Bourses trade near neutral lines in early afternoon session

Indian markets continued to trade near neutral lines in early afternoon session amid uncertainty over the India-U.S. trade negotiations. Besides, traders were continuously tracking Q1 earnings. Traders took note of finance ministry’s monthly review report suggesting that there is room for further easing of interest rate by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). The report has noted that the retail inflation, based on Consumer Price Index (CPI), has remained below 4 per cent since February and it further declined to more than six-year-low of 2.82 per cent in the month of May. Sector wise, agriculture sector remained in limelight as the sowing of kharif-season crop has stood at 829.64 lakh hectares area as on July 25, 2025. The total area covered under kharif crops has increased 3.97% as compared to 797.91 lakh hectares during the corresponding period of last year.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mixed as initial optimism surrounding newly proposed trade agreements with Japan and the European Union by US President Donald Trump began to fade.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 80884.05, down by 6.97 points or 0.01% after trading in a range of 80575.45 and 80990.72. There were 11 stocks advancing against 19 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index gained 0.31%, while Small cap index was up by 0.16%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 0.95%, Telecom up by 0.90%, Healthcare up by 0.73%, Basic Materials up by 0.56% and Metal was up by 0.41%, while Capital Goods down by 0.55%, IT down by 0.50%, Consumer Durables down by 0.39%, Bankex down by 0.23% and FMCG was down by 0.08% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Bharti Airtel up by 1.47%, Tata Motors up by 0.90%, Larsen & Toubro up by 0.79%, Sun Pharma up by 0.73% and Adani Ports &Special up by 0.68%. On the flip side, Bharat Electronics down by 1.41%, Eternal down by 1.29%, Axis Bank down by 1.19%, TCS down by 1.11% and Titan Company down by 0.96% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Dammu Ravi, Secretary (Economic Relations), Ministry of External Affairs, has emphasised the importance of partnerships to accelerate India’s economic growth. He said India must scale up its manufacturing sector and establish its own robust supply chain, which will subsequently boost exports. He noted that India needs to have partners to achieve high rates of growth and the country also needs to create its own supply chain. 

He said global dynamics have now shifted from the Transatlantic to the Indo-Pacific. India needs to grow at a higher rate to meet the target of becoming a developed country by 2047. He said the GDP of the country is growing. He also said ‘we are $4 trillion economy now and the country needs to grow at more than the current average growth rate of 6.5 per cent per annum to become a developed economy to meet that target’. He added that the country has moved from a command economy to a liberalised economy.

He further said the openness had brought a boom in the economy. The private sector has leapt forward. The country also needs to do a lot. Touching upon technological transformation, he said the world has moved from the industrial revolution to an era driven by artificial intelligence (AI). He said ‘we have entered an AI-driven era. Today, we talk about responsible AI. Rules are needed so that human values are not undermined.’ He added that India needs to create an AI ecosystem, which requires state intervention to ensure uninterrupted power supply. Talking on the issue of logistics, he stressed the need to bring down costs. He said ‘India’s logistics cost is 12 per cent of GDP. This must be reduced to boost efficiency. Our industry needs to conquer overseas markets’.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 24692.05, up by 11.15 points or 0.05% after trading in a range of 24598.60 and 24727.15. There were 27 stocks advancing against 23 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were JIO Financial Serv. up by 3.25%, Bharti Airtel up by 1.52%, JSW Steel up by 1.51%, Apollo Hospital up by 0.98% and Larsen & Toubro up by 0.94%. On the flip side, Bharat Electronics down by 1.39%, Eternal down by 1.37%, Axis Bank down by 1.36%, TCS down by 1.13% and Titan Company down by 0.90% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mixed; Nikkei 225 slipped 373.27 points or 0.92% to 40,625.00, Taiwan Weighted lost 211.46 points or 0.91% to 23,201.52, Hang Seng declined 182.13 points or 0.71% to 25,380.00 and Straits Times was down by 24.58 points or 0.58% to 4,216.56. On the flip side, Shanghai Composite strengthened 13.41 points or 0.37% to 3,611.35, Jakarta Composite gained 17.44 points or 0.23% to 7,632.21 and KOSPI was up by 21.05 points or 0.65% to 3,230.57.