Sensex, Nifty trade in red after slightly positive start ahead of CPI data

Indian equity benchmarks made flat-to-positive start on Thursday amid mixed global cues as Trump announced a new trade deal with China, but details and confirmation from China were lacking. Investors are looking ahead to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) data to be later in the day for more directional cues. Market participants avoided to take risk ahead of weekly F&O expiry later in the day. Soon, Sensex and Nifty slipped below neutral lines and are trading with marginal cut in early deals amid selling at IT, Realty and Oil & Gas counters. Higher crude oil prices on signs of rising tensions in the Middle East, weighted down on the domestic sentiments. In stock specific development, Sterlite Technologies soared on winning a Rs 2,631-crore contract from BSNL.

On the global front, Asian markets are trading mixed, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight, after US President Donald Trump said he and Chinese President Xi Jinping ‘are going to work closely together to open up China to American Trade’. However, signs of escalating geopolitical tensions in the Middle East are weighing on market sentiment. Iran's defense minister has threatened that Tehran would target U.S. bases regionally if attacked.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 82381.83, down by 133.31 points or 0.16% after trading in a range of 82366.59 and 82661.04. There were 11 stocks advancing against 19 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index fell 0.32%, while Small cap index was down by 0.10%.

The only gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Healthcare up by 0.88% and Telecom up by 0.86%, while IT down by 0.98%, Realty down by 0.96%, Oil & Gas down by 0.67%, Auto down by 0.52% and TECK down by 0.50% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Asian Paints up by 2.06%, Sun Pharma up by 1.41%, Bajaj Finserv up by 0.97%, Bharti Airtel up by 0.76% and NTPC up by 0.70%. On the flip side, Infosys down by 1.67%, Tech Mahindra down by 1.29%, Tata Motors down by 1.12%, Eternal down by 1.03% and Tata Steel down by 0.96% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, expressing an optimism over India-EU free trade agreement, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has said that India places a high priority to its relations with the European Union, the centrepiece of which is the Free Trade Agreement negotiations that are making very good progress. The external affairs minister expressed confidence that the year-end timeline set for the completion of the India-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA) seems ‘feasible’ following his in-depth talks with EU officials. He also highlighted the strength of the two-way relationship that goes beyond trade to cover aspects of defence and security, mobility, talent flows and education.

He said ‘I would give it (India-EU ties) pretty high priority... right now you catch us at a very important moment. We had the (EU) College of Commissioners, very soon after they came into office, visit India collectively. We know that's a very unusual and very positive step, and we are really looking at deepening our ties. So, the centrepiece is the FTA, which has been under negotiation for some time now but everything I have heard... I think we are making very good progress.’

The conversation session at the high-profile the German Marshall Fund (GMF) Forum covered a broad spectrum of issues governing India's foreign policy perspectives, from its relations with the US and closer in its neighbourhood with China. Jaishankar said ‘We are conditioned to deal with situations and challenges, think it through for ourselves and essentially make decisions based on what capabilities we have and what we are able to leverage from the world. And that's because we have never been an alliance partner. So, by the nature of our foreign policy structure, our strategic choices, we sort of have that mindset and approach’. 

Contrasting this with Europe's history and experiences, he noted that India is accustomed to dealing with shifting geopolitical realities and any 'trans-Atlantic divergences' in outlooks that emerge. He said ‘We are objective about it. We value our relations with the US, as we do with the EU, we will deal with each one on terms which are best for both of us’.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 25108.95, down by 32.45 points or 0.13% after trading in a range of 25083.45 and 25196.20. There were 17 stocks advancing against 32 stocks declining, while 1 stock remained unchanged on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were ONGC up by 2.13%, Asian Paints up by 2.11%, Sun Pharma up by 1.56%, Apollo Hospital up by 1.19% and Dr. Reddy's Lab up by 1.01%. On the flip side, Infosys down by 1.78%, Tech Mahindra down by 1.39%, Tata Motors down by 1.01%, HCL Technologies down by 1.00% and Tata Steel down by 0.95% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mixed; Nikkei 225 slipped 213.62 points or 0.56% to 38,207.57, Taiwan Weighted lost 178.57 points or 0.79% to 22,291.53, Hang Seng declined 121.57 points or 0.5% to 24,245.37 and Jakarta Composite was down by 21.59 points or 0.3% to 7,200.87. On the other hand, KOSPI rose 24.23 points or 0.83% to 2,931.27, Straits Times added 5.19 points or 0.13% to 3,924.24 and Shanghai Composite was up by 2.34 points or 0.07% to 3,404.66.