Equity markets fall in early trade after 6-day rally
Mumbai (PTI): Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty declined in early trade on Tuesday due to emergence of profit-taking in-tandem with a weak trend in global equity markets.
The 30-share BSE Sensex declined 292.95 points to 84,658 in early trade. The 50-share NSE Nifty dropped 83.3 points to 25,930.15.
From the Sensex firms, Tata Steel, Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv, Tech Mahindra, Kotak Mahindra Bank, and Larsen & Toubro were among the major laggards.
However, Bharat Electronics, Bharti Airtel, Axis Bank, and Adani Ports were among the gainers.
In Asian markets, South Korea's Kospi, Japan's Nikkei 225 index, Shanghai's SSE Composite index, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index were trading sharply lower.
US markets ended in negative territory on Monday.
"Tuesday may bring pockets of volatility due to weekly F&O expiry and soft global cues, yet the broader tone stays constructive, buoyed by political stability, cooling inflation, soft crude, trade-deal optimism and FII buying," Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities Ltd, said.
The first phase of the proposed India-US bilateral trade agreement (BTA) is "nearing closure" and would address the hefty 50 per cent tariffs imposed by the Trump administration on Indian goods, in addition to resolving America's market access issues, a government official said on Monday.
The US has imposed a 25 per cent reciprocal tariff and another 25 per cent on Indian goods entering American markets for buying Russian crude oil.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 442.17 crore on Monday, according to exchange data. Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) also bought stocks worth Rs 1,465.86 crore in the previous trade.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, dipped 0.47 per cent to USD 63.90 per barrel.
Rallying for the sixth consecutive day on Monday, the Sensex climbed 388.17 points, or 0.46 per cent, to close at 84,950.95. The Nifty edged higher by 103.40 points, or 0.40 per cent, to settle at 26,013.45.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Russian military hardware, spare parts for Indian military to be manufactured in India
New Delhi (PTI): Russia agreed to encourage joint manufacturing in India of military hardware and spare parts for maintenance of Russian-origin arms and defence equipment.
Ways to bolster overall bilateral defence cooperation figured prominently during summit talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday.
It has been a long-standing grievance of armed forces that the supply of critical spares and equipment from Russia takes a long time, affecting the maintenance of military systems procured from that country.
"Both sides agreed to encourage joint manufacturing in India of spare parts, components, aggregates and other products for maintenance of Russian origin arms and defence equipment under Make-in-India programme through transfer of technology," a joint statement said.
ALSO READ: India, Russia explore cooperation on small modular reactors, floating nuclear power plants
It said both sides also agreed to set up joint ventures for meeting the needs of the Indian armed forces as well as subsequent export to mutually friendly third countries.
The joint statement said the India-Russia defence partnership is being reoriented to take up joint co-development and co-production of advanced defence technology and systems.
In their meeting on Thursday, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and his Russian counterpart Andrey Belousov resolved to expand bilateral defence cooperation.
In the meeting, the Indian side showed keen interest in procurement of additional batches of S-400 missile systems from Moscow to bolster its combat prowess.
In October 2018, India signed a USD 5 billion deal with Russia to buy five units of the S-400 air defence missile systems, notwithstanding a warning by the US that going ahead with the contract may invite US sanctions under the provisions of Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA).
Three squadrons have already been delivered.
The S-400 systems played a crucial role during Operation Sindoor. India may also look at procuring the S-500 missile systems from Russia.
In the Modi-Putin talks, the two sides also agreed to continue jointly developing systems of bilateral trade settlements through the use of national currencies.
Additionally, the two sides agreed to continue their consultations on enabling the interoperability of the national payment systems, financial messaging systems, as well as central bank digital currency platforms.
Modi and Putin appreciated the ongoing intensification of the joint work on a free trade agreement on goods between India and the Eurasian Economic Union, covering sectors of mutual interest, the joint statement said.
They also directed both sides to intensify efforts in negotiations on a mutually beneficial agreement on the promotion and protection of investment, it said.
India and Russia also welcomed steps to ensure long-term supply of fertilisers to India and discussed the potential establishment of joint ventures in this area.
