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Markets trade slightly higher in early deals after cautious start
Dec-24-2025

Indian equity benchmarks made a cautious start on Wednesday but soon added some gains and were trading higher in early deals, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street. Trading volumes in the domestic as well as global markets remained thin in today’s trade as markets in most of the regions are likely to close early today and remain shut tomorrow for Christmas. Traders took encouragement as Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal said India is actively engaged in trade discussions with the US, and hopes to conclude the talks ‘sooner than later’ in a manner that restores deeper market access for domestic exporters. Besides, the Reserve Bank of India said it will purchase government securities worth Rs 2 lakh crore and conduct a $10 billion buy/sell dollar-rupee swap auction to inject liquidity in the banking system. However, upside remained capped amid continued foreign fund outflows, as foreign institutional investors (FIIs) offloaded shares worth Rs 1,794.80 crore.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly higher as investors tracked a record on Wall Street following forecast-beating US economic growth data. Meanwhile, the minutes of the Bank of Japan's October meeting showed policymakers debated the need to continue raising interest rates to levels deemed neutral to the economy with some arguing doing so would help achieve long-term, stable growth.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 85634.26, up by 109.42 points or 0.13% after trading in a range of 85386.54 and 85677.76. There were 21 stocks advancing against 9 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.25%, while Small cap index was up by 0.33%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 0.74%, Metal up by 0.58%, Consumer Durables up by 0.53%, Capital Goods up by 0.48% and PSU up by 0.46%, while IT down by 0.47%, TECK down by 0.27%, Auto down by 0.10%, FMCG down by 0.09% and Healthcare down by 0.07% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Bajaj Finance up by 1.97%, NTPC up by 0.71%, Trent up by 0.67%, Axis Bank up by 0.58% and Power Grid up by 0.54%. On the flip side, Tech Mahindra down by 0.95%, Infosys down by 0.73%, Sun Pharma down by 0.64%, HCL Technologies down by 0.31% and Hindustan Unilever down by 0.25% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, expressing optimism over early conclusion of India-US trade talks in a manner that restores deeper market access for domestic exporters, Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal has said India is actively engaged in trade discussions with the US. Despite challenges in the US, he said that Indian exporters have maintained their exports in that market. The latest round of two-day talks concluded on December 11.

The trade talks between both the countries are important as they are working to finalise the tranche of the Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA). Trade talks also assume significance since the Donald Trump administration imposed a steep 50 per cent tariff on Indian goods entering American markets. As part of the pact, the US is seeking duty concessions on agri products like almonds, corn and apples, and industrial goods. India has strongly opposed any concessions in the agri and dairy sectors. India has stated that it will not compromise the interests of farmers and MSMEs. 

With an aim to more than double bilateral trade to $500 billion by 2030, from the current $191 billion, India and the US have held six rounds of negotiations so far. The US remained India's largest trading partner for the fourth consecutive year in 2024-25, with bilateral trade valued at $131.84 billion, including $86.5 billion in exports. According to the commerce ministry data, India's merchandise exports to the US rose 22.61% to $6.98 billion in November despite steep 50% tariffs on domestic goods. Imports during the month grew 38.29% to $5.25 billion. During the April-November period of this fiscal year, the country's exports to the US increased 11.38% to $59.04 billion, while imports rose 13.49% to $35.4 billion.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 26215.70, up by 38.55 points or 0.15% after trading in a range of 26141.40 and 26229.55. There were 35 stocks advancing against 15 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Coal India up by 2.11%, Bajaj Finance up by 1.78%, Shriram Finance up by 1.30%, Hindalco up by 0.90% and JIO Financial Services up by 0.90%. On the flip side, Tech Mahindra down by 0.96%, Wipro down by 0.92%, Infosys down by 0.85%, Eicher Motors down by 0.71% and Dr. Reddy's Lab down by 0.70% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; Hang Seng rose 47.86 points or 0.19% to 25,822.00, Taiwan Weighted gained 39.13 points or 0.14% to 28,349.60, Nikkei 225 strengthened 19.13 points or 0.04% to 50,432.00, Shanghai Composite added 9.27 points or 0.24% to 3,929.25 and KOSPI was up by 2.68 points or 0.07% to 4,120.00. On the other hand, Jakarta Composite fell 11.65 points or 0.14% to 8,573.13 and Straits Times was down by 5.49 points or 0.12% to 4,633.48.
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