CHENNAI: Indian markets have opened with cautious optimism on Thursday (July 3), spurred by trade negotiations with the US. The Sensex and Nifty are modestly up, also led by metal and IT stocks.
Sensex jumped 203 points (0.24%) to 83,612, while the Nifty50 rose about 55 points (0.22%), trading around 25,509 in early deals. This follows yesterday’s flat-to-cautiously optimistic trend.
Market sentiment is buoyed by optimism over a potential US–India interim trade deal expected before the July 9 tariff deadline, helping India avoid Trump’s planned 26% tariffs. Trump himself signaled the deal could be “very close,” with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent corroborating progress.
On the sectoral perspective, mid‑caps and small‑caps each rose about 0.3%, driven by the broad market positivity. The top sectoral gainers today were Nifty IT (up 0.6%), Nifty Metal (up 0.6%) (both boosted by hopes of easing trade tensions.
While top sectoral laggards included Nifty PSU Bank (down 0.54%), reflecting weak performance in state-owned banks.
The key movers on Sensex were Asian Paints, Eicher Motors, Tata Steel, M&M, Infosys, ICICI Bank, Tech Mahindra, Maruti Suzuki, and losers included Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv, Kotak Bank, Trent, Bharat Electronics (BEL) and Titan Industries.
While the buzzing stocks on Thursday were Avenue Supermarts and Nykaa.
Avenue Supermarts (DMart) shares dropped over 3% following its Q1 FY26 update, even though its standalone revenue rose to ₹15,932.12 crore (vs ₹13,711.87 crore last year.
Shares of Nykaa (FSN e‑Commerce) fell 4% after massive trading activity (aproximately 64 million shares) and reports of pre‑IPO investors (Harindarpal and Indra Banga) selling about 2.1% stake via block deals.
On the global cues, Wall Street and Asia remained calm despite the 90‑day tariff deadline looming. Investors use the acronym “TACO” (“Trump Always Chickens Out”) to highlight the pattern of dramatic threats followed by delays.
Market analysts, however urge that substantial market gains may require better clarity on earnings—optimism tied to trade talks notwithstanding. Markets are eyeing July 9 as the deadline for US tariffs. Early signals suggest a first-phase deal could be reached later this week.
Investors are also closely watching US economic data—including June non‑farm payrolls—and US Federal chief Powell’s remarks, especially on tariff‑induced inflation.
The Rupee is expected to stay range‑bound (around 85.5–85.8), supported by RBI's currency interventions and foreign exchange reserves.
Short‑term optimism ahead of a possible US‑India interim trade deal is supporting markets. Continued gains, especially in IT and metals, depend on progress by July 9. However, any delay or breakdown in trade talks, renewed tariff threats, or weak earnings could reverse the current momentum.