Indian equity benchmarks continued their weak trade in morning deals amid fresh escalations in US-Iran tensions. Traders remained cautious as Crisil report stated that Headwinds stemming from the ongoing conflict in West Asia will hit micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in India hard this fiscal year, impacting both revenue and profitability, with clusters like Morbi, Firozabad, Surat, Vadodara seen most hit. Traders overlooked a survey showed India's dominant services sector grew at its fastest pace in six months in May on a pick-up in domestic demand, even though global orders stayed below last year's average and business confidence slipped for a second straight month. HSBC's India Services ?Purchasing Managers' ?Index (PMI), compiled by S&P Global, rose to 59.8 in May from April's 58.8, higher than a preliminary estimate of 58.9. On the global front, Asian markets are trading mostly in green following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight, as investors appeared to look past uncertainty over U.S.-Iran negotiations aimed at ending the Middle East conflict.
The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 73707.72, down by 942.12 points or 1.26% after trading in a range of 73696.45 and 74507.73. There were 2 stocks advancing against 28 stocks declining on the index.
The lone gaining sectoral index on the BSE was Telecom up by 0.76%, while IT down by 4.45%, TECK down by 3.07%, Realty down by 2.26%, Bankex down by 1.11% and Metal down by 1.10% were the top losing indices on BSE.
The few gainers on the Sensex were Maruti Suzuki up by 0.58% and Mahindra & Mahindra up by 0.16%. On the flip side, TCS down by 7.41%, Tech Mahindra down by 4.89%, HCL Technologies down by 3.99%, Infosys down by 3.76% and ITC down by 2.17% were the top losers.
Meanwhile, India and the UK held discussions on the key issues delaying implementation of the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) between the two countries. The pact was signed in July last year. The issues were discussed during a meeting between Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agarwal and UK Permanent Secretary Amanda Brooks.
Britain's steel safeguard measure and carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM) are delaying the implementation of the pact. India is reportedly likely to rebalance some duty concessions on certain British products, such as Scotch whisky, under the agreement with the UK if these issues are not addressed. The UK will limit tariff-free steel imports, reducing overall quota volumes by 60 per cent compared to the steel safeguard measure from July 1, 2026. Any imports above these levels will then face a 50 per cent tariff.
Meanwhile, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal held talks with UK Secretary of State for Business and Trade Peter Kyle, focusing on ways to expand economic collaboration. Goyal stated ‘Had great conversations on charting the next phase of India-UK economic engagement, advancing shared business priorities, and further strengthening our robust and forward-looking partnership.’
The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 23215.00, down by 268.55 points or 1.14% after trading in a range of 23212.10 and 23447.65. There were 7 stocks advancing against 43 stocks declining on the index.
The top gainers on Nifty were Apollo Hospital up by 1.56%, Maruti Suzuki up by 0.64%, Max Healthcare up by 0.50%, Tata Consumer Product up by 0.41% and ONGC up by 0.26%. On the flip side, TCS down by 7.40%, Tech Mahindra down by 4.90%, HCL Technologies down by 3.90%, Infosys down by 3.69% and Adani Enterprises down by 2.51% were the top losers.
Asian markets are trading mostly in green; Nikkei 225 surged 1955.76 points or 2.93% to 68,690.00, Taiwan Weighted added 914.12 points or 2.01% to 46,471.43, Shanghai Composite strengthened 20.31 points or 0.5% to 4,095.41 and Straits Times rose 35.62 points or 0.7% to 5,133.04. On the flip side, Jakarta Composite plunged 305.95 points or 4.94% to 5,889.48 and Hang Seng declined 383.32 points or 1.47% to 25,655.00.
