Markets bounce back in green in late trade

Indian bourses have bounced back to trade in positive territory during late afternoon session with market heavy weights like ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and Reliance Industries leading the charge. Investors took support as USA’s recent tariffs cuts on Indian good have fuelled optimism about finalization of India-US trade deal. Meanwhile, gains remained capped as traders opted to cash in some profits following recent gains. Also, weakness in IT weighed on market sentiments. The IT stocks came under pressure with BSE IT index falling 5.52% amid fears of AI making traditional software and IT services obsolete after Anthropic launched AI tool which could automate legal work.

On the global front, Asian equity markets were trading mostly in green as China service sector growth improved in January, driven by stronger growth in new business. European equity markets were trading higher ahead of flash Eurozone CPI data.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 83877.25, up by 138.12 points or 0.16% after trading in a range of 83119.95 and 83947.53. There were 22 stocks advancing against 8 stocks declining on the index.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Utilities up by 2.66%, Consumer Durables up by 2.56%, Oil & Gas up by 2.50%, Power up by 2.15% and Energy up by 1.95%, while IT down by 5.52%, TECK down by 3.70% and Healthcare down by 0.09% were the few losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Trent up by 4.86%, Eternal up by 4.58%, Maruti Suzuki up by 2.62%, Adani Ports & SEZ up by 2.25% and Power Grid Corporation up by 2.12%. On the flip side, Infosys down by 7.27%, TCS down by 6.75%, HCL Technologies down by 4.29%, Tech Mahindra down by 4.19% and ITC down by 0.85% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Indian Steel Association (ISA) President Naveen Jindal has said that a stronger trade partnership between India and United States (US) will significantly enhance input security for the domestic steel sector as well as enhance competitiveness, exports and broader economic growth. The renewed engagement between the two countries, following a high-level discussion between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump, is a positive signal for business confidence. 

ISA President said in steel, US section 232 tariffs of up to 50 per cent remain unchanged, indicating no immediate improvement in market access. However, he said deeper collaboration on coking (metallurgical) coal presents a tangible opportunity.

He said the US is a key supplier, providing around 9.4 million tonnes of coking coal, representing nearly 15 percent of India's total imports. He noted that coking coal is a crucial raw material in steel production and about 85 percent of current requirement of coking coal is met through imports. The US is India's largest trading partner, with annual trade exceeding $190 billion. He added that continued leadership-level engagement can further strengthen growth, jobs and innovation across manufacturing.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 25799.20, up by 71.65 points or 0.28% after trading in a range of 25563.95 and 25818.55. There were 40 stocks advancing against 10 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Trent up by 5.73%, ONGC up by 4.77%, Eternal up by 4.72%, Max Healthcare Inst up by 2.58% and Maruti Suzuki up by 2.38%. On the flip side, Infosys down by 7.34%, TCS down by 6.88%, HCL Technologies down by 4.31%, Tech Mahindra down by 4.18% and Wipro down by 3.94% were the top losers.

Asian equity markets were trading mostly in green; Taiwan Weighted added 94.45 points or 0.29% to 32,289.81, KOSPI increased 83.02 points or 1.55% to 5,371.10, Straits Times rose 11.19 points or 0.23% to 4,955.28, Shanghai Composite strengthened 34.46 points or 0.84% to 4,102.20 and Jakarta Composite gained 12.82 points or 0.16% to 8,135.42, while Nikkei 225 slipped 335.66 points or 0.62% to 54,385.00 and Hang Seng declined 5.77 points or 0.02% to 26,829.00.

European equity markets were trading higher; UK’s FTSE 100 increased 56.79 points or 0.55% to 10,371.38, France’s CAC rose 43.3 points or 0.53% to 8,222.80 and Germany’s DAX gained 0.21 points or 0% to 24,781.00.