Domestic indices trade slightly below neutral lines

Domestic equity indices were trading slightly below their neutral lines in late morning deals owing to selling in Tech Mahindra, Adani Ports, Infosys, SBI and TCS companies’ stocks. Meanwhile, broader indices underperformed their large peers with BSE Mid cap index and Small cap index falling in the range of 0.80-0.85%. Weak cues from other Asian markets weighed on the domestic sentiments. Traders remained cautious amid escalating trend in the ongoing conflict between Israel and Iran as they continued to attack each other. In the stock specific development, Purvankara zoomed as its subsidiary bagged deal worth Rs 272 crore.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in red as investors weighed the U.S. Federal Reserve’s decision to keep interest rates steady, while the ongoing conflict between Israel and Iran continues to dent sentiment. Back home, on the BSE sectoral front, traders were seen pilling up positions in Auto, FMCG, Capital Goods, while selling was witnessed in IT, PSU, Metal, Utilities and TECK. 

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 81404.54, down by 40.12 points or 0.05% after trading in a range of 81191.04 and 81583.94. There were 14 stocks advancing against 16 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index was down by 0.82%, while Small cap index down by 0.81%.

The few gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Auto up by 0.31%, FMCG up by 0.08% and Capital Goods up by 0.08%, while IT down by 1.22%, PSU down by 0.89%, Metal down by 0.78%, Utilities down by 0.70% and TECK down by 0.69% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Eternal up by 1.37%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 0.74%, Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 0.69%, Titan up by 0.67% and ITC up by 0.49%. On the flip side, Tech Mahindra down by 2.20%, Adani Ports down by 1.58%, Infosys down by 1.01%, SBI down by 0.80% and TCS down by 0.79% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman held a review meeting with fintech firms and has assured government’s support to the industry. Emphasizing the opportunities for creating new markets, she urged fintech firms to view rural India as a fertile ground instead of just a social responsibility. She also highlighted that in just three years nearly 700 entities as of FY25 across banking, insurance, securities, and pensions have joined the Account Aggregator (AA) platform, up from only 24 in FY22. She added the number of accounts linked through AA has soared to over 15 crore, compared to a mere 1.5 lakh in FY22 - driving loans worth over Rs 88,700 crore and empowering nearly 1 crore personal finance management users, while lowering onboarding costs for intermediaries.

Sitharaman has asked fintech startups to come out with solutions to deal with the rising incidence of digital arrests, cheating by fly-by-night operators, and other kinds of cyber frauds. She pointed out that another major threat is deepfake technology, which is causing a lot of damage to the public in large. She emphasized the need of addressing such threats and setting up fintech companies which are constantly working to give solutions for the newer challenges which are arising.

Encouraging the fintechs to explore global market opportunities, she said Indian fintech innovations have the potential to become global public goods which can benefit other emerging and developed economies, and added that fintech should not only 'Make in India' but also 'Make for the world'. She also added that this will open new markets for Indian firms and they must aim to export country’s successful models abroad and capture global markets.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 24803.25, down by 8.80 points or 0.04% after trading in a range of 24738.10 and 24863.10. There were 22 stocks advancing against 28 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Tata Consumer up by 1.44%, Eternal up by 1.40%, Eicher Motors up by 1.18%, Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 0.83% and Apollo Hospital up by 0.79%. On the flip side, Tech Mahindra down by 2.22%, Adani Ports down by 1.65%, Indusind Bank down by 1.07%, HDFC Life Insurance down by 1.04% and JIO Financial down by 0.92% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Hang Seng declined 419.9 points or 1.77% to 23,290.79, Jakarta Composite plunged 99.97 points or 1.43% to 7,007.82, Shanghai Composite weakened 22.61 points or 0.67% to 3,366.20, Straits Times fell 13.33 points or 0.34% to 3,907.48, Nikkei 225 slipped 360.2 points or 0.93% to 38,524.95 and Taiwan Weighted lost 353.23 points or 1.61% to 22,003.50. However, KOSPI increased 2.11 points or 0.07% to 2,974.30.