Firm trade persists over Dalal Street

A firm trade persisted over the Dalal Street during early afternoon deals, as dovish comments from Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller prompted traders to scale back expectations of a Federal Reserve rate increase this month. Traders were getting encouragement after Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal said India is passing through an important phase of its economic journey and highlighted the first-quarter GDP growth of 7.8% at constant prices. He said achieving 7.8% GDP growth amid uncertainty and tremendous turmoil around the world was a significant achievement. 

Both the indices were trading firmly in positive territory, with the Sensex outperforming the Nifty in early noon deals. The Sensex gained around 0.75%, while the Nifty was up about 0.30%, reflecting buying interest in several heavyweight constituents. 

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green, even after Japan's household spending declined for the eighth straight month in July. The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said that household spending registered a larger-than-expected annual fall of 3.6 percent in July, following June's 3.3 percent decrease. Spending has been declining since last December. 

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 76715.87, up by 563.01 points or 0.74% after trading in a range of 76529.50 and 76883.14. There were 24 stocks advancing against 6 stocks declining on the index.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Telecom up by 1.72%, Energy up by 0.58%, Bankex up by 0.56%, PSU up by 0.48% and IT up by 0.27%, while Capital Goods down by 0.33%, Realty down by 0.22%, Healthcare down by 0.22%, Power down by 0.16% and Auto down by 0.14% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Reliance Industries up by 2.23%, HDFC Bank up by 1.55%, Trent up by 1.46%, Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 1.33% and Hindustan Unilever up by 1.17%. On the flip side, Eternal down by 0.93%, Bharti Airtel down by 0.32%, Tata Steel down by 0.22%, HCL Technologies down by 0.22% and Asian Paints down by 0.16% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, aiming to deepen India-South Africa bilateral ties, South African BRICS Business Council (SABBC) is set to visit New Delhi to explore opportunities to expand economic ties with India and address the trade imbalance between the two countries. The SABBC, formed in 2013, promotes trade, investment, and public-private dialogue between South Africa and member nations, focusing on industrialisation, green energy, and African economic development. SABBC will attend the BRICS Business Council and Business Forum meetings in New Delhi on September 10 and 11, ahead of the 18th BRICS Summit. The delegation will seek opportunities in advanced manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, digital services, agro-processing and renewable energy, with a focus on increasing higher-value exports and securing investment partnerships.

India is one of South Africa's most significant BRICS+ trading partners, accounting for 20.8% of the country's trade with the grouping in 2025. Despite this, South Africa recorded a trade deficit of around $3.18 billion, with its exports dominated by coal, manganese and chemical wood pulp, while imports were concentrated in petroleum, vehicles, pharmaceuticals and machinery. The SABBC said it would use the trade imbalance as a ‘commercial mandate’ to expand higher-value exports, secure investment partnerships and move the relationship beyond a buyer-seller model towards co-investment, technology collaboration and greater market access. The key issues on agenda include use of Indian technology and capital to position South Africa as a regional automotive production hub, and develop partnerships in pharmaceuticals and medical devices to expand access across Africa.

Moreover, both sides are also expected to explore skills-exchange programmes in information technology, artificial intelligence and cybersecurity, and joint ventures in renewable energy and green hydrogen. Further, the delegation will seek to promote South African agricultural products in the Indian market while exploring the use of Indian processing and packaging technologies. Meanwhile, SABBC Chairperson Busi Mabuza has highlighted opportunities offered by African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) BRICS partners, including investment opportunities in infrastructure, industrial projects and regional value chains. She also emphasized that India's next phase of growth requires partners like South Africa which can offer resource security, African market access, industrial collaboration and innovation opportunities.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 23947.00, up by 73.55 points or 0.31% after trading in a range of 23895.85 and 24005.75. There were 23 stocks advancing against 27 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were SBI Life Insurance up by 2.35%, Reliance Industries up by 2.21%, HDFC Life Insurance up by 2.19%, Adani Enterprises up by 1.35% and Wipro up by 1.27%. On the flip side, Coal India down by 1.11%, HCL Technologies down by 1.08%, Eicher Motors down by 1.03%, Cipla down by 1.00% and Bajaj Finserv down by 0.97% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; KOSPI increased 107.73 points or 1.61% to 6,687.21, Taiwan Weighted added 693.47 points or 1.49% to 46,551.13, Hang Seng advanced 434.69 points or 1.72% to 25,648.00, Nikkei 225 surged 842.52 points or 1.3% to 65,057.00 and Straits Times rose 65.66 points or 1.14% to 5,813.37, while Shanghai Composite weakened 11.97 points or 0.3% to 3,930.12 and Jakarta Composite plunged 7.1 points or 0.11% to 6,660.79.