India’s benchmark indexes were little changed on Wednesday as investors took a breather after a recent rally and awaited clarity on impending U.S. tariffs.
The NSE Nifty 50 rose 0.01% to 23,671.8, while the BSE Sensex lost 0.07% to 77,971.12 respectively, as of 10:13 a.m. IST.
Ten of the 13 major sectors logged gains. The broader, more domestically focussed smallcaps traded flat while midcaps gained 0.4%.
Over the past seven sessions, the benchmarks have added 5.7% helping recoup their year-to-date losses as foreign inflows and optimism over domestic macroeconomic factors provided some relief from India’s longest equity slump in nearly 30 years.
“Clearly the major part of the damage is over for Indian markets,” said Devang Kabra, partner and fund manager at Wallfort PMS.
“Tariff may seem like a rough headline but the fine print could be in the favour of India,” said Kabra, adding volatility will remain elevated in the near-term.
India is open to cutting tariffs on more than half of U.S. imports worth $23 billion in the first phase of a trade deal the two nations are negotiating, Reuters reported, citing two government sources, as the country aims to fend off reciprocal tariffs.
Indian benchmarks end little changed after six-session rally
On Monday, the U.S. administration indicated that not all the tariffs will be imposed on April 2 but there was no clarity on the countries and sectors that may be spared.
Among individual stocks, consumer company Marico rose 2.3% and led consumer index marginally higher.
Motilal Oswal reiterated a “buy” on Marico’s shares, forecasting a 24% upside in the next 12 months, citing gains from gradual demand recovery.
Shares of online food delivery platform Eternal, formerly known as Zomato, fell 2.6% after Bank of America downgraded the stock to “neutral” from “buy” and lowered its target price to 250 rupees from 300 rupees.
Comments
Comments are closed for this article.