Indian equity benchmarks made a positive start on Thursday tracking continued fall in crude oil prices as traders remained optimistic about Iran and Oman reaching a framework to functionalise the Strait of Hormuz. But soon markets turned volatile and struggling for direction in early deals. There was some cautiousness amid concern about the possibility of a rate hike by the US Federal Reserve this calendar year after a US inflation gauge remained above the US Federal Reserve’s target rate.
Both Sensex and Nifty were trading flat in early deals with positive bias. Some support came as foreign institutional investors (FIIs) remained net buyers, purchasing equities worth Rs 502.63 crore on Wednesday. Kotak Mahindra Bank was leading the gainers on both the indices. However, selling was visible in select IT and FMCG stocks. In stock specific development, HDFC Bank came under pressure amid reports that the lender and its top executives facing a federal securities class action lawsuit in New York.
On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly higher after Nvidia reported better-than-expected quarterly results, boosting sentiment towards technology and semiconductor stocks. At the same time, concerns over sticky US inflation continue to limit risk appetite. Meanwhile, China’s industrial profits growth in July slowed to its weakest pace this year, expanding 11.2% from a year earlier, as soft demand and a broader slowdown in the economy weighed on manufacturers.
The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 77484.84, up by 11.90 points or 0.02% after trading in a range of 77341.13 and 77694.97. There were 13 stocks advancing against 17 stocks declining on the index.
The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Capital Goods up by 1.05%, Industrials up by 0.62%, Telecom up by 0.53%, Power up by 0.37% and Consumer Durables up by 0.26%, while Auto down by 0.43%, Utilities down by 0.31%, FMCG down by 0.22%, Oil & Gas down by 0.18% and PSU down by 0.12% were the top losing indices on BSE.
The top gainers on the Sensex were Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 1.86%, Bharat Electronics up by 1.18%, Tech Mahindra up by 0.80%, Bajaj Finance up by 0.64% and Sun Pharma up by 0.47%. On the flip side, HCL Technologies down by 1.35%, HDFC Bank down by 0.96%, NTPC down by 0.66%, Hindustan Unilever down by 0.64% and State Bank of India down by 0.62% were the top losers.
Meanwhile, expressing optimism over India’s trade relations with Japan, industry body -- The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham) has said that bilateral trade between the two countries is likely to reach $50 billion by 2030, up from $27.47 billion in 2025-26, driven by growing economic complementarities and deeper business engagement.
Assocham said India-Japan trade relations have expanded significantly in recent years, with increased exchanges of high-level delegations. It noted that a range of bilateral trade initiatives, along with promising investment announcements, is expected to further boost economic and commercial ties between the two countries.
Assocham President Nirmal Kumar Minda said India-Japan relations have strengthened considerably over the years, encompassing development cooperation, infrastructure, manufacturing, technology, investment and trade. Given the pace of technological advancements shaping the global economic order, he said Japan could consider establishing more research and development and innovation centres, as well as global capability centres (GCCs), and creating engineering partnerships with Indian academia.
The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 24214.40, up by 6.65 points or 0.03% after trading in a range of 24188.60 and 24297.45. There were 25 stocks advancing against 25 stocks declining on the index.
The top gainers on Nifty were Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 2.24%, Bharat Electronics up by 1.38%, Adani Enterprises up by 1.10%, Tech Mahindra up by 1.10% and Tata Steel up by 0.85%. On the flip side, Shriram Finance down by 1.65%, HCL Technologies down by 1.19%, HDFC Bank down by 0.82%, Interglobe Aviation down by 0.75% and Tata Consumer Products down by 0.58% were the top losers.
Asian markets were trading mostly in green; Taiwan Weighted jumped 335.26 points or 0.73% to 46,167.88, Nikkei 225 surged 137.84 points or 0.21% to 66,400.00, KOSPI increased 114.97 points or 1.69% to 6,923.18, Jakarta Composite gained 41.9 points or 0.65% to 6,447.59 and Shanghai Composite strengthened 23.47 points or 0.6% to 3,935.99. On the other hand, Hang Seng declined 113.97 points or 0.45% to 25,539.00 and Straits Times fell 40.67 points or 0.71% to 5,680.92.
