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EQUITY
Post Session: Quick Review
Aug-18-2025

Indian equity benchmarks ended with significant gains on Monday, supported by gains in Auto, Consumer Durable and realty. Markets made a gap-up opening and remained higher till end of the day, as sentiments remained upbeat with S&P Global Ratings upgraded India's sovereign ratings and Prime Minister Narendra Modi promised next generational GST reforms by Diwali, which will bring down the tax burden on consumers as well as MSMEs.  

Some of the important factors in today’s trade:

Forex reserves surge $4.74 billion to $693.62 billion: Some support also came as RBI’s data showed that India's forex reserves surged by $4.74 billion to $693.62 billion for the week ended August 8, 2025. 

India's exports to US rise 20% in July: Some support also came as the commerce ministry data showed that the India's goods exports to the US grown 19.94% to $8.01 billion in the month of July

India's merchandise exports rise 7.29% in July: Traders took support with commerce ministry in its latest data has showing that India's merchandise exports rebounded by 7.29 per cent to $37.24 billion in July 2025 as compared to $34.71 billion in July 2024.

Global front: European markets were trading mostly in red, after the Trump-Putin summit ended without a breakthrough on halting the war in Ukraine. Asian markets ended mixed as traders remained cautious ahead of upcoming Federal Reserve Jerome Powell's Jackson Hole speech for clues on whether the U.S. central bank will cut interest rates next month.

The BSE Sensex ended at 81273.75, up by 676.09 points or 0.84% after trading in a range of 81202.42 and 81765.77. There were 20 stocks advancing against 10 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The broader indices ended in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 1.00%, while Small cap index up by 1.39%. (Provisional)

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Auto up by 4.26%, Consumer Durables up by 3.08%, Consumer Discretionary up by 2.74%, Realty up by 2.19% and Basic Materials up by 1.96%, while IT down by 0.43%, Power down by 0.28% and TECK down by 0.07% were the few losing indices on BSE. (Provisional)

The top gainers on the Sensex were Maruti Suzuki up by 8.94%, Bajaj Finance up by 5.02%, Ultratech Cement up by 3.71%, Bajaj Finserv up by 3.70% and Mahindra & Mahindra up by 3.54%. On the flip side, ITC down by 1.26%, Eternal down by 1.16%, Tech Mahindra down by 1.02%, Larsen & Toubro down by 1.01% and NTPC down by 0.90% were the top losers. (Provisional)

Meanwhile, The Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) has said that India is facing tough choices in responding to steep US tariffs - from negotiating or retaliating to diversifying export markets or offering trade concessions like ending Russian oil imports - but each option carries its own mix of benefits and risks.

It said that India marks its Independence Day this year under the shadow of a bruising trade confrontation with Washington. The Trump administration's decision to slap a 50 per cent country-specific tariff on most Indian goods, on top of existing most favoured nation duties, has thrust India into a strategic dilemma that could reshape its trade, energy, and diplomatic positioning.

GTRI Founder Ajay Srivastava said ‘For New Delhi, the choices ahead are stark - negotiate, retaliate, diversify markets, or trade concessions such as ending purchases of Russian oil for tariff relief. Each option carries a different mix of gains and risks.’ He added that India will require structural reforms and aggressive trade diplomacy to absorb the high tariffs and diversify the country's exports to Europe, ASEAN, Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America.

He stated ‘Gains in the first two years might recover only $1015 billion of the $50 billion lost.’ If US tariffs would raise consumer prices and unemployment in America, he said, domestic political pressure could force the Trump administration a cut to around 15 per cent for all countries. He said India's best role here is to quietly highlight the tariffs' cost to American voters.’ He added that in an era when economic power is used as a weapon, survival isn't about avoiding confrontation.

The CNX Nifty ended at 24876.95, up by 245.65 points or 1.00% after trading in a range of 24852.85 and 25022.00. There were 39 stocks advancing against 11 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The top gainers on Nifty were Maruti Suzuki up by 8.75%, Hero MotoCorp up by 5.86%, Bajaj Finance up by 5.08%, Nestle up by 5.02% and Bajaj Auto up by 4.57%. On the flip side, ITC down by 1.25%, Larsen & Toubro down by 1.14%, Eternal down by 1.10%, Tech Mahindra down by 1.04% and NTPC down by 0.97% were the top losers. (Provisional)

European markets were trading lower; France’s CAC fell 55.75 points or 0.7% to 7,867.70, Germany’s DAX lost 70.8 points or 0.29% to 24,288.50 and UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 9.55 points or 0.1% to 9,129.35.

Asian markets settled mostly higher on Monday as investors reacted to ongoing US-Russia talks on Ukraine and looked ahead to Jerome Powell's Jackson Hole speech for clues on whether the Fed will cut interest rates next month. The Japanese market hit a new record high as a weaker yen boosted automakers' shares and ahead of inflation data due this week that could provide further guidance on whether the Bank of Japan will hike rates again this year. Market sentiments improved further after the Japanese government said the US is not pressuring the Bank of Japan for rate hikes. Chinese shares jumped on strong institutional and retail buying on expectations that a swift resolution to the Russia-Ukraine conflict will help remove US scrutiny of Beijing's purchases of Russian oil. However, Seoul shares fell sharply amid uncertainties over Trump's potential tariff measures on semiconductors. 

Asian Indices

Last Trade            

Change in Points

Change in %      

Shanghai Composite

3,728.03

31.26

0.84

Hang Seng

25,176.85

-93.22

- 0.37

Jakarta Composite

--

--

--

KLSE Composite

1,584.96

8.62

0.55

Nikkei 225

43,764.00

385.69

0.88

Straits Times

4,187.38

-43.15

-1.03

KOSPI Composite

3,177.28

-48.38

-1.52

Taiwan Weighted

24,482.52

148.04

0.60
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