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Key gauges add gains in morning deals
Mar-17-2026

Indian equity benchmarks have extended their gains in morning deals, tracking a bullish trend in global markets. Buying in metals, auto and Consumer discretionary stocks lifted sentiments despite persistent weakness in IT counters and elevated global oil prices. Traders took support with the Commerce Ministry’s statement that India has inked terms of reference with the Philippines and the Maldives to start negotiations for free trade agreements (FTAs). The terms of reference (ToR) outline the scope and modalities of a proposed trade pact. Traders took a note of Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary’s statement that banks have written off loans worth Rs 9.75 lakh crore in the last 11 financial years. The write off peaked in FY20 at Rs 1.59 lakh crore, and since then it has been declining to Rs 47,568 crore in FY25. On the global front, Asian markets were trading in green as auto and tech stocks gained after Nvidia announced robust revenue forecast for its key chips, and partnerships with carmakers from the region. 

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 75927.92, up by 425.07 points or 0.56% after trading in a range of 75324.73 and 76014.31. There were 20 stocks advancing against 10 stocks declining on the index.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 1.90%, Auto up by 1.86%, Consumer discretionary up by 1.26%, Capital Goods up by 1.22% and Basic Materials up by 1.21%, while IT down by 1.08% and TECK down by 0.30% were the few losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Eternal up by 3.90%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 3.05%, Tata Steel up by 2.94%, Maruti Suzuki up by 2.14% and Asian Paints up by 1.89%. On the flip side, Infosys down by 1.28%, TCS down by 0.97%, HCL Technologies down by 0.86%, Tech Mahindra down by 0.72% and SBI down by 0.72% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the commerce ministry in its latest data has showed that India’s merchandise exports slipped marginally by 0.81 per cent to $36.61 billion in February 2026 as compared to $36.91 billion in the same month last year. Merchandise imports increased by 24.11 per cent to $63.71 billion in February 2026 from $51.33 billion recorded a year ago. As a result, trade deficit (difference between imports and exports) widened to $27.10 billion in February 2026 as compared with $14.42 billion in February 2025. 

According to the data, cumulatively, merchandise exports during April-February 2025-26 were $402.93 billion as compared to $395.66 billion during April-February 2024-25. Merchandise imports during April-February 2025-26 were $713.53 billion as compared to $657.46 billion during April-February 2024-25. Merchandise trade deficit during April-February 2025-26 was $310.60 billion as compared to $261.80 billion during April-February 2024-25. 

Non-petroleum and non-gems & jewellery exports in February 2026 were $30.55 billion compared to $28.66 billion in February 2025.  Non-petroleum and non-gems & jewellery exports in April-February 2025-26 were $327.96 billion, compared to $310.25 billion in April-February 2024-25. Non-petroleum, non-gems & jewellery (gold, silver & precious metals) imports in February 2026 were $40.33 billion compared to $35.39 billion in February 2025. Non-petroleum, non-gems & jewellery (gold, silver & precious metals) imports in April-February 2025-26 were $454.82 billion, compared to $416.59 billion in April-February 2024-25.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 23563.70, up by 154.90 points or 0.66% after trading in a range of 23346.60 and 23577.55. There were 37 stocks advancing against 13 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Eternal up by 3.87%, Tata Steel up by 3.02%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 3.01%, Maruti Suzuki up by 2.12% and Shriram Finance up by 1.98%. On the flip side, Wipro down by 2.33%, Infosys down by 1.34%, TCS down by 1.03%, HCL Technologies down by 0.84% and Tech Mahindra down by 0.81% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading in green; Nikkei 225 surged 174.85 points or 0.33% to 53,926.00, Taiwan Weighted added 381.24 points or 1.14% to 33,723.75, Jakarta Composite gained 79.31 points or 1.13% to 7,101.60, Shanghai Composite strengthened 0.48 points or 0.01% to 4,085.27, KOSPI increased 149.79 points or 2.7% to 5,699.64, Hang Seng advanced 247.98 points or 0.95% to 26,082.00 and Straits Times rose 51.73 points or 1.06% to 4,920.42. 
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