Key gauges remain in red in morning deals

Indian equity benchmarks remained in red in morning deals, in-tandem with sluggish global market trends amid growing tensions in the Middle East. Fresh foreign fund outflows also dented investors' sentiment. Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 446.31 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data. Investors also remained cautious ahead of key retail inflation data. Traders overlooked Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal’s statement that the world trade is facing severe geo-political challenges, but India has consistently emerged as a winner in such times, and the country's exports of goods and services will certainly cross $825 billion in 2025-26 (FY26). Stocks related to tea sector remained in watch as the latest data released by Tea Board showed that tea exports from India increased by 9.92 per cent at 254.67 million kg, from January to December 2024, against 231.69 million kg in the previous calendar year. On the global front, Asian markets are trading mixed as oil prices climbed on signs of rising tensions in the Middle East and U.S. President Donald Trump said he would notify trading partners within the next one to two weeks about the new unilateral tariff rates, with the choice to accept or reject them. 

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 82299.73, down by 215.41 points or 0.26% after trading in a range of 82254.56 and 82661.04. There were 10 stocks advancing against 20 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading mixed; the BSE Mid cap index fell 0.25%, while Small cap index was up by 0.02%.

The few gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Healthcare up by 1.06% and Telecom up by 0.68%, while IT down by 1.04%, Oil & Gas down by 0.91%, TECK down by 0.65%, Energy down by 0.61% and Auto down by 0.57% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Asian Paints up by 2.17%, Bajaj Finserv up by 1.91%, Sun Pharma up by 1.66%, Bajaj Finance up by 0.80% and NTPC up by 0.47%. On the flip side, Infosys down by 1.47%, Tata Motors down by 1.19%, HCL Technologies down by 1.12%, Eternal down by 1.03% and Tata Steel down by 1.02% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has said that the world trade is facing severe geo-political challenges, but India has consistently emerged as a winner in such times, and the country's exports of goods and services will certainly cross $825 billion in 2025-26 (FY26).

Goyal stated despite global economic uncertainties due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Israel-Hamas war and the Red Sea crisis, the country's overall exports touched an all-time high of $825 billion in 2024-25 against $778 billion in 2023-24. he added as per estimates of certain multi-lateral bodies, there would be a contraction in global trade.

Free trade agreements with countries such as the UAE, Australia and European Free Trade Association (EFTA) will help boost exports in the coming months. The India-EFTA trade agreement is expected to come into force from October 1 this year.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 25098.05, down by 43.35 points or 0.17% after trading in a range of 25064.80 and 25196.20. There were 17 stocks advancing against 33 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Asian Paints up by 2.18%, Bajaj Finserv up by 1.91%, ONGC up by 1.89%, Sun Pharma up by 1.56% and Dr. Reddy's Lab up by 1.24%. On the flip side, Infosys down by 1.48%, Eternal down by 1.11%, Tata Motors down by 1.03%, HCL Technologies down by 1.01% and Hindustan Unilever down by 0.91% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mixed; Nikkei 225 slipped 223.83 points or 0.59% to 38,197.36, Taiwan Weighted lost 152.07 points or 0.68% to 22,318.03, Hang Seng declined 121.96 points or 0.5% to 24,244.98 and Jakarta Composite was down by 12.2 points or 0.17% to 7,210.26. On the other hand, KOSPI rose 19.95 points or 0.68% to 2,926.99, Straits Times added 4.14 points or 0.11% to 3,923.19 and Shanghai Composite was up by 2.34 points or 0.07% to 3,404.66.