Indian equity benchmarks made an optimistic start on Thursday amid rally in global peers as investors overlooked overblown concerns about a prolonged escalation in conflict between Iran and Israel-US. Sensex and Nifty were trading higher with notable gains of over half a percent each in early deals on account of bargain buying in index heavyweights after previous session’s sell-off. Traders took note of report that India said there is significant export potential for domestic firms in sectors such as pharmaceuticals, textiles, agriculture and services in Japan, stressing that a more balanced bilateral trade relationship is crucial for ensuring its long-term sustainability. 

On the global front, all Asian markets were trading higher, rebounding after several days of steep losses as sentiment improved following overnight gains on Wall Street. South Korea rebounded strongly and markets in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Indonesia surged, with strong gains in technology stocks.

Back home, hospitality industry stocks were in focus as rating agency ICRA said that India's hospitality sector is expected to post 9-12 per cent revenue growth in 2025-26, aided by steady demand across segments.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 79596.94, up by 480.75 points or 0.61% after trading in a range of 79227.16 and 79666.46. There were 18 stocks advancing against 12 stocks declining on the index.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Energy up by 2.31%, Oil & Gas up by 2.09%, Metal up by 1.94%, Utilities up by 1.56% and Realty up by 1.46%, while IT down by 0.46%, TECK down by 0.11% and FMCG down by 0.03% were the few losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Reliance Industries up by 2.89%, Sun Pharma up by 2.33%, NTPC up by 2.19%, Larsen & Toubro up by 1.94% and Bharat Electronics up by 1.87%. On the flip side, TCS down by 0.85%, Eternal down by 0.75%, HCL Technologies down by 0.74%, Tech Mahindra down by 0.68% and Asian Paints down by 0.68% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, stressing that a more balanced bilateral trade relationship is crucial for ensuring long-term sustainability, Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal has said that there is significant export potential for Indian firms in sectors such as pharmaceuticals, textiles, agriculture and services in Japan. The commerce ministry said Agrawal was in Tokyo to attend the Joint Committee Meeting under the India-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA). 

During his meeting with the Japanese Vice Minister of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, the secretary highlighted the need to enhance and diversify bilateral trade and investment. He underscored the importance of harnessing the full benefits of the CEPA, including the movement of natural persons.

He also underlined the importance of achieving a more balanced bilateral trade relationship to ensure long-term sustainability. Besides, India's exports to Japan dipped 3.71 per cent to $4.92 billion during April-January this fiscal (FY26). However, imports jumped 13.47 per cent to $18.08 billion. India has a trade deficit of $13.16 billion.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 24648.90, up by 168.40 points or 0.69% after trading in a range of 24530.05 and 24651.95. There were 30 stocks advancing against 20 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Coal India up by 3.87%, Hindalco up by 3.38%, ONGC up by 3.03%, Reliance Industries up by 2.85% and NTPC up by 2.26%. On the flip side, Max Healthcare Inst down by 1.06%, HCL Technologies down by 0.70%, TCS down by 0.70%, Tech Mahindra down by 0.69% and Eternal down by 0.68% were the top losers.

All Asian markets were trading higher; KOSPI strengthened 464.77 points or 9.12% to 5,558.31, Taiwan Weighted jumped 762.24 points or 2.32% to 33,591.12, Nikkei 225 surged 935.46 points or 1.72% to 55,181.00, Hang Seng advanced 178.52 points or 0.70% to 25,428.00, Jakarta Composite gained 118 points or 1.56% to 7,695.06, Shanghai Composite rose 34.3 points or 0.84% to 4,116.77 and Straits Times was up by 26.86 points or 0.56% to 4,839.61.