Indian equity benchmarks muted; dip in financials offsets wider rally
The Nifty 50 added 0.07% to 25,569.4 points and the BSE Sensex rose 0.08% to 83,834.11 as of 10:15 a.m. IST.
'The Nifty's breakout above its recent consolidation indicates rising optimism among traders,' said Aakash Shah, technical research analyst at Choice Broking.
Nine of the 13 major sectors advanced. However, financials and banks lost 0.6% and 0.4%, respectively, after climbing to record highs a day earlier.
Private lender HDFC Bank, the heaviest stock on the benchmarks, fell 1%, and was on course to snap a three-session winning streak in which it gained 3.8%.
IT companies, which earn a significant share of their revenue from the U.S., rose 0.8% on expectations of an early rate cut by the Federal Reserve and reports of a U.S.-China agreement on rare earth shipments.
Indian shares have risen over the last three sessions on the back of an easing conflict in the Middle East.
Reliance, financials lead rise in Indian shares
The share benchmarks are trading less than 3% below their all-time highs, making valuations 'stretched' and triggering some profit booking, according to two analysts.
The metals index gained 1%, making it the top sectoral gainer, as a weaker dollar made the greenback-denominated assets cheaper for holders of other currencies.
Both Hindustan Copper and Vedanta rose about 2.5%.
Mahindra Lifespace Developers gained 2% after securing a redevelopment project in Mumbai with a gross development potential of 12.50 billion rupees ($146 million).
On the day, the broader small-caps and mid-caps rose about 0.8% and 0.7%, respectively.
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Express Tribune
19 minutes ago
- Express Tribune
Pakistan — between Beijing and Washington
The writer is a retired major general and has an interest in International Relations and Political Sociology. He can be reached at tayyarinam@ and tweets @20_Inam Listen to article Something unexpected happened after Indian Operation Sindoor and Pakistan's agile response through Operation Bunyan Marsus. The four-day skirmish left India red-faced despite its massive media onslaught, projecting the outcome as victory. President Trump took credit for the ceasefire, duly acknowledged by Pakistan, while an egotistic India still refuses to accept foreign interlocution. Then, on August 1, 2025, President Trump slapped a punitive 25% tariffs on India, letting Pakistan off with a relatively benign 19%. Earlier Trump had feted out Field Marshal Asim in the White House. He announced a massive trade deal with Pakistan on July 30. Cumulatively, the cited developments bring Pakistan back into relevance, and business with the West Plus, re-hyphenate it with India, debunk the massive Indian propaganda to paint Pakistan as 'Terroristan', and open new vistas for Islamabad. However, this closeness with the US again, to some analysts, is at the cost of Pak-China friendship. First Islamabad and Beijing. Two statements on August 1 — one from Foreign Office and the other from ISPR — clearly articulated the special nature of Pak-China friendship in context. Foreign Office spokesperson emphatically highlighted the decades-old strategic partnership with Beijing, notwithstanding Islamabad's relations with other countries. And perhaps for the first time, GHQ celebrated the 98th founding anniversary of China's People's Liberation Army on August 1 with a dignified ceremony attended by high-ranking Chinese officials. Chinese Ambassador Jiang Zaidong was the chief guest. The Middle Kingdom conducts its foreign relations in a very matured, measured and deliberate manner. One remembers being part of a delegation led by the Chairman Joint Chief of Staff Committee, wherein bilateral exercise between both air forces was being discussed. When Pakistan had to remove the US-supplied F-16s from the planned manoeuvres at some later hours, the Chinese Defence Minister, Mr Lee Quang Li was extremely conciliatory to address the embarrassment. Chinese relations do not come with geo-strategic caveats. They ostensibly believe in 'harmony' and are sensitive to other nations' imperatives and compulsions. So, any closeness with the US is not, will not and should not come at the cost of Pak-China bilateralism, brotherhood and benevolence. Second, the conduct of the Pak-US relations. Since partnership against communism in the US-led SEATO, CENTO, GWOT, Islamabad has traditionally remained closer to the US, providing back-channel support to the 1971 Sino-US détente. Pakistan's military benefited particularly from the US hardware, doctrine and training. Our cantonments in Kharian, Multan and Gujranwala got infrastructure support from Washington. However, from geo-strategic partnership, Pakistan was later relegated to relative obscurity by Trump 1.0 and Biden Administrations, thanks partly to the pervasive Indian influence traditionally on the US policy apparatus. Trump 2.0 is more transactional, upending the traditional US geo-strategic construct and hence the punitive tariffs on India, and favour with Pakistan. Pakistan has, reportedly, the fourth largest hydrocarbon reserves along its coast. It must have been the size of these reserves that sparked President Trump's comment on X/Truth Social — "We are in the process of choosing the oil company that will lead this Partnership. Who