Benchmarks trade in positive terrain; European mrkt decline

The key equity indices traded with minor gains in afternoon trade, witnessing mild buying interest despite Donald Trump announced a 19% tariff on products that Indonesia sells to the United States. Further Trump said that US will have access to India, on similar lines as Indonesia-US trade deal. Investors are assessing the tariff development, and ongoing corporate earnings. Nifty trade above the 25,200 mark.

PSU Bank, media and IT shares advanced while metal, pharma and auto stocks declined.

At 13:25 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex advanced 76.42 points or 0.09% to 82,644.33. The Nifty 50 index added 11.70 points or 0.06% to 25,208.90.

The broader market outperformed the frontline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.21% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index added 0.32%.

The market breadth was negative. On the BSE, 1,915 shares rose and 1,969 shares fell. A total of 208 shares were unchanged.

Gainers & Losers:

State Bank of India (SBI) (up 2.06%), Nestle India (up 1.80%), Wipro (up 1.71%), Inofsys (up 1.44%) and Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone (up 1.77%) were major Nifty gainers.

Shriram Finance (down 2.56%), Eternal (down 1.44%) and Hero Motocorp (down 1.26%), Sun Pharmaceutical Industries (down 1.26%) and JSW Steel (down 1.15%) were major Nifty losers.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Network 18 Media & Investments jumped 13.89% after the company reported a standalone net profit of Rs 516.17 crore in Q1 FY26 as against a net loss of Rs 74.65 crore posted in Q1 FY25. However, revenue from operations tanked 4.9% year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 430.40 crore in the quarter ended 30 June 2025.

ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company rose 1.01% after the company reported standalone net profit of Rs 747.08 crore in Q1 FY26, up 28.72% as against Rs 580.37 crore posted in Q1 FY25. Total income rose 13.66% year on year to Rs 6,083.36 crore in the quarter ended 30 June 2025.

Just Dial declined 3.30%. The company reported a 13.05% jump in standalone net profit to Rs 159.65 crore on a 6.16% increase in revenue from operations to Rs 297.86 crore in Q1 FY26 over Q1 FY25.

HDFC Life Insurance Company rose 0.42% after the company's standalone net profit jumped 14.40% to Rs 546.46 crore on 15.63% increase in net premium income to Rs 14,466.09 crore in Q1 FY26 over Q1 FY25.

Jindal Steel & Power (JSPL) shed 0.88%. The company announced that its chief financial officer, Mayank Gupta, has stepped down from his role, effective post business hours on 15 July 2025.

Hathway Cable & Datacom jumped 9.83% after the company's consolidated net profit surged 68.92% to Rs 31.03 on a 5.55% increase in revenue from operations to Rs 530.50 crore in Q1 FY26 over Q1 FY25.

HDB Financial Services slipped 2.95% after the company reported a 2.40% decline in net profit to Rs 567.70 crore, despite a 14.97% increase in total revenue from operations to Rs 4,465.40 crore in Q1 FY26 compared to Q1 FY25.

Global Markets:

Most European market declined as hot U.S. and U.K. inflation prints, concern about the regional semiconductor sector weighed on sentiment.

Most Asian market declined on Wednesday after US President Donald Trump claimed a preliminary trade deal with Indonesia, which surprisingly includes a 19% tariff on the country's exports to the US.

Eyes are also on Indonesia's central bank, which is expected to announce its policy decision later today.

Back in the US, stocks ended mostly lower on Tuesday despite early gains in tech. The S&P 500 slipped 0.4% and the Dow tumbled 0.98%, while the Nasdaq eked out a modest 0.18% rise. Both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq briefly touched record highs before retreating.

June's consumer price index came in slightly hotter than expected, reigniting concerns that fresh tariffs could add more heat to inflation. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, consumer prices rose 2.7% year-on-year and climbed 0.3% between May and June. The data bolstered expectations that the Federal Reserve will hold off on any rate cuts for now.

Tariff jitters were far from over. Trump doubled down Tuesday evening, confirming that his proposed 200% tariffs on pharmaceutical imports will kick in by month-end, alongside a broader package of trade levies. Earlier, he announced a 30% tariff on imports from Mexico and the EU. The European Union pushed back sharply and is reportedly preparing retaliatory tariffs on US products including cars and alcohol.

In earnings land, Wall Street's biggest banks kicked off the season with a bang. JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, and Wells Fargo all topped Q2 profit estimates, thanks to solid performance in both consumer and investment banking segments.

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