Post Session: Quick Review

Indian equity benchmarks witnessed bloodbath on Thursday, with both Nifty and Sensex closing over 1% cut, as investors were cautious ahead to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) data to be out later in the day. After making a slightly positive start, markets soon turned negative and extended their losses in late afternoon session amid the weekly F&O expiry. Additionally, broad-based selling was witnessed across the markets.  

Some of the important factors in today’s trade:

Foreign fund outflow: Fresh foreign fund outflows dented investors' sentiment. Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 446.31 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data. 

Private consumption in India slows in Q4FY25: Traders were cautious as a private report said that private consumption in the Indian economy moderated slightly in the fourth quarter of FY25. 

India will certainly cross $825 billion exports in FY26: 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).

Global front: European markets were trading in red, amid escalating tensions in the Middle East. Asian markets ended mostly in red as investors assessed U.S. President Donald Trump's declaration that a trade deal with China was ‘done’ and that he would set unilateral tariff rates for trading partners within two weeks.

The BSE Sensex ended at 81691.98, down by 823.16 points or 1.00% after trading in a range of 81523.16 and 82661.04. There were 3 stocks advancing against 27 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The broader indices ended in red; the BSE Mid cap index was down by 1.52%, while Small cap index down by 1.38%. (Provisional)

The top losing sectoral indices on the BSE were Power down by 2.19%, Utilities down by 2.18%, Oil & Gas down by 2.10%, Realty down by 2.07% and Consumer Durables down by 2.02%, while there were no gaining sectoral indices. (Provisional)

The few gainers on the Sensex were Bajaj Finserv up by 0.60%, Asian Paints up by 0.43% and Tech Mahindra up by 0.36%. On the flip side, Tata Motors down by 2.89%, Trent down by 2.69%, Titan Company down by 2.66%, Eternal down by 2.28% and Power Grid Corp down by 2.27% were the top losers. (Provisional)

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’. 

The CNX Nifty ended at 24888.20, down by 253.20 points or 1.01% after trading in a range of 24825.90 and 25196.20. There were 7 stocks advancing against 43 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The top gainers on Nifty were Apollo Hospital up by 0.96%, Dr. Reddy's Lab up by 0.86%, Bajaj Finserv up by 0.79%, Asian Paints up by 0.48% and Tech Mahindra up by 0.37%. On the flip side, Tata Motors down by 2.98%, Titan Company down by 2.62%, Trent down by 2.58%, Shriram Finance down by 2.57% and Tata Steel down by 2.40% were the top losers. (Provisional)

European markets were trading lower; Germany’s DAX lost 272.35 points or 1.14% to 23,676.55, France’s CAC fell 55.14 points or 0.71% to 7,720.76 and UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 16.07 points or 0.18% to 8,848.28.

Asian markets exhibited mixed trend on Thursday, after Wall Street's overnight fall as a new US-China trade deal provided few concrete details. Meanwhile, heightened tensions in the Middle East also kept investors on edge. US President Donald Trump said that US personnel were being moved out of the Middle East due to heightened security risks in the region. Investors were awaiting US producer price index data for May for direction. Japanese shares declined as a firmer yen weighed on export-related shares. Seoul shares gained, led by big gains in the defense and energy sectors.