Markets trade flat in early deals amid mixed global cues

Indian equity benchmarks made a positive start on Wednesday but soon trimmed their gains and were trading flat in early deals amid mixed cues from Wall Street overnight as well as broadly negative cues from Asian counterparts, as traders cautiously watch developments on the tariff front as the deadline of July 9 set by the US President Donald Trump nears. However, downside remained capped as some support came with the reports suggesting that the India-US trade deal is in its final stages of negotiations. 

On the sectoral front, textiles sector’s stocks are in focus as Minister of State for Textiles Pabitra Margherita said that free trade agreements (FTAs) with the US, UK and European Union (EU) will open new opportunities for the textiles sector in India. He also said that the country's textiles exports have crossed $34 billion, and it is aiming to reach $100 billion by 2030.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 83703.38, up by 6.09 points or 0.01% after trading in a range of 83681.04 and 83935.01. There were 16 stocks advancing against 14 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index fell 0.13%, while Small cap index was down by 0.27%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were IT up by 1.36%, TECK up by 1.06%, Auto up by 0.24%, Metal up by 0.22% and Utilities up by 0.16%, while Capital Goods down by 0.51%, Industrials down by 0.46%, Realty down by 0.34%, PSU down by 0.21% and Bankex down by 0.21% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Infosys up by 2.20%, TCS up by 1.43%, Tech Mahindra up by 0.99%, HCL Technologies up by 0.87% and Sun Pharma up by 0.67%. On the flip side, Bharat Electronics down by 1.09%, Bajaj Finserv down by 1.08%, Bajaj Finance down by 0.89%, Eternal down by 0.75% and HDFC Bank down by 0.74% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, focusing on bilateral cooperation in diverse sectors such as infrastructure, investment and mobility, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has hold talks with his Japanese counterpart Takeshi Iwaya. The Jaishankar-Iwaya talks took place ahead of a crucial foreign ministerial meeting of the four-nation grouping Quad.

He and Iwaya also discussed ways to deepen engagement under the framework of Quad for a free and open Indo-Pacific. He added ‘Our Special, Strategic and Global Partnership continues to deepen and diversify’.

The Quad, comprising India, the US, Australia and Japan, has emerged as a key grouping largely focusing on peace, security and stability in the Indo-Pacific region. The Quad foreign ministerial meeting is expected to prepare ground for the grouping's annual summit in New Delhi later this year.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 25535.90, down by 5.90 points or 0.02% after trading in a range of 25533.35 and 25608.10. There were 26 stocks advancing against 24 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Infosys up by 2.19%, TCS up by 1.31%, Tech Mahindra up by 0.98%, Wipro up by 0.96% and HCL Technologies up by 0.79%. On the flip side, Indusind Bank down by 2.88%, Bharat Electronics down by 1.09%, Bajaj Finserv down by 1.00%, Shriram Finance down by 0.98% and Nestle down by 0.88% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mostly in red; Nikkei 225 slipped 207.42 points or 0.52% to 39,778.91, Taiwan Weighted lost 78.12 points or 0.35% to 22,475.60, Jakarta Composite dropped 59.15 points or 0.86% to 6,856.21, KOSPI weakened 33.15 points or 1.07% to 3,056.50 and Shanghai Composite was down by 1.24 points or 0.04% to 3,456.51. On the other hand, Hang Seng rose 148.37 points or 0.62% to 24,220.65 and Straits Times was up by 19.32 points or 0.48% to 4,009.08.