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Markets trade in fine-fettle amid India-US trade deal hopes
Oct-23-2025

Indian equity benchmarks extended their Mahurat Trading session’s gains with an optimistic start on Thursday driven by a strong rally in IT stocks. Soon, markets added some gains, with Nifty crossing the 26K mark, while Sensex garnering gains of over 750 points. Traders were optimistic over a potential India-US trade deal with reports suggesting that both countries are close to finalizing a long-awaited bilateral trade deal that could sharply lower tariffs on Indian exports to about 15-16 percent from the current average of 50 percent. Some support also came as Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has said that he held a meeting with EU Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic to discuss outstanding issues related to the proposed trade pact.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly lower, tracking the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight, amid uncertainty about trade relations between the U.S. and China following the latest remarks from US President Donald Trump. Reports suggest Trump threatened to bar ‘critical software’ exports to China in retaliation for Beijing's latest round of rare earth export restrictions. Back home, in stock specific development, HCL Technologies advanced after it announced a strategic partnership with Dubai Islamic Bank to drive AI adoption across the bank's ecosystem.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 85190.43, up by 764.09 points or 0.91% after trading in a range of 84867.97 and 85221.09. There were 29 stocks advancing against 1 stock declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.45%, while Small cap index was up by 0.04%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were IT up by 2.31%, TECK up by 1.74%, FMCG up by 1.01%, Bankex up by 0.95% and Metal up by 0.71%, while there was no loser on the BSE sectoral front.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Infosys up by 3.61%, HCL Technologies up by 2.80%, Tech Mahindra up by 2.46%, Axis Bank up by 2.14% and Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 1.92%. On the flip side, Eternal down by 0.70% was the sole loser.

Meanwhile, expressing optimism over India-EU trade pact, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has said that he held a meeting with European Union (EU) Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic to discuss outstanding issues related to the proposed trade pact. The meeting was important as Goyal is scheduled to visit Brussels next week to give an impetus to the ongoing negotiations for the proposed trade agreement between India and the EU. Goyal's visit follows the conclusion of the 14th round of talks between the two sides from October 6 to October 10.

In June 2022, India and the EU bloc resumed negotiations for a comprehensive FTA, an investment protection agreement and a pact on geographical indications after a gap of over eight years. It was stalled in 2013 due to differences on the level of opening up markets. India's bilateral trade in goods with the EU was $136.53 billion in 2024-25 (exports worth $75.85 billion and imports worth $60.68 billion), making it the largest trading partner for goods. The EU market accounts for about 17 per cent of India's total exports, and the bloc's exports to India constitute 9 per cent of its total overseas shipments.

Besides demanding significant duty cuts in automobiles and medical devices, the EU wants tax reduction in other products like wine, spirits, meat, poultry, and a strong intellectual property regime. Indian goods' exports to the EU, such as ready-made garments, pharmaceuticals, steel, petroleum products, and electrical machinery, can become more competitive if the pact sails through. The India-EU trade pact negotiations cover 23 policy areas or chapters, including trade in goods, services, investment, trade remedies, rules of origin, customs and trade facilitation, competition, government procurement, dispute settlement, intellectual property rights, geographical indications, and sustainable development.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 26074.30, up by 205.70 points or 0.80% after trading in a range of 25991.70 and 26095.70. There were 44 stocks advancing against 6 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Infosys up by 3.59%, HCL Technologies up by 2.88%, Tech Mahindra up by 2.35%, Axis Bank up by 2.04% and Tata Steel up by 1.73%. On the flip side, Interglobe Aviation down by 1.16%, Cipla down by 0.82%, Eternal down by 0.77%, Eicher Motors down by 0.77% and Dr. Reddy's Lab down by 0.40% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mostly in red; Nikkei 225 slipped 631.79 points or 1.28% to 48,676.00, Taiwan Weighted lost 91 points or 0.33% to 27,557.91, KOSPI dropped 25.87 points or 0.67% to 3,857.81, Shanghai Composite weakened 25.68 points or 0.66% to 3,888.08 and Hang Seng declined 21.77 points or 0.08% to 25,760.00. On the other hand, Jakarta Composite gained 89.2 points or 1.09% to 8,241.75 and Straits Times was up by 3.26 points or 0.07% to 4,397.18.
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