pilling up positions in Telecom, Industrials, Capital Goods, Power and Realty, while selling was witnessed in FMCG, Metal, Auto, Consumer Durables and Consumer Disc. In the stock specific development, Hindustan Copper surged on strong Q4 profit.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 81314.64, down by 236.99 points or 0.29% after trading in a range of 81244.02 and 81613.36. There were 10 stocks advancing against 20 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.21%, while Small cap index up by 0.56%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Telecom up by 1.97%, Industrials up by 0.62%, Capital Goods up by 0.61%, Power up by 0.56% and Realty up by 0.52%, while FMCG down by 1.16%, Metal down by 0.65%, Auto down by 0.63%, Consumer Durables down by 0.53% and Consumer Disc down by 0.40% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Bharat Electronics up by 1.65%, Adani Ports up by 0.80%, Bharti Airtel up by 0.63%, Bajaj Finance up by 0.56% and NTPC up by 0.35%. On the flip side, ITC down by 3.04%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 1.07%, Asian Paints down by 0.98%, Titan down by 0.74% and Ultratech Cement down by 0.69% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the apex exporters' body -- Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) has suggested that the country's overall goods and services exports are likely to reach $1 trillion during 2025-26. Meanwhile, the exports were aggregated at $825 billion in 2024-25. 

The FIEO also suggested that the merchandise exports will increase from $437 billion to $525-$535 billion in 2025-26. Besides, it noted that services exports to rise from $387 billion to $465-$475 billion this fiscal.

The main sectors which can help push the exports include electrical and electronics ($60 billion), machinery ($40 billion), chemicals ($40 billion), pharmaceuticals ($30 billion), petroleum ($70 billion), apparel and madeups ($23-$25 billion), gems and jewellery ($30-$35 billion) and agriculture ($55 billion).

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 24758.70, down by 67.50 points or 0.27% after trading in a range of 24737.05 and 24864.25. There were 13 stocks advancing against 37 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Bharat Electronics up by 1.60%, Adani Ports up by 0.88%, HDFC Life Insurance up by 0.83%, Bajaj Finance up by 0.74% and Bharti Airtel up by 0.66%. On the flip side, ITC down by 3.16%, Bajaj Auto down by 1.73%, Nestle down by 1.65%, JSW Steel down by 1.38% and Apollo Hospital down by 1.31% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; Shanghai Composite strengthened 2.62 points or 0.08% to 3,343.31, Straits Times rose 18.1 points or 0.46% to 3,914.19, KOSPI increased 33.46 points or 1.27% to 2,670.68, Nikkei 225 surged 99.78 points or 0.26% to 37,823.89 and Taiwan Weighted added 100.49 points or 0.47% to 21,437.03. However, Hang Seng declined 113.69 points or 0.49% to 23,268.30, Jakarta Composite plunged 5.95 points or 0.08% to 7,193.02.