Benchmarks pared most of their losses in late afternoon session amid fall in Brent crude oil prices. The Brent crude oil prices have retreated to trade near $88 a barrel from $90 a barrel. However, markets continued to trade below the neutral lines as going tensions in West Asia have weighed on investors risk sentiments. Besides, traders maintained risk adverse approach after government indicated that there is currently no proposal to scrap the long-term capital gains tax on equity transactions. In stock specific development, Ultratech Cement jumped higher as traders remained optimistic on the stock with upbeat earnings by the company.
On the global front, Asian equity markets were trading mixed amid sell off among tech stocks. European equity markets were trading mostly in green as Brent crude oil prices fell from $90 a barrel mark.
The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 77713.86, down by 437.59 points or 0.56% after trading in a range of 77368.29 and 78151.45. There were 19 stocks advancing against 11 stocks declining on the index.
The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Utilities up by 1.58%, Power up by 1.39%, PSU up by 1.16%, Healthcare up by 1.14% and Basic Materials up by 0.92%, while Bankex down by 0.66%, Auto down by 0.56%, Realty down by 0.43%, IT down by 0.14%, Consumer Discretionary down by 0.01% were the top losing indices on BSE.
The top gainers on the Sensex were Trent up by 2.99%, ICICI Bank up by 1.32%, Bharti Airtel up by 1.22%, HCL Technologies up by 1.18% and NTPC up by 1.17%. On the flip side, Axis Bank down by 5.38%, HDFC Bank down by 4.84%, Maruti Suzuki India down by 2.49%, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 2.19% and Infosys down by 0.63% were the top losers.
Meanwhile, the Aluminium Association of India (AAI) has urged the finance ministry to strengthen safeguards for the domestic aluminium industry, citing mounting global trade challenges including higher US tariffs, rising protectionism in Mexico, Indonesia's capacity expansion, Russian dumping, and a surge in low-quality scrap and aluminium imports from Gulf and ASEAN countries. In a representation to the Central Board of Indirect Taxes (CBIC), it said since the world is using and promoting imports of only high-quality scrap, it is the need of the hour for India to establish similar quality standards for aluminium scrap.
The association said that as major economies are protecting their aluminium industries through higher import duties and other trade measures to attract investments and reduce import dependence, India should also reinforce its trade safeguards. It has recommended retaining the existing duty structure on aluminium products, while considering higher basic customs duty and other trade measures to curb the surge in imports of poor quality scrap. It pointed to countries such as the US, Canada and Mexico, where import duties on certain aluminium products range between 15% and 50%.
The AAI has requested to ensure that the final BIS standard titled 'Aluminium & Aluminium Alloy Scrap - Requirements & Conditions of Delivery' is notified without changes, saying it has already been approved by bodies such as NITI Aayog, and BIS. It said that this will ensure that India does not become a dumping ground for unchecked quality of hazardous global aluminium scrap. Once notified, it would classify aluminium scrap into different grades based on aluminium content, ranging from above 95 per cent to below 60 per cent.
It has urged the government to maintain the existing import duty on aluminium scrap until the pending BIS quality standard is notified and grade-wise HSN (harmonised nomenclature) codes are introduced. This would allow the government to distinguish between high-quality scrap used by recyclers and lower-grade scrap with higher impurities. It also suggested raising the import duty to 7.5 per cent on low-grade aluminium scrap (Grades 3 to 7) thereafter to curb imports of poor-quality scrap into the country.
The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 24230.15, down by 104.15 points or 0.43% after trading in a range of 24135.85 and 24266.10. There were 34 stocks advancing against 16 stocks declining on the index.
The top gainers on Nifty were Trent up by 2.92%, Ultratech Cement up by 1.90%, Cipla up by 1.79%, Power Grid Corporation up by 1.69% and JSW Steel up by 1.63%. On the flip side, Axis Bank down by 5.28%, HDFC Bank down by 4.78%, Maruti Suzuki India down by 2.54%, JIO Financial Services down by 1.80% and Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 1.73% were the top losers.
Asian equity markets were trading mixed; Hang Seng advanced 567.76 points or 2.26% to 25,130.00, Shanghai Composite strengthened 32.13 points or 0.85% to 3,796.28 and Jakarta Composite gained 48.86 points or 0.78% to 6,224.40, while Taiwan Weighted lost 221.57 points or 0.52% to 42,449.70, KOSPI dropped 304.33 points or 4.67% to 6,516.27 and Straits Times fell 13.62 points or 0.25% to 5,495.81. Meanwhile, Japanese markets remained closed on account of Marine Day holiday.
European equity markets were trading mostly in green; France’s CAC rose 18.69 points or 0.22% to 8,357.50 and Germany’s DAX gained 70.92 points or 0.29% to 24,901.90, while UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 39.5 points or 0.37% to 10,560.87.
