Indian equity markets continue choppy trade in late afternoon session

Indian equity markets continued their choppy trade in red terrain in late afternoon session as escalating tension in Middle East and US tariff uncertainty continue to weigh on investor’s sentiments. Traders risk sentiment worsened after reports claimed that the U.S. may consider joining Israel in striking Iranian nuclear sites. Besides, traders overlooked Chief Economic Advisor (CEA) V Anantha Nageswaran indicating that the country remains a rare ‘bright spot’ in a world facing growing uncertainty.

On the global front, Asian equity markets are trading mixed ahead of Federal Reserve's interest-rate decision later in the day. European equity markets were trading higher as UK consumer price inflation softened in May. Back home, the IT stocks snapped their three-day winning streak as market participant awaits for Fed’s outlook and new forecasts.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 81311.64, down by 271.66 points or 0.33% after trading in a range of 81237.01 and 81858.97. There were 9 stocks advancing against 21 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index plunged 0.49%, while Small cap index was down by 0.52%.

The few gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Auto up by 0.35%, Consumer Discretionary up by 0.18% and Consumer Durables up by 0.08%, while Utilities down by 1.05%, Power down by 0.93%, IT down by 0.83%, Metal down by 0.81%, PSU down by 0.80% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Trent up by 1.47%, Maruti Suzuki up by 1.07%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 0.90%, Titan Company up by 0.64% and Bharti Airtel up by 0.63%. On the flip side, TCS down by 1.92%, Hindustan Unilever down by 1.80%, Adani Ports & SEZ down by 1.64%, NTPC down by 1.27% and Bajaj Finserv down by 1.25% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, pointing to India’s steady economic performance despite ongoing global challenges, Chief Economic Advisor (CEA) V Anantha Nageswaran has said that India remains a rare ‘bright spot’ in a world facing growing uncertainty. He said that while conflicts and disruptions have been part of the global scene since 2022, they have become more intense and unpredictable, making the overall environment -- whether political, economic or security-related--far more difficult for growth across the world.

Talking about his views on the impact on the Indian economy due to rising global uncertainties caused by military conflicts in West Asia, between Ukraine and Russia, and also between India and Pakistan, as well as tariff wars, he said ‘you could say that downside risks are higher than the potential for upside surprises.’ He said this is not just a problem for India -- it's affecting many countries. He said to some extent, one can say that the global environment today--whether political, economic or related to security--has become considerably more complicated and more challenging for growth, not just for India but for several countries, almost for the entire world economy. But under these circumstances, he said he believes that India does indeed stand out as a relatively ‘bright spot’.

Noting that India's economy has shown resilience since the COVID-19 pandemic, achieving strong growth while also improving its fiscal health, Nageswaran said ‘we have reduced the fiscal deficit and brought down government debt levels’. He said ‘this has helped build confidence among investors, as reflected in the narrowing gap between Indian and US 10-year government bond yields-- something we've never seen at this level before.’ 

He further said that India's current growth of around 6.5 per cent is a significant achievement under the circumstances. He said given how tough the global climate has become since the 2008 financial crisis, maintaining this rate is no small feat. While the government continues efforts to raise the growth rate to 7 per cent and beyond, he cautioned that the world is no longer operating under the same favourable conditions it once did. He added that the government is doing the hard work to grow faster, but even maintaining a 6.5 per cent growth rate was a solid outcome in today's world.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 24792.25, down by 61.15 points or 0.25% after trading in a range of 24750.45 and 24947.55. There were 15 stocks advancing against 35 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Indusind Bank up by 4.39%, Trent up by 1.62%, Eicher Motors up by 1.22%, Maruti Suzuki up by 1.11% and Mahindra & Mahindra up by 0.99%. On the flip side, TCS down by 1.86%, Hindustan Unilever down by 1.67%, Adani Ports & SEZ down by 1.42%, Adani Enterprises down by 1.27% and JSW Steel down by 1.19% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mixed; Jakarta Composite plunged 56.81 points or 0.8% to 7,099.04, KOSPI increased 21.89 points or 0.74% to 2,972.19, 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 and Shanghai Composite strengthened 1.41 points or 0.04% to 3,388.81, while Hang Seng declined 269.61 points or 1.14% to 23,710.69 and Straits Times fell 10.76 points or 0.27% to 3,919.88.

European markets were trading higher; UK’s FTSE 100 increased 15.38 points or 0.17% to 8,849.41, France’s CAC rose 13.03 points or 0.17% to 7,696.76 and Germany’s DAX gained 25.57 points or 0.11% to 23,460.22.