Post Session: Quick Review

Indian equity benchmarks ended flat with a positive bias on Thursday, supported by sustained buying in IT stocks. The markets opened on a firm note amid optimism surrounding the ongoing June-quarter earnings season. However, profit booking at higher levels during the afternoon session erased most of the early gains and markets traded around neutral lines as escalating tensions in West Asia weighed on investors’ sentiments. 

Some of the important factors in trade:

India records current account surplus of $2.8 billion during April-May 2026: Traders took support with the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) preliminary data on India’s balance of payments (BoP) showed that India recorded a current account (net) surplus of $2.8 billion during April-May 2026, compared with a deficit of $4.1 billion in the corresponding period last year, mainly aided by higher inward remittances from abroad and a rise in services exports.

India's exports to UK reach $140 million on day one of CETA trade pact: Some support also came as Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal stated that India has exported goods worth $140 million to the United Kingdom (UK) at zero duty under the comprehensive economic and trade agreement (CETA), which came into effect on July 15, 2026.

India, EU to strengthen strategic cooperation in trade, technology and security: Sentiments got boost as India and the European Union reaffirmed their commitment to strengthen strategic cooperation in trade, technology and security at the third meeting of the India-EU Trade and Technology Council (TTC), with both sides agreeing to deepen collaboration in artificial intelligence, semiconductors, quantum technologies, clean energy and resilient supply chains.

On the global front: European markets were trading in red, as investors weighed escalating Middle East tensions and monitored mixed earnings updates. Asian markets closed mostly in red, even as softer-than-expected U.S. inflation data eased concerns about near-term Federal Reserve interest-rate hikes.

The BSE Sensex ended at 77186.87, up by 1.44 points after trading in a range of 77086.42 and 77579.69. There were 16 stocks advancing against 14 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Consumer Durables up by 1.13%, IT up by 0.58%, TECK up by 0.50%, Auto up by 0.30% and FMCG up by 0.22%, while Realty down by 0.94%, Utilities down by 0.48%, Bankex down by 0.30%, Metal down by 0.26% and Power down by 0.16% were the top losing indices on BSE. (Provisional)

The top gainers on the Sensex were Interglobe Aviation up by 1.97%, HCL Technologies up by 1.73%, Bajaj Finance up by 1.64%, Maruti Suzuki India up by 1.44% and Titan Company up by 1.10%. On the flip side, Eternal down by 3.00%, Bharat Electronics down by 1.01%, HDFC Bank down by 0.90%, NTPC down by 0.60% and Axis Bank down by 0.59% were the top losers. (Provisional)

Meanwhile, welcoming the implementation of the India-United Kingdom Free Trade Agreement (India-UK FTA), the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) has described it as a transformational milestone. It listed benefits of this FTA such as deepening of bilateral trade, enhancement in India's export competitiveness and new opportunities for exporters across sectors. According to the exporters body, the agreement will also encourage greater participation of startups, women-led enterprises, and first-time exporters, while strengthening integration with global value chains and promoting innovation-led exports. 

Further, S C Ralhan, President of FIEO has noted that implementation of agreement marks a historic milestone in India's export journey. It opens a new chapter in the country’s economic partnership with one of India's most important trading partners and provides Indian exporters with preferential market access, greater certainty, and enhanced competitiveness in the UK market. Ralhan also said that this agreement will particularly benefit Indian MSMEs, labour-intensive industries, farmers, artisans, craftsmen, women entrepreneurs, and the services sector, creating new avenues for sustainable export growth and employment generation.

President of FIEO stated that the FTA is expected to provide a significant boost to India's merchandise and services exports by reducing tariff barriers, improving market access, simplifying trade procedures, and encouraging greater investments and technology partnerships between the two countries. He observed that labour-intensive sectors stand to gain substantially from the agreement, particularly textiles and apparel, garments, leather and footwear, carpets, handicrafts, gems and jewellery, furniture, engineering goods, sports goods, marine products, processed foods, tea, coffee, spices, agricultural products, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, and auto components.

The CNX Nifty ended at 24072.75, down by 5.75 points or 0.02% after trading in a range of 24050.00 and 24186.50. There were 23 stocks advancing against 27 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The top gainers on Nifty were Interglobe Aviation up by 1.83%, Wipro up by 1.77%, HCL Technologies up by 1.66%, Bajaj Finance up by 1.60% and Maruti Suzuki India up by 1.47%. On the flip side, Eternal down by 2.83%, SBI Life Insurance down by 2.37%, Bharat Electronics down by 0.94%, Shriram Finance down by 0.91% and HDFC Bank down by 0.88% were the top losers. (Provisional)

European markets were trading lower; France’s CAC fell 61.73 points or 0.74% to 8,320.70, Germany’s DAX lost 156.43 points or 0.63% to 24,843.10 and UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 33.17 points or 0.32% to 10,482.75.

Asian markets ended mixed on Thursday driven by a sharp tech-sector selloff and growing concerns over the escalating US-Iran conflict, but softer-than-expected US producer price data eased concerns about near-term Federal Reserve interest-rate hikes. South Korea's Kospi dropped more than 6%, while the Korean won rose for a fifth straight session against the dollar to hit over a two-month high as the Bank of Korea raised its benchmark interest rates by 25 basis points to 2.75% for the first time in 3-1/2 years, aiming to counter persistent inflationary pressure amid the intensifying conflict in West Asia. Chinese shares fell after data showed China's GDP grew at its weakest pace since Q4 2022 and fell below the government's 2026 growth target range of 4.5%-5%. In response, the PBOC pledged stronger policy support in the second half of the year, signalling flexibility to use tools such as RRR cuts and reverse repos while maintaining the seven-day reverse repo rate as its key policy benchmark.