Indian equity markets have bounced back to trade higher in late afternoon session as investors opted to pick up stocks at lower following the recent pull back made by the markets. Besides, market participants remained optimistic after Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation in its latest Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) showed that overall unemployment rate (UR) among persons aged 15 years and above fell marginally to 4.9% in February from 5% in January this year. Meanwhile, traders took note of the Commerce Ministry said that India has signed terms of reference (ToR) with Philippines and Maldives to start negotiations. Under ToR, the country will start negotiations for a preferential trade agreement (PTA) with Philippines and a free trade agreement (FTA) with Maldives.

On the global front, Asian equity markets were trading mostly in green, tracking gains on Wall Street overnight. European equity markets were trading higher despite rise in crude prices.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 76056.92, up by 554.07 points or 0.73% after trading in a range of 75324.73 and 76150.73. There were 20 stocks advancing against 10 stocks declining on the index.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 2.46%, Auto up by 2.02%, Realty up by 1.67%, Consumer Discretionary up by 1.57%, Basic Materials up by 1.48%, while IT down by 0.83% and FMCG down by 0.38% were the only losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Eternal up by 5.79%, Tata Steel up by 3.93%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 3.23%, Bharat Electronics up by 2.29% and Bharti Airtel up by 2.28%. On the flip side, Infosys down by 1.41%, Bajaj Finance down by 1.23%, Hindustan Unilever down by 0.86%, ITC down by 0.70% and TCS down by 0.58% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, exporters dealing with the fallout of the West Asia crisis may soon receive support from the commerce ministry, as Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal has said that ‘Hopefully within this week...we will send the detailed briefing on what are the steps we are taking in the Department of Commerce to support the exports during this troubled time, especially in the Middle East.’

An inter-ministerial group is keeping tabs on developments on a daily basis and interacting with exporters. The exporting community from sectors such as dry fruits, and fruits and vegetables has stated that their shipments have been impacted due to the war.

Further, several ministries and departments including shipping and Customs have come out with support measures for the trading community, such as norms by the Customs department for dealing with export cargo returning to Indian ports due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and disruptions in maritime routes amid the West Asia crisis. Commerce Secretary noted that ‘This is a collaborative exercise which will carry on because challenges will occur as we go along.’ Meanwhile, India's exports to West Asia were $58.8 billion in 2024-25.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 23579.30, up by 170.50 points or 0.73% after trading in a range of 23346.60 and 23608.95. There were 35 stocks advancing against 15 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Eternal up by 5.72%, Tata Steel up by 4.08%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 3.22%, HDFC Life Insurance up by 2.46% and Bharti Airtel up by 2.28%. On the flip side, Wipro down by 1.88%, Infosys down by 1.44%, Bajaj Finance down by 1.20%, Hindustan Unilever down by 0.90% and ITC down by 0.75% were the top losers.

Asian equity markets were trading mostly in green; Taiwan Weighted added 494.06 points or 1.46% to 33,836.57, Hang Seng advanced 81.98 points or 0.32% to 25,916.00, KOSPI increased 90.63 points or 1.61% to 5,640.48, Straits Times rose 55.49 points or 1.14% to 4,924.18 and Jakarta Composite gained 91.22 points or 1.28% to 7,113.51, while Nikkei 225 slipped 136.15 points or 0.25% to 53,615.00 and Shanghai Composite weakened 34.88 points or 0.86% to 4,049.91.

European equity markets were trading higher; UK’s FTSE 100 increased 38.54 points or 0.37% to 10,356.23, France’s CAC rose 22.83 points or 0.29% to 7,958.80 and Germany’s DAX gained 5.99 points or 0.03% to 23,570.00.