Stock Market LIVE Updates: Indian equities may be set to close a rare performance gap with Asian peers after India and the US sealed a long-pending trade agreement, easing a key risk that had weighed on markets and triggered record foreign outflows.
The deal, announced late Monday night India time, saw US President Donald Trump lower the reciprocal tariff on Indian goods to 18 per cent from 25 per cent. It also removed an additional 25 per cent duty linked to India’s purchases of Russian crude oil. Fund managers see the move as a potential turning point for foreign investor sentiment, after Indian equities logged their worst January since 2016. The agreement could also support the rupee, which has slipped to a series of record lows.
GIft Nifty
Early signals pointed to a pickup in risk appetite. Nifty 50 futures traded at GIFT City jumped as much as 4.5 per cent overnight after the announcement, indicating optimism ahead of the next trading session.
Previous session recap
On Monday, Domestic benchmarks reflected the improved mood after budget day fall. After a choppy start, the Sensex and Nifty 50 rose sharply in the latter part of the session and closed with gains of over 1 per cent each. The rally came even as some brokerages flagged concerns about a possible liquidity impact from the recent increase in Securities Transaction Tax on derivatives.
The Nifty 50 ended 263 points, or 1.06 per cent, higher at 25,088.40. The BSE Sensex rose 944 points, or 1.17 per cent, to close at 81,666.