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Markets trim opening losses to trade flat in early deals
Apr-17-2025

Indian equity benchmarks made a negative start on Thursday tracking overnight losses on Wall Street as the escalating U.S.-China trade tensions and a deteriorating outlook for global trade continue to weigh on market sentiment. Soon, markets recovered sharply and are trading flat in early deals. Investors remained on sidelines ahead of weekly F&O expiry and the upcoming long weekend due to Good Friday. Some support came as an UN report said that India is expected to grow by 6.5 per cent in 2025 on the back of continued robust public spending and ongoing monetary easing, even as the world economy is on a recessionary trajectory, driven by escalating trade tensions and persistent uncertainty.

On the global front, Asian markets are trading mostly higher on Thursday amid hopes of lower negotiated reciprocal tariffs on US trade partners in the region, with Japan making positive progress in trade talks with the US. Back home, in stock specific developments, Infosys and Jio Financial Services are in focus ahead of their earnings results due today. Hero MotoCorp declined as it declared a temporary halt in production from April 17 to 19 at four of its manufacturing facilities, citing short-term supply alignment.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 77088.46, up by 44.17 points or 0.06% after trading in a range of 76665.77 and 77099.10. There were 10 stocks advancing against 20 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading mixed; the BSE Mid cap index fell 0.11%, while Small cap index was up by 0.13%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Bankex up by 0.70%, FMCG up by 0.07%, Healthcare up by 0.05%, Consumer Durables up by 0.03% and Telecom up by 0.03%, while IT down by 1.74%, TECK down by 1.11%, Metal down by 0.95%, Energy down by 0.52% and Capital Goods down by 0.45% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were ICICI Bank up by 1.80%, HDFC Bank up by 1.07%, Bajaj Finserv up by 0.75%, Eternal up by 0.63% and SBI up by 0.58%. On the flip side, HCL Technologies down by 2.56%, Infosys down by 1.62%, Tata Steel down by 1.53%, TCS down by 1.26% and Larsen & Toubro down by 1.12% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in its latest report titled 'Trade and Development Foresights 2025 - Under pressure: Uncertainty reshapes global economic prospects' has said that India is expected to grow by 6.5 per cent in 2025, slightly lower than the 6.9 per cent growth of 2024 but still maintaining its status as the fastest-growing major economy. The growth will be supported by continued robust public spending and ongoing monetary easing, even as the world economy is on a recessionary trajectory, driven by escalating trade tensions and persistent uncertainty. It further said that the decision of the central bank to cut the interest rate by 25 basis points for the first time in five years in early February will support household consumption as well as provide a boost to private investment plans.

UNCTAD said that global growth is projected to slow to 2.3 per cent in 2025, placing the world economy on a recessionary path. The report cites mounting threats, including trade policy shocks, financial volatility and a surge in uncertainty that risk derailing the global outlook. It projects that the South Asia region will expand by 5.6 per cent in 2025, as declining inflation opens the way for monetary loosening across most of the region. It added nevertheless, food price volatility will remain a risk and complex debt dynamics will continue to burden economies such as Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

The report said that the world economy is on a recessionary trajectory, driven by escalating trade tensions and persistent uncertainty. Rising trade tensions are impacting global trade, with UNCTAD noting that recent tariff measures are disrupting supply chains and undermining predictability. It noted that trade policy uncertainty is at a historical high, and this is already translating into delayed investment decisions and reduced hiring. The slowdown will affect all nations, but UNCTAD remains concerned about developing countries and especially the most vulnerable economies. Many low-income countries face a ‘perfect storm’ of worsening external financial conditions, unsustainable debt and weakening domestic growth. UNCTAD underlines the real threat to economic growth, investment, and development progress, particularly for the most vulnerable economies.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 23421.00, down by 16.20 points or 0.07% after trading in a range of 23298.55 and 23434.60. There were 17 stocks advancing against 33 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were ICICI Bank up by 1.89%, Grasim Industries up by 1.32%, HDFC Bank up by 1.01%, Bajaj Finserv up by 0.65% and Eternal up by 0.62%. On the flip side, Wipro down by 5.55%, HCL Technologies down by 2.55%, Hero MotoCorp down by 2.47%, Coal India down by 1.80% and Infosys down by 1.63% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mostly in green; Hang Seng jumped 341.91 points or 1.6% to 21,398.89, Nikkei 225 surged 318.87 points or 0.94% to 34,239.27, Straits Times rose 50.18 points or 1.37% to 3,712.63, KOSPI increased 19.08 points or 0.78% to 2,466.51, Shanghai Composite advanced 6.82 points or 0.21% to 3,282.82 and Jakarta Composite was up by 4.25 points or 0.07% to 6,404.30, while Taiwan Weighted was down by 90.29 points or 0.46% to 19,377.71.
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