Bourses continue to trade in red in early afternoon session

Indian markets continued to trade lower in early afternoon session following escalating geopolitical concerns and mixed global cues. Investors were cautious ahead of Fed interest rate decision to be announced late tonight. The US Federal Reserve is expected to hold interest rates steady for the fourth consecutive meeting. Sector wise, pharma stocks remained in limelight after U.S. President Donald Trump said that pharma tariffs are coming very soon. On the global front, Asian markets were trading mixed as Japan posted a merchandise trade deficit of 637.6 billion yen in May. That exceeded expectations for a shortfall of 893.0 billion yen following the upwardly revised 115.6-billion yen deficit in April (originally 115.8 billion yen).

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 81398.74, down by 184.56 points or 0.23% after trading in a range of 81270.80 and 81858.97. There were 10 stocks advancing against 20 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index declined 0.22%, while Small cap index was down by 0.04%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Auto up by 0.66%, Consumer discretionary up by 0.45%, Telecom up by 0.31% and Consumer Durables was up by 0.28%, while IT down by 0.66%, Power down by 0.56%, Oil & Gas down by 0.55%, Metal down by 0.53% and Utilities was down by 0.53% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Trent up by 1.70%, Maruti Suzuki up by 1.24%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.13%, Eternal up by 0.65% and Bharti Airtel up by 0.63%. On the flip side, Adani Ports down by 1.27%, Hindustan Unilever down by 1.17%, TCS down by 0.82%, Infosys down by 0.80% and Larsen & Toubro down by 0.78% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) has said that the steel ministry's latest order on sectoral standards could hurt MSMEs dependent on semi-finished imports, as they now fear heavy losses and potential plant shutdowns.

It said that the steel ministry's June 13, 2025 order has expanded India's quality control regime to ensure that not just Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) licensed products are imported in the country, but also the input/raw materials used to make them conform to the relevant Indian standards issued by BIS. The order came into applies to shipments with a bill of lading dated June 16, 2025 onward. It stated that the rule has triggered fears of massive losses and plant closures among MSMEs that rely on imported semi-finished steel. Many have already paid for shipments now deemed non-compliant. 

As per the order, not only should finished/semi-finished steel products comply with Indian Standards (IS), but also the raw materials or inputs used to make them. This change applies to all steel and steel products covered under Quality Control Orders (QCOs). Importers have to ensure that input materials such as slabs, billets, or hot-rolled coils that are used to make BIS-certified steel in the foreign factory also need to adhere to the relevant BIS standard.  

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 24795.45, down by 57.95 points or 0.23% after trading in a range of 24766.90 and 24947.55. There were 16 stocks advancing against 34 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Indusind Bank up by 4.59%, Trent up by 1.65%, Eicher Motors up by 1.20%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.09% and Maruti Suzuki up by 1.03%. On the flip side, Nestle down by 1.44%, Adani Ports down by 1.37%, Hindustan Unilever down by 1.18%, Tata Consumer down by 0.95% and Apollo Hospital down by 0.93% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mixed; Nikkei 225 surged 348.41 points or 0.9% to 38,885.15, Taiwan Weighted added 145.14 points or 0.65% to 22,356.73, KOSPI increased 21.89 points or 0.74% to 2,972.19 and Shanghai Composite was up by 2.49 points or 0.07% to 3,389.89. On the flip side, Straits Times fell 15.47 points or 0.4% to 3,915.17, Jakarta Composite plunged 37.35 points or 0.52% to 7,118.50 and Hang Seng was down by 315.87 points or 1.33% to 23,664.43.