Erasing all of their losses, Indian equity benchmarks turned positive during early afternoon deals, with both Sensex and Nifty holding their heads in green terrain, aided by buying at healthcare and banking counters, despite negative cues from other Asian markets amid concerns over rising U.S.-Iran tensions and potential Federal Reserve rate hikes later this year. Sentiments were upbeat with reports stating that India attracted cumulative Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflows of $843 billion between 2014-15 and 2025-26, registering a 169 per cent increase over the preceding 12-year period.
On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in red, after Malaysia's unemployment rate increased slightly in April after remaining stable in the previous four months. The jobless rate rose to a 6-month high of 3.0 percent in April from 2.9 percent in the previous month. In the corresponding month last year, the unemployment rate was also 3.0 percent.
The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 74300.63, up by 317.45 points or 0.43% after trading in a range of 73518.75 and 74380.22. There were 14 stocks advancing against 16 stocks declining on the index.
The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Healthcare up by 0.79%, Bankex up by 0.73%, Telecom up by 0.51% and Auto up by 0.21%, while IT down by 1.32%, Industrials down by 0.91%, Power down by 0.73%, Utilities down by 0.71% and Capital Goods down by 0.67% were the top losing indices on BSE.
The top gainers on the Sensex were ICICI Bank up by 2.76%, Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 2.47%, Axis Bank up by 1.78%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.75% and Bharti Airtel up by 0.90%. On the flip side, Infosys down by 1.97%, HCL Tech. down by 1.76%, Bharat Electronics down by 1.21%, Trent down by 1.21% and Eternal down by 1.15% were the top losers.
Meanwhile, in a major boost for microfinance institutions, the government has approved the extension of the Credit Guarantee Scheme for Microfinance Institutions (CGSMFI) - 2.0 up to August 31, 2026, or till guarantees for an amount of Rs 20,000 crore are issued, whichever is earlier. The scheme was valid till June 30, 2026 or loans up to Rs 20,000 crore are guaranteed, whichever is earlier.
Moreover, the government has approved an increase in the maximum loan amount capped to large-sized NBFC-MFIs/MFIs from Rs 300 crore to Rs 1,000 crore under the overall ceiling of 20 per cent of assets under management (AUM). The extension in validity and increase in maximum loan amount capped to large-sized NBFC-MFIs/MFIs is expected to result in better utilisation of the scheme and facilitate increased credit flow to the MFI sector.
The CGSMFI-2.0 scheme, introduced on March 20, 2026, is designed to provide guarantee cover to Banks/ FIs through National Credit Guarantee Trustee Company Limited (NCGTC) against expected losses on the financial assistance extended by them to NBFC-MFIs and MFIs for on-lending to small borrowers.
The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 23297.65, up by 82.70 points or 0.36% after trading in a range of 23072.05 and 23324.25. There were 23 stocks advancing against 26 stocks declining, while 1 stock remained unchanged on the index.
The top gainers on Nifty were ICICI Bank up by 2.71%, Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 2.55%, Axis Bank up by 1.77%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.72% and Bharti Airtel up by 0.95%. On the flip side, Infosys down by 1.93%, HCL Tech. down by 1.69%, Trent down by 1.40%, Tata Motors Passenger down by 1.39% and Eternal down by 1.21% were the top losers.
Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Jakarta Composite plunged 23.98 points or 0.41% to 5,878.40, Taiwan Weighted lost 76.08 points or 0.18% to 43,149.46, Hang Seng declined 220.96 points or 0.91% to 24,187.00, Nikkei 225 slipped 62.27 points or 0.1% to 64,117.00 and Shanghai Composite weakened 6.22 points or 0.16% to 3,987.01, while KOSPI increased 33.13 points or 0.43% to 7,763.95 and Straits Times rose 4.09 points or 0.08% to 4,962.94.
