Benchmarks pared earlier gains to trade in negative territory as traders sought more clues on developments in West Asia. However, markets soon bounced back to trade flat in late afternoon session. Traders continue to take support with Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal’s statement that India and the UK Free Trade agreement (FTA), signed in July 2025, is likely to come into force from May 2026. Some support also came as the brent crude oil prices continued to trade below $100 a barrel mark and amid fresh foreign capital inflows. The foreign institutional investors were the net buyer on Wednesday’s session with net buying of securities worth Rs 666.15 crore.

On the global front, Asian equity markets were trading mostly in green amid hopes of a fresh round of negotiations between Iran and the US. European equity markets were trading higher as the potential transit of ships through Strait of Hormuz shrugged off worries of high energy prices.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 78079.41, down by 31.83 points or 0.04% after trading in a range of 77674.93 and 78730.32. There were 17 stocks advancing against 13 stocks declining on the index.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 1.49%, Basic Materials up by 1.07%, Industrials up by 0.97%, IT up by 0.85% and Utilities up by 0.66%, while Oil & Gas down by 0.38%, Energy down by 0.36%, Telecom down by 0.22%, Auto down by 0.18% and Bankex down by 0.04% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Trent up by 2.79%, Adani Ports & SEZ up by 2.24%, Eternal up by 2.19%, Bharat Electronics up by 1.47% and Larsen & Toubro up by 1.12%. On the flip side, HDFC Bank down by 1.21%, NTPC down by 1.12%, Titan Company down by 0.94%, Bharti Airtel down by 0.94% and Hindustan Unilever down by 0.83% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, underscoring strong trade performance, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has said that India has witnessed an all-time high exports (Merchandise +Services) in the recently concluded FY2025-26 (FY26), exceeding $860 billion.

Total merchandise and services exports were worth $860.09 billion in FY2025-26 as compared to $825.26 billion in FY2024-25, registering a positive growth of 4.22 percent, while total imports (Merchandise and Services) stood at $979.40 billion in FY2025-26 as against $919.92 billion in FY2024-25, registering a growth of 6.47 percent.

Commerce Minister noted that this milestone has been achieved despite global headwinds, reflecting the country's resilience and growing strength in expanding its global trading footprint. He also said that the nine trade agreements concluded by India would further accelerate this momentum, as they would open new markets and unlock greater opportunities across sectors.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 24222.70, down by 8.60 points or 0.04% after trading in a range of 24102.80 and 24400.95. There were 25 stocks advancing against 25 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Hindalco up by 2.83%, Trent up by 2.79%, Adani Ports & SEZ up by 2.55%, Eternal up by 2.13% and Adani Enterprises up by 1.75%. On the flip side, ONGC down by 1.70%, Apollo Hospitals Enterprise down by 1.36%, HDFC Life Insurance down by 1.23%, HDFC Bank down by 1.23% and Jio Financial Services down by 1.04% were the top losers.

Asian equity markets were trading mostly in green; Nikkei 225 surged 1443.76 points or 2.42% to 59,578.00, Taiwan Weighted added 409.88 points or 1.1% to 37,132.02, Hang Seng advanced 508.68 points or 1.92% to 26,456.00, KOSPI increased 134.66 points or 2.16% to 6,226.05 and Shanghai Composite strengthened 28.34 points or 0.7% to 4,055.55, while Straits Times fell 14.23 points or 0.28% to 5,006.97 and Jakarta Composite plunged 14.79 points or 0.19% to 7,608.80.

European equity markets were trading higher; UK’s FTSE 100 increased 13.22 points or 0.13% to 10,572.80, France’s CAC rose 50.73 points or 0.61% to 8,325.30 and Germany’s DAX gained 79.5 points or 0.33% to 24,146.20.