Markets trade higher with decent gains in early deals

Indian equity benchmarks made flat-to-negative start on Wednesday weak cues from global markets and caution ahead of the September-quarter earnings season. Soon, markets gained some traction and were trading higher with decent gains in early deals on account of buying in fundamentally strong stocks. Some support came as Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said that India and the US are in continuous dialogue on the proposed bilateral trade agreement, and all possibilities are there to meet the November deadline for concluding the talks. Traders took note of report that India and Brazil have discussed expansion of a preferential trade pact, market access issues and areas of collaboration in pharma and banking sectors.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading lower, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight, as some traders booked some profits following recent strength in the markets. Besides, Japan posted a current account surplus of 3.776 trillion yen in August, the Ministry of Finance said - down 4.8 percent on year. Meanwhile, South Korea remains closed for Chuseok and China remains closed for Mid-Autumn Festival. Back home, in stock specific development, Titan Company surged as the watch and jewelry retailer reported an 18 percent increase in Q2 sales.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 82213.28, up by 286.53 points or 0.35% after trading in a range of 81849.98 and 82257.74. There were 20 stocks advancing against 10 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.07%, while Small cap index was up by 0.24%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were IT up by 1.82%, TECK up by 1.42%, Consumer Durables up by 0.99%, Metal up by 0.32% and Consumer Discretionary up by 0.23%, while Realty down by 0.40%, Power down by 0.39%, Capital Goods down by 0.26%, Utilities down by 0.23% and FMCG down by 0.22% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Titan Company up by 4.11%, Infosys up by 2.35%, Tech Mahindra up by 2.26%, TCS up by 2.07% and HCL Technologies up by 1.46%. On the flip side, Sun Pharma down by 0.73%, Power Grid down by 0.59%, Hindustan Unilever down by 0.50%, Tata Motors down by 0.47% and Ultratech Cement down by 0.38% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has said that India and the US are in continuous dialogue on the proposed bilateral trade agreement, and all possibilities are there to meet the November deadline for concluding the talks. On the possibility of the next round of trade negotiations in a physical mode, he said that every possibility exists, but with the US government currently in shutdown mode, it remains to be seen how, where, and when the next round of talks can take place.

The US government has stopped working since midnight on October 1 as Congress failed to pass a funding bill. Theoretically, this means many government workers will not be paid for now, and service centres are closed. However, important operations, such as in the field of defence and social work, will continue to function.

Goyal said ‘We are in constant dialogue with the USA (on the trade pact), and talks are on at various levels. We will give more information on this soon on how we are thinking to take it forward’. He further said in trade pacts with the UK, the EFTA bloc and Australia, India has protected the interests of the farmers and the dairy industry, besides religious sensitivities. He said ‘Any trade deal will be only possible keeping in mind these sensitivities’, and added that ‘I am quite confident that we will be able to resolve the issues (with the US) that are on the table and find the landing zone in the near future’.

Moreover, the US remained India's largest trading partner for the fourth consecutive year in 2024-25, with bilateral trade valued at $131.84 billion ($86.5 billion exports). The US accounts for about 18 per cent of India's total goods exports, 6.22 per cent in imports, and 10.73 per cent in the country's total merchandise trade.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 25177.40, up by 69.10 points or 0.28% after trading in a range of 25078.00 and 25192.50. There were 29 stocks advancing against 21 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Titan Company up by 4.12%, Tech Mahindra up by 2.16%, Infosys up by 2.10%, TCS up by 2.06% and HCL Technologies up by 1.50%. On the flip side, Bajaj Auto down by 0.61%, Hindustan Unilever down by 0.60%, Sun Pharma down by 0.58%, Cipla down by 0.54% and Nestle down by 0.49% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading in red; Taiwan Weighted lost 170.44 points or 0.63% to 27,041.51, Nikkei 225 slipped 38.88 points or 0.08% to 47,912.00, Jakarta Composite fell 31.78 points or 0.39% to 8,137.50, Straits Times declined 22.54 points or 0.5% to 4,449.72 and Hang Seng was down by 295.77 points or 1.11% to 26,662.00.