Indian equity markets added gains in late afternoon session supported by strong buying among market heavy weights like Reliance Industries, HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank. Investors remained optimistic about first quarter earnings as Reliance Industries, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank are schedule to release result today and over the weekend. Sentiments also remained upbeat amid reports of indicating the government is planning to introduce the MSMEs Development (Amendment) Bill, 2026 in the upcoming Monsoon Session of Parliament to enhance ease of doing business for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). However, markets have came off the day's high as traders took a risk averse approach amid foreign institutional investors sell-off and weak global market cues.
On the global front, Asian equity markets were trading mostly in red weighed by sell off among AI-related stocks. European equity markets were trading lower amid ongoing West Asia tensions.
The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 78043.62, up by 856.75 points or 1.11% after trading in a range of 77308.00 and 78282.55. There were 22 stocks advancing against 8 stocks declining on the index.
The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were IT up by 1.52%, Bankex up by 1.40%, Realty up by 1.09%, Auto up by 0.81% and Energy up by 0.80%, while Capital Goods down by 1.51%, Telecom down by 1.47%, Healthcare down by 1.29%, Power down by 1.09%, Industrials down by 1.02% were the top losing indices on BSE.
The top gainers on the Sensex were Tech Mahindra up by 4.13%, Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 3.17%, TCS up by 2.94%, Reliance Industries up by 2.44% and Hindustan Unilever up by 2.14%. On the flip side, Bharti Airtel down by 0.87%, Ultratech Cement down by 0.61%, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries down by 0.49%, Tata Steel down by 0.35% and Trent down by 0.34% were the top losers.
Meanwhile, Food Processing Secretary Avinash Joshi said that the Ministry of Food Processing Industries has set a target to raise the country's food processing level to 25 per cent by 2031, up from 17 per cent in 2023 and indicated that new policy measures to encourage investment in the sector are likely to be announced for achieving this goal.
Referring to a recent CRISIL report, Joshi said the food processing level has risen steadily from 10 per cent in 2010-11 to 17 per cent in 2023. He noted that the processing level is an important indicator and hoped that the industry would take this target as a challenge. According to him, higher processing levels would enhance value addition, boost exports and generate significant benefits across the primary, secondary and tertiary sectors of the economy.
Highlighting the impact of the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme for the Food Processing Industry, he said the scheme has played a crucial role in expanding production capacity and creating employment opportunities. The scheme, being implemented from 2021-22 to 2026-27 with a financial outlay of Rs 10,900 crore, has achieved its objectives in terms of attracting investments, increasing exports and generating jobs. He said the ministry recently held a meeting with the industry representatives to understand the strengths and challenges in the scheme. He said the PLI in the food processing sector contributed almost 48 per cent to employment generation, and added that it is a very, very inclusive sector.
The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 24298.00, up by 225.25 points or 0.94% after trading in a range of 24099.05 and 24367.30. There were 34 stocks advancing against 16 stocks declining on the index.
The top gainers on Nifty were Tech Mahindra up by 4.50%, TCS up by 3.24%, Jio Financial Services up by 3.16%, Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 2.81% and Reliance Industries up by 2.21%. On the flip side, Hindalco Industries down by 1.83%, Wipro down by 1.08%, Cipla down by 0.97%, Dr. Reddy's Laboratories down by 0.91% and Max Healthcare Institute down by 0.86% were the top losers.
Asian equity markets were trading mostly in red; Nikkei 225 slipped 3115.54 points or 4.89% to 63,720.00, Taiwan Weighted lost 2953.71 points or 6.92% to 42,671.27, Hang Seng declined 511.6 points or 2.09% to 24,497.00, Straits Times fell 30.59 points or 0.56% to 5,508.79 and Shanghai Composite weakened 118.26 points or 3.14% to 3,764.15, while Jakarta Composite gained 72.05 points or 1.17% to 6,180.26. Meanwhile, South Korean market remained closed on account of holiday.
European equity markets were trading lower; UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 23.13 points or 0.22% to 10,549.11, France’s CAC fell 79.46 points or 0.95% to 8,298.40 and Germany’s DAX lost 225.19 points or 0.9% to 24,690.30.
