Markets hover near unchanged lines in late trade

Indian equity benchmarks were hovering near the unchanged lines as investors took a cautious stance ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff deadline of August 1. Besides, foreign fund outflows by Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) weighed on trading sentiments. The FIIs were the net sellers in yesterday’s trade with net sell of Rs 1,681.23 crore. Meanwhile, downside remained capped as market heavy weights - HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank lend some support.

On the global front, Asian equity markets were trading mostly in red as trade tensions persisted and investors waited for clues on how companies are withstanding tariffs. European equity markets were trading lower amid signs of escalating trade tension after reports of European Union preparing to respond with a suite of retaliatory measures under its Anti-Coercion Instrument (ACI) following U.S. President Donald Trump's threat to impose a 30 percent tariff on EU goods from August 1.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 82208.87, up by 8.53 points or 0.01% after trading in a range of 82110.63 and 82538.17. There were 13 stocks advancing against 17 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index declined 0.56%, while Small cap index was down by 0.18%.

The lone gaining sectoral index on the BSE was Consumer Discretionary up by 0.27%, while Realty down by 1.10%, Telecom down by 0.90%, Auto down by 0.78%, Healthcare down by 0.61%, IT down by 0.44% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Eternal up by 11.30%, Titan Company up by 1.23%, Maruti Suzuki up by 0.69%, Hindustan Unilever up by 0.54% and Bharat Electronics up by 0.50%. On the flip side, Adani Ports & SEZ down by 2.16%, Tata Motors down by 1.70%, Ultratech Cement down by 1.43%, Larsen & Toubro down by 1.18% and ITC down by 0.96% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, in a testament to the growing strength of India’s formal employment landscape, the retirement fund body, Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) in its latest ‘Provisional payroll data’ report has showed that 20.06 lakh net members have been added in the month of May 2025, marking the highest recorded addition since payroll data tracking began in April 2018. 

Net payroll additions increased 4.79% during May 2025 as compared to the previous month of April 2025. On the year-on-year basis, a growth of 2.84% witnessed in net payroll additions compared to May 2024, signifying increased employment opportunities and heightened awareness of employee benefits, bolstered by EPFO’s effective outreach initiatives.

As per the data, the net female payroll addition during the month of May 2025 stood at around 4.25 lakh, with a month on month increase of 7.54% compared to April 2025 and a significant year over year growth of 15.04% compared to May 2024. The growth in female member additions is indicative of a broader shift towards a more inclusive and diverse workforce.

State-wise, the top five states/ UTs constitute around 59.98% of net payroll addition, adding a total around 12.03 lakh net payroll during the month. Of all the states, Maharashtra is leading by adding 20.33% of net payroll during the month. The states/UTs of Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Haryana, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Telangana individually added more than 5% of the total net payroll during the month.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 25065.40, down by 25.30 points or 0.10% after trading in a range of 25035.55 and 25182.00. There were 18 stocks advancing against 32 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Eternal up by 11.13%, HDFC Life Insurance up by 1.71%, Titan Company up by 1.28%, Hindalco up by 0.77% and Maruti Suzuki up by 0.75%. On the flip side, Adani Ports & SEZ down by 2.10%, Shriram Finance down by 2.09%, Eicher Motors down by 1.99%, Jio Financial Services down by 1.83% and Tata Motors down by 1.76% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mostly in red; Jakarta Composite plunged 53.45 points or 0.73% to 7,344.74, Straits Times fell 10.15 points or 0.24% to 4,196.98, Taiwan Weighted lost 352.64 points or 1.53% to 22,987.92, KOSPI dropped 40.87 points or 1.29% to 3,169.94 and Nikkei 225 slipped 44.19 points or 0.11% to 39,774.92, while Hang Seng advanced 135.89 points or 0.54% to 25,130.03 and Shanghai Composite strengthened 22.07 points or 0.62% to 3,581.86.

European markets were trading lower; UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 3.73 points or 0.04% to 9,009.26, France’s CAC fell 33.45 points or 0.43% to 7,764.77 and Germany’s DAX lost 177.88 points or 0.74% to 24,129.92.