Indian stocks open flat; experts say investors waiting for India’s mini trade deal with EU amid delay in deal with US

MUMBAI: Indian stock markets opened on a flat note on Wednesday as investors remained cautious and in a wait-and-watch mode, ahead of a possible mini trade deal between India and the European Union (EU).

The Nifty 50 index opened at 25,514.60, marking a marginal dip of 7.90 points or 0.03 per cent, while the BSE Sensex opened at 83,619.82, down by 92.69 points or 0.11 per cent.

Market experts highlighted that investor sentiment is currently being driven by expectations of a potential agreement between India and the EU in the coming days.

Ajay Bagga, Banking and Market Expert, told ANI, “More announcements, including a potential mini deal with India and the EU are expected over the next two days, and this will keep the markets in a range-bound zone. Overall, markets are resilient and are seeing these as still intermediate inputs on the path towards a final tariff regime that will take more time.”

He added that the Indian markets are currently moving in a tight range, and the next catalyst could be an announcement regarding an interim framework for tariffs on India.

“The markets have discounted a 10 per cent universal tariff. Anything higher than this will be mildly disappointing, but over the last 90 days, markets have factored in 25 per cent scenarios as well,” Bagga said.

Global focus continues to remain on the next round of Trump tariffs. The US President has proposed 50 per cent tariffs on copper, leading to a 17 per cent surge in copper prices on the US CME, while London prices declined by 2.4 per cent. These developments have made markets cautious but resilient, as they treat these moves as intermediate steps in ongoing trade negotiations.

Commenting on market trends, Akshay Chinchalkar, Head of Research at Axis Securities, said, “The Nifty ended higher yesterday after a late-session recovery. Technically speaking, the close was above the upper line of a so-called ‘bullish flag,’ which portends a target of 26,267 — near the record high. However, the market must close above yesterday’s high of 25,548 today and hold flag support at 25,331. Failure to do so will invalidate the flag and delay upside momentum, possibly leading to a test of the 25,200 level.”

On the corporate front, several companies are set to release their first-quarter earnings results today. These include Supreme Infrastructure India, Sellwin Traders, Atishay, Bodhtree Consulting, Jattashankar Industries, Gujarat Hotels, and GACM Technologies.

In the global markets, US indices closed mixed as investors reacted to President Donald Trump’s renewed tariff threats.

The Dow closed down by 0.4 per cent, the S&P 500 declined by 0.1 per cent, while the Nasdaq managed a marginal gain of 0.03 per cent.

European markets ended flat to slightly positive with gains ranging between 0.1 per cent and 0.4 per cent. Dow futures were trading flat with a loss of 0.02 per cent or 10 points.

Among Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei 225 was trading flat, while Singapore’s Straits Times gained 0.22 per cent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index declined by 0.83 per cent, Taiwan Weighted Index rose 0.18 per cent, and South Korea’s KOSPI Index was up by 0.43 per cent. (ANI)