Indian equity benchmarks were witnessing volatility during early afternoon deals, with both Sensex and Nifty now trading below their neutral lines, ahead of the next round of U.S.-Iran negotiations set to take place in Doha today. Heavy selling at IT and TECK counters along with mixed cues from other Asian markets also impacted market sentiments. Traders got cautious, after Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said that India's free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations with Israel and the six-nation GCC bloc are 'temporarily stalled' at present amid the West Asia crisis.
On the global front, Asian markets were trading mixed, after Japan's industrial production expanded for the second straight month in May, though at a slower than expected rate. Industrial production rose 0.5 percent month-on-month in May, the same as in the previous month. The expected increase was 0.6 percent.
The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 76629.94, down by 98.43 points or 0.13% after trading in a range of 76455.49 and 77037.36. There were 11 stocks advancing against 19 stocks declining on the index.
The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Consumer Durables up by 1.14%, Realty up by 0.97%, Consumer Disc up by 0.87%, Auto up by 0.68% and Healthcare up by 0.63%, while IT down by 1.89%, TECK down by 0.77%, FMCG down by 0.53%, Utilities down by 0.50% and Bankex down by 0.19% were the top losing indices on BSE.
The top gainers on the Sensex were Maruti Suzuki India up by 4.56%, Titan Company up by 2.54%, Bharti Airtel up by 1.56%, Bajaj Finance up by 1.52% and Adani Ports & SEZ up by 1.46%. On the flip side, TCS down by 2.62%, Infosys down by 2.50%, HCL Technologies down by 2.19%, Tech Mahindra down by 2.14% and Hindustan Unilever down by 1.51% were the top losers.
Meanwhile, the Union Cabinet has approved an additional investment commitment of Rs 30,000 crore by the Centre towards new and upcoming funds of the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF). The finance ministry noted that it is a significant step towards deepening India's investment commitment for infrastructure and other nationally important sectors. With this decision, the government’s total commitment to NIIF stands at Rs 60,000 crore. NIIF is India's sovereign-anchored fund, professionally run and managed by National Investment and Infrastructure Fund Ltd (NIIFL). The Government of India is a 49% shareholder in NIIF, and it currently manages capital commitments of around Rs 40,000 crore across its funds and investment strategies. The ministry highlighted strong track record of capital deployment and realisations of NIIF saying it has returned close to Rs 12,000 crore to investors through large portfolio exits.
NIIF has raised capital from marquee institutional investors, including Sovereign Wealth Funds, Pension Funds, Multilateral Development, and leading Domestic Financial Institutions. These investors span diverse geographies, including Australia, Canada, Japan, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, and the United States, reflecting strong international confidence in India's growth trajectory and NIIF's governance and commercial track record. Besides, the ministry pointed that four of the NIIF's operational investment strategies have achieved notable investment momentum. These four strategies are infrastructure, private markets, growth equity and climate investments in the India-Japan business corridor.
The funds managed by NIIF have deployed capital across key sectors including transportation, energy transition, healthcare, digital infrastructure, electric mobility, affordable housing, manufacturing, and technology across multiple states and Union Territories. The ministry noted that these investments are closely aligned with national priorities such as Gati Shakti, Digital India, Make in India, COP commitments and flagship schemes including FAME and PM E-DRIVE. Further, NIIF plays a strategic advisory role, assisting central government departments and state entities on new PPP initiatives and investment ideas that can catalyse private sector investments.
The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 23921.50, down by 24.75 points or 0.10% after trading in a range of 23851.95 and 24035.55. There were 22 stocks advancing against 28 stocks declining on the index.
The top gainers on Nifty were Maruti Suzuki India up by 4.55%, Tata Motors Passenger up by 2.67%, Titan Company up by 2.60%, Bajaj Finance up by 1.73% and Bharti Airtel up by 1.62%. On the flip side, Eicher Motors down by 4.05%, Tata Consumer Products down by 3.71%, TCS down by 2.69%, Wipro down by 2.46% and Infosys down by 2.39% were the top losers.
Asian markets were trading mixed; KOSPI increased 81.83 points or 0.97% to 8,476.48, Taiwan Weighted added 1126.01 points or 2.44% to 46,125.91, Nikkei 225 surged 937.89 points or 1.33% to 70,406.00 and Shanghai Composite strengthened 22.84 points or 0.56% to 4,096.74, while Jakarta Composite plunged 123.36 points or 2.12% to 5,697.43, Hang Seng declined 233.68 points or 1.01% to 22,793.00 and Straits Times fell 29.32 points or 0.56% to 5,179.43.
