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EQUITY
Post Session: Quick Review
May-08-2025

Indian equity markets ended in negative territory on Thursday, amid growing concerns over escalating India-Pakistan tensions. After a slightly positive start, soon markets turned volatile and hovered around the flat line for most of the day, as sentiments were down-beat after the US Federal Reserve kept interest rates steady at 4.25-4.5%. A sharp decline in the final hour of trade pushed markets deep into the red.

Some of the important factors in trade:

Hostilities between India, Pakistan heighten risks to credit metrics: Traders were cautious as S&P Global Ratings has said that the hostilities between India and Pakistan heighten risks to the credit metrics of both countries, and any escalation in clashes would put downward pressure on sovereign credit support.

India's apparel exports to the UK are set to double in three years: Traders took note of report that Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) Chairman Sudhir Sekhri said the free trade agreement (FTA) with the UK will help to double India's ready-made garment exports to Britain in the next three years. 

Continuous buying by foreign institutions: Traders overlooked National Stock Exchange data showing that foreign portfolio investors stayed net buyers of Indian equities for the 15th straight session on Wednesday, as they bought stocks worth Rs 2,585.86 crore.

Global front: European markets were trading in green, after U.S. President Donald Trump signaled progress toward a first trade deal in his global tariff dispute. Asian markets ended mixed as traders reacted to the Federal Reserve's status-quo rate decision and awaited cues from upcoming trade negotiations between China and the United States.  

The BSE Sensex ended at 80334.81, down by 411.97 points or 0.51% after trading in a range of 79987.61 and 80927.99. There were 4 stocks advancing against 26 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The broader indices ended in red; the BSE Mid cap index was down by 1.90%, while Small cap index down by 1.05%. (Provisional)

The only gaining sectoral index on the BSE was IT up by 0.12%, while Realty down by 2.60%, Oil & Gas down by 1.98%, Auto down by 1.92%, Power down by 1.86% and Utilities down by 1.85% were the top losing indices on BSE. (Provisional)

The top gainers on the Sensex were Axis Bank up by 0.70%, HCL Technologies up by 0.67%, Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 0.33% and Titan Company up by 0.05%. On the flip side, Eternal down by 3.97%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 3.36%, Bajaj Finance down by 2.19%, Maruti Suzuki down by 2.04% and Tata Steel down by 1.98% were the top losers. (Provisional)

Meanwhile, after the UAE, India has opened its central government procurement for British companies under the free trade agreement (FTA) announced on May 06, 2025. The British firms would be allowed to participate in the procurement of goods and services of the non-sensitive central-level entities only. However, access to state and local government-level entities will be excluded. Eligible UK suppliers would be allowed to bid for domestic tenders as deemed Class II local suppliers only. Carve out is also provided for 'Make in India' policy as well as medium and small enterprises.

Earlier, India opened the government procurement segment in the comprehensive trade pact with the UAE. Under that pact, UAE firms are allowed to participate in procurement tenders worth over Rs 200 crore. In 2020, the government modified public procurement norms to give maximum preference to companies whose goods and services have 50 per cent or more local content to promote 'Make in India'. The revised Public Procurement (Preference to Make in India), Order 2017, has introduced a concept of Class-I, II and non-local suppliers, based on which they will get preference in government purchases of goods and services.

Class-I local suppliers will get the most preference in all government purchases because their domestic value addition is 50 per cent or more. They will be followed by Class-II suppliers, whose value addition range is more than 20 per cent but less than 50 per cent. India's government procurement (GP) market is one of the largest in the world and it is estimated at nearly $600 billion annually, or around 15 per cent of the country's GDP. This expenditure fuels development across infrastructure, healthcare, power, education, transport, and defence. However, GP is more than a budgeting tool as it is a critical industrial policy instrument, used to promote local manufacturing, build MSME capacity, and advance national programs like Make in India and Atmanirbhar Bharat.

The CNX Nifty ended at 24273.80, down by 140.60 points or 0.58% after trading in a range of 24150.20 and 24447.25. There were 7 stocks advancing against 43 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The top gainers on Nifty were HCL Technologies up by 1.11%, Axis Bank up by 0.94%, Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 0.84%, Coal India up by 0.56% and Titan Company up by 0.18%. On the flip side, Shriram Finance down by 4.20%, Eternal down by 3.97%, Adani Enterprises down by 3.53%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 2.78% and Tata Consumer Products down by 2.62% were the top losers. (Provisional)

European markets were trading higher; Germany’s DAX gained 281.07 points or 1.22% to 23,397.03, France’s CAC rose 75.51 points or 0.99% to 7,702.35 and UK’s FTSE 100 increased 30.21 points or 0.35% to 8,589.54.

Asian markets settled mixed on Thursday tracking Wall Street’s gains overnight as the US Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged, as widely expected. Meanwhile, investors were awaiting cues from upcoming trade negotiations between China and the United States. The US and the UK are expected to announce a deal to reduce tariffs later today. Chinese markets rose as defense shares surged due to rising tensions between India and Pakistan in the wake of the Pahalgam attack, while Hong Kong markets gained after Chinese authorities rolled out interest rate cuts and other moves to help support the faltering economy. Moreover, Japanese markets ended up as chip-related shares followed their US peers higher. 

Asian Indices

Last Trade            

Change in Points

Change in %      

Shanghai Composite

3,352.00

9.33

0.28

Hang Seng

22,775.92

84.04

0.37

Jakarta Composite

6,827.75

-98.48

-1.44

KLSE Composite

1,542.74

-7.16

-0.46

Nikkei 225

36,928.63

148.97

0.40

Straits Times

3,848.22

-17.15

-0.45

KOSPI Composite

2,579.48

5.68

0.22

Taiwan Weighted

20,543.40

-3.09

-0.02
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