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Benchmarks trade higher with modest gains in early deals
Aug-21-2025

Indian equity benchmarks made a slightly positive start on Thursday and are trading higher with modest gains amid mixed global cues. Traders remained on sidelines ahead of release of India's Manufacturing and Services Flash PMI later in the day for more directional cues. Traders took note of External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar’s statement that India and Russia should come out with a creative and innovative approach to confront complex geopolitical challenges, amid growing tensions in New Delhi’s ties with Washington over its purchase of Russian crude oil. Upside remained capped after the government data showed that eight infrastructure sectors' growth fell to a two-month low of 2 per cent in July 2025 due to a dip in the production of coal, crude oil, natural gas, and refinery products.

On the global front, Asina markets are trading mixed, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight, after reports indicated the Trump administration is looking into the federal government taking equity stakes in Intel and other chipmakers in return for the federal subsidies. Back home, textile stocks are in focus as the government data showed that exports of major textile commodities increased 5.37% to $3.10 billion in July 2025 compared to $2.94 billion in the year-ago period.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 81944.65, up by 86.81 points or 0.11% after trading in a range of 81921.22 and 82231.17. There were 14 stocks advancing against 16 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading mixed; the BSE Mid cap index fell 0.03%, while Small cap index was up by 0.22%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 1.50%, Oil & Gas up by 0.62%, Energy up by 0.48%, Telecom up by 0.38% and Industrials up by 0.31%, while FMCG down by 0.60%, IT down by 0.46%, TECK down by 0.28%, Healthcare down by 0.26% and Auto down by 0.24% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Trent up by 1.52%, Bajaj Finserv up by 1.30%, Reliance Industries up by 0.98%, Bharat Electronics up by 0.63% and ICICI Bank up by 0.54%. On the flip side, Eternal down by 1.36%, Hindustan Unilever down by 1.26%, Tech Mahindra down by 0.79%, HCL Technologies down by 0.56% and Power Grid down by 0.47% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Sanjay Malhotra at the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meet said that Indian economy presents a picture of strength, stability, and opportunity. The RBI held MPC meet from August 4 to 6 while stressing that the monetary policy needs to remain watchful as uncertainties of US tariffs are still evolving. Now, the RBI released the minutes of the MPC Meeting held. Malhotra and five other members of the MPC voted for keeping the short-term lending rate at 5.5 per cent.

As per the minutes, the Governor said ‘Overall, our economy presents a picture of strength, stability, and opportunity. India’s strong fundamentals, growth-inducing policies, and forward-looking economic strategy clearly place it in a strong position’. He said while growth has remained steady, inflation outcomes have been far more benign on account of higher food price moderation. He added ‘Although we are likely to see inflation undershooting the target in the near term, with a likelihood of monthly numbers even crossing the lower tolerance band of 2 per cent, headline inflation is projected to inch up from Q3 onwards. The uncertainties of tariffs are still evolving’. Given the current state of uncertainty on the external front, he opined monetary policy needs to remain watchful. He also said the CRR cut, which is likely to kick in from next month, will facilitate further monetary transmission and stimulate economic activity. 

According to the minutes, Executive Director Rajiv Ranjan said overall, growth remains resilient, supported by public capex, rural demand, and steady services activity, although industry shows some unevenness. External member Ram Singh said that to respond to an unpredictable set of events, it is crucial to maintain policy options, in terms of the number of policy tools that can be used as well as their force. MPC member Nagesh Kumar said while the case for stimulating private investments and urban demand remains, and the benign inflation outlook provides policy space, ‘we may wish to wait and watch’ as the transmission of the existing actions takes place and how the trade policy uncertainties play out before considering policy actions at the October meeting of the MPC.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 25060.10, up by 9.55 points or 0.04% after trading in a range of 25054.90 and 25144.85. There were 20 stocks advancing against 30 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Trent up by 1.49%, SBI Life Insurance up by 1.41%, Bajaj Finserv up by 1.21%, Reliance Industries up by 1.04% and ONGC up by 0.70%. On the flip side, Nestle down by 1.47%, Tata Consumer Products down by 1.41%, Eternal down by 1.36%, Hindustan Unilever down by 1.31% and Coal India down by 1.18% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mixed; Taiwan Weighted jumped 275.88 points or 1.17% to 23,901.32, KOSPI increased 23.66 points or 0.76% to 3,153.75, Shanghai Composite strengthened 13.31 points or 0.35% to 3,779.52 and Straits Times rose 7.65 points or 0.18% to 4,227.19. On the other hand, Nikkei 225 slipped 243.55 points or 0.57% to 42,645.00, Hang Seng declined 78.94 points or 0.31% to 25,087.00 and Jakarta Composite was down by 38.43 points or 0.48% to 7,905.40.
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