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Benchmarks continue to trade in negative zone
Jul-31-2025

Indian equity benchmarks continued to trade in negative zone in morning deals, after US President Donald Trump announced the imposition of a 25 per cent tariff on all goods coming from India starting August 1, plus an unspecified penalty for buying Russian crude oil and military equipment.  Traders overlooked the Global Trade Research Initiative’s (GTRI) statement that US President Donald Trump's announcement to impose a 25 per cent tariff and penalty on Indian goods may seem severe but India is not in a worse position than nations that signed trade deals with Washington. Traders also paid no heed towards latest MSME Outlook Survey released by SIDBI stating that business confidence among micro, small, and medium enterprises improved in the April-June quarter, backed by steady domestic demand and a supportive financial environment. On the global front, Asian markets are trading mostly in red as traders remain cautious ahead of the final deadline of August 1 set by the US President Donald Trump for reaching trade deals with its trading partner countries. 

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 80879.58, down by 602.28 points or 0.74% after trading in a range of 80695.15 and 81050.83. There were 4 stocks advancing against 26 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index fell 1.16%, while Small cap index was down by 0.82%.

The lone gaining sectoral indices on the BSE was FMCG up by 0.68%, while Telecom down by 2.16%, Oil & Gas down by 1.49%, Realty down by 1.49%, Energy down by 1.42% and Capital Goods down by 1.29% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Hindustan Unilever up by 3.32%, Power Grid Corporation up by 0.73%, Eternal up by 0.56% and ITC up by 0.53%. On the flip side, Reliance Industries down by 1.62%, Bharti Airtel down by 1.49%, Bajaj Finance down by 1.27%, Infosys down by 1.12% and Adani Ports &SEZ down by 1.11% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, domestic rating agency ICRA has said affordable housing finance companies' (AHFC) assets under management (AUM) is set to rise to Rs 2.5 lakh crore, from Rs 1.4 lakh crore, in the next three years. It said non-bank lenders' mortgage portfolio is set to touch Rs 20 lakh crore by March 2028, from Rs 13 lakh crore in March 2025.

The agency's co-group head for financial sector ratings, A M Karthik, said the retail mortgage loan growth will be driven by robust demand and the restricted availability of alternative credit options due to ongoing issues with unsecured lending. He stated that the sector has traditionally demonstrated strong performance, marked by low loan losses and healthy business returns.

The housing finance companies (HFCs) accounted for two-thirds of the overall mortgage loans, while affordable HFCs constituted 11 per cent of the overall assets under management. The AHFCs have a higher share of self-employed borrowers and loans against property in their portfolio compared to other large HFCs focused on the prime borrower segments. 

The AHFCs have a sizeable share of smaller ticket loans, and their AUM growth has been quite steep in the recent past, resulting in low portfolio seasoning. Given their business model, AHFCs need an extensive network of branches and staff to manage loan origination and handle collections in case of overdues, Karthik said, recommending sustained stability in operations and prudence in credit policies as desirable for the segment.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 24671.15, down by 183.90 points or 0.74% after trading in a range of 24635.00 and 24728.95. There were 6 stocks advancing against 44 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Hindustan Unilever up by 3.52%, JIO Financial Services up by 2.84%, JSW Steel up by 0.81%, ITC up by 0.56% and Power Grid Corporation up by 0.54%. On the flip side, Adani Enterprises down by 2.14%, Reliance Industries down by 1.67%, Wipro down by 1.50%, Bharti Airtel down by 1.48% and Dr. Reddy's Lab down by 1.42% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mostly in red; Straits Times fell 24.11 points or 0.57 to 4,195.30, Shanghai Composite weakened 22.64 points or 0.63 to 3,593.08, Jakarta Composite plunged 29.92 points or 0.4 to 7,519.97, KOSPI dropped 16.23 points or 0.5 to 3,238.24 and Hang Seng declined 321.93 points or 1.28 to 24,855.00.

On the flip side, Nikkei 225 surged 407.3 points or 1 to 41,062.00 and Taiwan Weighted added 67.12 points or 0.29 to 23,528.84.

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