Indian Markets Retreats; Benchmarks Turn Negative After Positive Opening

About 2,027 stocks are advancing as against 500 stocks that are declining, thus indicating a positive sentiment in the broader market.

Market Update at 10:10 AM: Indian benchmark indices opened on a strong note on Thursday, tracking gains in Asian markets and buoyed by U.S. President Donald Trump's temporary tariff reprieve on automobile imports from Mexico and Canada.

However, the equity indices could not hold the gains and slipped to negative territory.

At 10:00 AM, Sensex was down 75 points, or 0.11 per cent, at the 73,658 level, while Nifty also dropped by 22 points, 0.10 per cent. Similarly, Nifty Mid-Cap traded higher by 250 points or  0.51 per cent, while Nifty Small-Cap also held yesterday’s gains, surging by 140 points or 0.92 per cent.

India VIX has jumped to 13.84, up by 1.38 per cent, indicating a slight increase in market volatility.

Nifty Metal, Nifty Media and Nifty Oil & Gas are among the Top Gainers while Nifty Private Banks, Nifty Bank and Nifty PSU Bank are among the Top Losers.

Asian Paints, BPCL and Cipla are among the top gainers while Trent, Bharti Airtel and HDFC Life are among the top losing stocks from the Nifty 50.

About 2027 stocks are advancing as against 500 stocks that are declining, thus indicating a positive sentiment in the broader market.

Pre-Market Update at 7:30 AM: The GIFT Nifty suggests a positive start for Indian benchmark indices, showing a gain of 35 points on 7.15 am. GIFT Nifty futures trades at 22,460 points after rebounding from a low of 21,964 points.

US stock market ended higher in choppy trading on Wednesday, as investors cheered the likely easing of trade tensions. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rallied 485.60 points, or 1.14 per cent, to 43,006.59, while the S&P 500 gained 64.48 points, or 1.12 per cent, to 5,842.63. The Nasdaq Composite closed 267.57 points, or 1.46 per cent, higher at 18,552.73.

US services sector growth unexpectedly picked up in February, with ISM Services PMI rising to 53.5 from 52.8, surpassing forecasts of 52.6, while input prices increased. In contrast, US private payrolls growth slowed sharply, adding only 77,000 jobs in February compared to 186,000 in January, missing estimates of 140,000. 

Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump announced a one-month exemption from 25 per cent auto tariffs on Canada and Mexico, conditional on compliance with existing free trade rules, and remains open to further exemptions. 

Asian markets traded higher on Thursday, tracking the overnight rally on Wall Street. Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 0.15 per cent, while the Topix rose 1 per cent. Japan’s 10-year government bond yield jumped 6 basis points (bps) to 1.5 per cent, its highest level since June 2009 in early trade. South Korea’s Kospi rallied 0.71 per cent while the Kosdaq slipped 0.86 per cent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index futures indicated a higher opening.

In India, the RBI introduced liquidity measures to ease banking system constraints, including Rs 1 lakh crore government bond purchases via open market operations in two tranches on 12 and 18 March, along with a USD 10 billion USD/INR currency swap auction for 36 months on 24 March. These developments may influence market sentiment, with focus on liquidity support, US economic data, and trade policy updates.

India's services sector expanded at a quicker pace in February, with the seasonally adjusted HSBC India Services PMI Business Activity Index rising to 59.0 from January's 26-month low of 56.5, according to data from S&P Global released Wednesday.

Oil prices steadied after a four-session decline as the U.S. considered easing tariffs on Canadian crude, though concerns remain over Mexican tariffs and rising OPEC+ output. Brent rose 0.61 per cent to USD 69.72, while WTI gained 0.6 per cent to USD 66.71. Prices had fallen sharply due to U.S. trade measures and increased production quotas. Optimism grew as the U.S. exempted automakers from tariffs and may remove the 10 per cent tariff on Canadian energy imports. However, rising U.S. crude stockpiles, weaker demand, and reduced waterborne crude imports signal market bearishness. OPEC+ output hikes and ongoing trade tensions continue to weigh on sentiment.

The Dollar index in futures showed a 0.13 per cent decrease, reaching 104.08, while the value of one dollar dropped to Rs 86.88 as a broadly weaker greenback spurred gains in most Asian currencies, with investors fretting over a slowdown in the U.S. and how trade tariffs may impact the world's largest economy.

On March 05, 2025, foreign institutional investors (FII) sold shares worth Rs 2,895.04 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DII) bought shares worth Rs 3,370.60 crore.

Stocks that are banned for trading in the F&O segment on March 06, 2025, are Manappuram Finance only.

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and not investment advice.