Key gauges trade in green in morning deals

Indian equity benchmarks were trading in green in morning deals, led by gains in Power, Utilities and Healthcare stocks. Traders took support with UK’s Trade Commissioner for South Asia Harjinder Kang’s statement that the India and UK share a dynamic and forward-looking partnership built on trust, collaboration, and shared ambition. He said 2025 year can be noted as a milestone year in UK India relations, marked by the signing of a Free Trade Agreement, a shared India-UK Vision 2035, and reciprocal visits by Prime Ministers Keir Starmer and Narendra Modi to each other’s countries. Some support also came as Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) staged a sharp turnaround in early February, pumping Rs 19,675 crore into Indian equities in the first fortnight, supported by the US-India trade deal and easing global macro concerns. On the global front, Asian markets were trading higher even as Japan reported lacklustre economic growth. The world's fourth-biggest economy expanded just 0.1 percent in the last three months of 2025.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 82818.02, up by 191.26 points or 0.23% after trading in a range of 82276.95 and 82905.13. There were 16 stocks advancing against 14 stocks declining on the index.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Power up by 1.40%, Utilities up by 1.09%, Healthcare up by 0.73%, Realty up by 0.70% and Consumer Durables up by 0.62%, while Auto down by 0.57%, IT down by 0.56%, Basic Materials down by 0.47%, Metal down by 0.36% and TECK down by 0.35% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Power Grid Corporation up by 3.01%, HDFC Bank up by 2.03%, Eternal up by 1.47%, NTPC up by 1.32% and Axis Bank up by 0.99%. On the flip side, Infosys down by 1.54%, Maruti Suzuki down by 1.08%, Tech Mahindra down by 1.05%, SBI down by 0.92% and Adani Ports &SEZ down by 0.76% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Union Minister Piyush Goyal has said that the interim trade agreement reached between the Centre and the US will cover India’s energy requirements and enable the country to obtain crude oil at more competitive rates. He said that India and the US have decided to work towards increasing the annual trade between the two countries to $500 billion by 2030, and the government is working to meet this goal.

He said the proposed $500 billion trade would include India’s energy requirements, including crude oil, LNG and LPG. He mentioned ‘India is the fastest-growing large economy in the world, and its energy demand is rising by around 7 per cent annually. Increasing imports and having more suppliers would help India secure crude oil at more competitive prices.’

Earlier, India and the US announced that they had reached a framework for an interim trade agreement under which both sides will reduce import duties on a number of goods to boost two-way trade. The US will reduce tariffs on Indian goods from 50 per cent to 18 per cent, while India will remove or reduce import duties on all US industrial products and a wide range of American food and agricultural products. 

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 25526.55, up by 55.45 points or 0.22% after trading in a range of 25372.70 and 25561.85. There were 28 stocks advancing against 23 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Power Grid Corporation up by 3.06%, Coal India up by 2.68%, HDFC Bank up by 2.12%, ONGC up by 1.44% and Eternal up by 1.44%. On the flip side, Infosys down by 1.61%, Tech Mahindra down by 1.26%, JIO Financial Services down by 1.17%, Maruti Suzuki down by 1.12% and Tata Motors Passenger down by 1.05% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading higher; Nikkei 225 surged 112.03 points or 0.2% to 57,054.00, Hang Seng advanced 159.88 points or 0.6% to 26,727.00 and Straits Times rose 0.8 points or 0.02% to 4,938.58.