Markets pare gains to trade tad higher in late afternoon session

Indian equity markets wiped off their afternoon gains and slipped into negative territory, but managed to trade above neutral lines in the late afternoon session. Market participants turned cautious amid persistent fund outflows by foreign institutional investors (FIIs). FIIs were net sellers in Tuesday’s session, offloading securities worth Rs 739.69 crore. However, traders continued to take support from Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agarwal’s statement that India and the UK are all set to implement the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) from July 15, 2026. Both countries are aiming to boost their bilateral trade to $100 billion by 2030.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 77206.36, up by 151.42 points or 0.20% after trading in a range of 76982.82 and 77646.27. There were 17 stocks advancing against 13 stocks declining on the index.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Capital Goods up by 1.43%, Consumer Durables up by 0.84%, Consumer Discretionary up by 0.71%, Industrials up by 0.69% and Oil & Gas up by 0.68%, while Utilities down by 1.26%, Metal down by 0.64%, TECK down by 0.44%, IT down by 0.40% and Realty down by 0.39% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Eternal up by 3.32%, Ultratech Cement up by 2.59%, Tech Mahindra up by 1.50%, Bajaj Finance up by 1.32% and Interglobe Aviation up by 1.15%. On the flip side, Power Grid Corporation down by 1.80%, NTPC down by 1.31%, Hindustan Unilever down by 1.21%, Larsen & Toubro down by 1.15% and Infosys down by 1.04% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM) has said that India risks building a technology workforce that depends on artificial intelligence (AI) tools rather than developing professionals who are truly AI-native if deep engineering capabilities are not preserved by industry and academia.  

While more than 90 per cent of India's early-career technology professionals have already adopted AI, the apex industry body cautioned that the decline of routine coding work must not lead to a drop in fundamental technical skills. India has a unique opportunity to establish itself as a global hub for AI-native technology talent and it is important to keep in mind that AI skills penetration is not the same as being AI-native. India risks scaling a workforce that is AI-reliant rather than AI-native.

To address this, Nasscom called for a coordinated effort by academia and industry to move beyond traditional coding instruction. It said academic institutions should strengthen engineering judgment, domain learning and reimagine assessment methods, while reimagining assessment methods to reflect AI-driven work environments. It also urged companies to redesign talent development strategies by building strong foundational capabilities, expanding mentorship programmes, encouraging independent problem-solving, integrating AI verification into workflows and continuously upskilling early-career professionals. 

For the IT industry, it said the shift to an AI-native workforce will require rethinking long-established operating models. Hiring assessments must shift from testing basic coding knowledge to evaluating comprehensive AI-native capabilities. Furthermore, companies must redesign capability building to include AI-augmented foundational learning, simulation-based exercises, and multi-layered mentorship to encourage independent problem-solving among early-career talent.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 24075.20, up by 23.15 points or 0.10% after trading in a range of 24010.55 and 24220.35. There were 27 stocks advancing against 23 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Eternal up by 3.22%, HDFC Life Insurance up by 2.78%, Ultratech Cement up by 2.40%, Shriram Finance up by 1.80% and Bajaj Auto up by 1.51%. On the flip side, Power Grid Corporation down by 1.97%, Hindalco Industries down by 1.62%, Larsen & Toubro down by 1.42%, Dr. Reddy's Laboratories down by 1.35% and NTPC down by 1.26% were the top losers.

Asian equity markets were trading mostly in green; Nikkei 225 surged 978.5 points or 1.42% to 68,722.00, Taiwan Weighted added 893.64 points or 1.96% to 45,631.59, Hang Seng advanced 319.27 points or 1.29% to 24,660.00, KOSPI increased 427.58 points or 5.87% to 7,284.41 and Straits Times rose 62.61 points or 1.14% to 5,558.22, while Shanghai Composite weakened 11.55 points or 0.29% to 3,955.58 and Jakarta Composite plunged 2.41 points or 0.04% to 6,037.11.

European equity markets were trading mostly in red; UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 17.92 points or 0.17% to 10,511.47 and Germany’s DAX lost 109.43 points or 0.44% to 25,037.60, while France’s CAC rose 7.75 points or 0.09% to 8,374.60.