Indian benchmarks end flat amid mixed global cues

Indian equity benchmarks, after four-day continued rally, took a halt and ended flat on Tuesday as investors avoided to take risk ahead of the U.S.-China trade talks. Markets made positive start but soon turned volatile and were hovering around neutral lines. Weak opening in European counterparts weighted down on investor sentiments. Market participants also remained on sidelines ahead of Consumer Price Index (CPI) data, which is due on June 12. 

Some of the important factors in today’s trade:

Goyal to meet Swiss, Swedish business leaders to boost trade & investment: Some support came as the commerce and industry ministry said that Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal will meet Swiss and Swedish business leaders this week and discuss ways to boost trade and investments. Goyal is visiting Switzerland and Sweden from June 9 to 13.

No declining trend in FDI into India, seeing renewed overseas inflows: Traders took note of Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal’s statement that there is no declining trend in Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) into India, though periodic fluctuations may occur sometimes due to global interest rate changes.

FM asks NIIF to leverage its sovereign-backed design: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has asked the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) to leverage its sovereign-backed design to showcase its performance at the global stage. 

Agriculture related stocks remained in focus: The Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said agriculture production in the country increased by 40 per cent in the last 10 years and that the sector saw growth rate of 5.4 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2024-25 financial year.

Global front: European markets were trading mostly lower after official data showed the U.K. unemployment rate rose slightly in the three months to April period. The ILO jobless rate rose to 4.6 percent, as expected, from 4.5 percent in the preceding period. Asian markets ended mixed ahead of a second day of talks in London between China and the U.S. to resolve tariff disputes and strengthen economic relations.

Finally, the BSE Sensex fell 53.49 points or 0.06% to 82,391.72 and the CNX Nifty was up by 1.05 points to 25,104.25.  

The BSE Sensex touched high and low of 82,680.79 and 82,240.40 respectively. There were 15 stocks advancing against 15 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices ended in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.04%, while Small cap index was up by 0.33%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were IT up by 1.58%, Utilities up by 1.11%, Power up by 0.95%, TECK up by 0.87% and Healthcare up by 0.45%, while Realty down by 1.18%, Telecom down by 0.55%, Consumer Discretionary down by 0.16%, Bankex down by 0.13% and Energy down by 0.11% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tech Mahindra up by 2.27%, Tata Motors up by 2.01%, Infosys up by 1.51%, Bharat Electronics up by 1.26% and HCL Technologies up by 1.18%. On the flip side, Trent down by 1.64%, Asian Paints down by 1.27%, Bajaj Finance down by 1.16%, Tata Steel down by 0.99% and Bajaj Finserv down by 0.92% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, expressing optimism over European FTA, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has said that the free trade agreement (FTA) between India and the four-nation European bloc EFTA is likely to come into force from September. The two sides signed the Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement (TEPA) on March 10, 2024.

Under the pact, India has received an investment commitment of $100 billion in 15 years from the grouping while allowing several products such as Swiss watches, chocolates, and cut and polished diamonds at lower or zero duties. The European Free Trade Association (EFTA) members are Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland.

He said the agreement has received approval from the Parliaments of all four countries. In Switzerland, there is an objection period open until July 10. July and August are holiday months there. He held bilateral meetings with over a dozen companies and most of them are keen to invest in India. He noted that the Swiss firms have shown interest in sectors such as pharma, cybersecurity, and machinery manufacturing.

The CNX Nifty traded in a range of 25,199.30 and 25,055.45. There were 27 stocks advancing against 23 stocks declining on the index.   

The top gainers on Nifty were Grasim Industries up by 3.81%, Dr. Reddy's Lab up by 2.25%, Tata Motors up by 2.01%, Tech Mahindra up by 2.01% and Infosys up by 1.47%. On the flip side, Trent down by 1.68%, Asian Paints down by 1.29%, Bajaj Finance down by 1.14%, Tata Steel down by 1.04% and Bajaj Finserv down by 0.96% were the top losers.

European markets were trading mostly in red; Germany’s DAX lost 127.18 points or 0.53% to 24,047.14 and France’s CAC fell 9.65 points or 0.12% to 7,781.82, while UK’s FTSE 100 rose 36.93 points or 0.42% to 8,869.21.

Asian markets settled mixed on Tuesday, as participants were keenly awaiting further details and outcomes from the US-China trade talks. Shanghai stocks declined amidst persisting deflationary pressures and underwhelming trade performance with the lingering trade conflict. However, Japanese market ended modestly higher as bond yields fell after reports on relief over possible government auction.