knows, maybe they'll [Pakistan] be selling Oil to India one day." This is an unsettling discovery for Pakistan/region and good business for the US energy giant ExxonMobil that 'might' bid for and undertake offshore drilling. Any US company doing exploration would automatically ensure security of the operation. The growing Pak-US counterterrorism cooperation and mutual alignment over Afghanistan are also likely to cement bilateral ties, with China benefitting from a secure regional environment. Under the last PTI government, ExxonMobil, then undertaking offshore exploration, was not allowed access to an additional area in Kekra field. Pakistan 'expects' ExxonMobil to come back as negotiations move forward. More recently, Pakistan also inked an agreement to import US crude with first shipment expected in October. While earlier, Washington had refused to export LNG to Pakistan, given joint ventures between the US and Indian companies, implying Islamabad to go through New Delhi. Today the US Exim Bank is interested in providing capital to the stalled Reko Diq copper and gold mining project. American companies are mulling joint ventures with Pakistani firms to tap Pakistan's mineral sector, with an estimated potential of $ 8trillion. And GB, KP and Balochistan have substantial deposits of rare earths. Additionally, Pakistan's bitcoin policy also interests Trump personally. All this fits his economic outlook. Third, Pakistan's delicate diplomatic balancing. In a meeting with the Afghan acting Ambassador in Islamabad last year, Ambassador Sardar Ahmed Shakeeb mentioned that IEA leadership was very impressed with the way Pakistan handled its relations with America. As per an Indian analyst, Biswanath Bhattacharya, Islamabad has perfected 'balancing contradictions so deftly that even gravity seems to look on in admiration'. Despite being tethered economically and strategically to China, Islamabad is able to carve an advantage from a transactional, mercurial and unpredictable Trump White House, under the overall environment of Sino-US hostility. From being a vanguard nation in the Chinese BRI through CPEC, Pakistan not only secured a deal for American oil investment, but it also earned public endorsement from President Trump. In the last fiscal year, Pakistan's exports to the US stood at $6 billion, against $2.4 billion worth of imports. The ensuing surplus of $3.7 billion was worrying for President Trump. However, Pakistan under the new 19% tariff is still at relative advantage, compared to India's 25%, Bangladesh's 20%, Iraq's 35%, Vietnam's 20% and 19% for Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia. Pakistan, in trade negotiations, secured duty-free access to over 4,100 American products. Avoiding bloc politics, Pakistan's diplomatic work endears it today to the world powers — China, the US and Russia — increasingly through its geo-strategic relevance, and gutsy and matured dealings with a bellicose and arrogant India. Islamabad's foreign service understands that 'survival and prosperity depend on cultivating relationships with all major players'. It has been able to balance the dictates of BRI/CPEC through increasing cooperation with the US on Afghanistan, counterterrorism, and now, potentially on minerals, oil and gas. The oil deal marks a watershed in exploiting Pakistan's untapped hydrocarbons with American money and technology. These "fourth largest" reserves would catapult Pakistan from energy import to export, rewriting the region's geo-economics. Mr Bhattacharya admires "Pakistan's astonishing ability to dance on the diplomatic tightrope — undaunted, unbowed, and, for now, undefeated".
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Apple to pledge $100 billion for US manufacturing, White House official says
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Business Recorder
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Trump imposes additional 25% tariff on goods from India
US President Donald Trump issued an executive order on Wednesday imposing an additional 25% tariff on goods from India, saying the country directly or indirectly imported Russian oil, adding to 25% tariffs already announced. The development comes a day after Trump said he would increase the tariff charged on imports from India over the next 24 hours, given India's continued purchases of Russian oil. The tariff is set to take effect in three weeks and would be added on top of a separate 25% tariff entering into force on Thursday. It maintains exemptions for items targeted by separate sector-specific duties such as steel and aluminum, and categories that could be hit like pharmaceuticals. The move threatens to further complicate US-Indian relations and comes shortly after a Indian government source said Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi would visit China for the first time in over seven years later this month. US-India ties are facing their most serious crisis in years after talks with India failed to produce a trade agreement. The White House move, first signaled by Trump on Monday, follows meetings by Trump's top diplomatic envoy Steve Witkoff in Moscow aimed at pushing Russia to agree to peace in Ukraine. Trump has threatened higher tariffs on Russia and secondary sanctions on its allies, if Russian President Vladimir Putin does not move to end the war in Ukraine.
