Indian equity benchmarks were trading flat in morning deals, amid mixed global market cues as investors turned cautious due to tariff jitters and start of Q1 earnings season. Traders remained cautious as exchange data showed Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 26.12 crore on Tuesday. However, traders took some support with Regional PF Commissioner-I Randhir Kumar of Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) stated that the Employment Linked Incentive (ELI) announced in the budget for 2024-25 with an outlay of Rs 1 lakh crore, will promote job creation and provide social security. Sector-wise, telecom stocks remained in limelight as Telecom Regulatory Authority of India report said that the total number of internet subscribers increased from 954.40 million at the end of Mar-24 to 969.10 million at the end of Mar-25 with yearly rate of growth of 1.54%. On the global front, Asian markets are trading mostly in green even as rising global trade tensions, driven by fresh tariff threats from US President Donald Trump, dampened investor sentiment and triggered a cautious pullback from risk assets.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 83706.38, down by 6.13 points or 0.01% after trading in a range of 83519.41 and 83752.83. There were 18 stocks advancing against 12 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.09%, while Small cap index was up by 0.47%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Consumer Durables up by 0.87%, FMCG up by 0.52%, Utilities up by 0.44%, Capital Goods up by 0.41% and Consumer discretionary up by 0.34%, while Realty down by 0.85%, Metal down by 0.82%, IT down by 0.51%, Oil & Gas down by 0.46% and TECK down by 0.38% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Asian Paints up by 1.69%, Hindustan Unilever up by 1.18%, Bajaj Finance up by 1.07%, Trent up by 0.89% and Mahindra & Mahindra up by 0.56%. On the flip side, Tata Steel down by 1.64%, HCL Technologies down by 1.63%, ICICI Bank down by 0.77%, Larsen & Toubro down by 0.60% and Tech Mahindra down by 0.43% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Regional PF Commissioner-I Randhir Kumar of Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has said that the Employment Linked Incentive (ELI) announced in the budget for 2024-25 with an outlay of Rs 1 lakh crore, will promote job creation and provide social security.

Kumar said that the scheme is aimed at incentivising creation of 35 million jobs over a period of two years, that it will be effective from August 1, 2025, and to continue till July 31, 2027. He said out of the total of 35 million, 19.2 million beneficiaries will be first-timers entering the workforce.

He said the thrust of the scheme is on the manufacturing sector, adding that you get benefits under the scheme, the establishments need to be registered with the EPFO. For first-time employees, the scheme provides for a maximum amount of Rs 15,000 per annum to be paid in two instalments.

The employers will also get incentives by getting an amount of Rs 3,000 per month for each additional and sustained employment generated. Moreover, he added that the benefits will be extended by two years for the manufacturing sector.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 25518.70, down by 3.80 points or 0.01% after trading in a range of 25472.05 and 25537.55. There were 28 stocks advancing against 22 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Asian Paints up by 1.65%, Hindustan Unilever up by 1.18%, Bajaj Finance up by 0.99%, Shriram Finance up by 0.96% and JIO Financial Services up by 0.81%. On the flip side, Tata Steel down by 1.71%, HCL Technologies down by 1.58%, Hindalco down by 0.93%, ICICI Bank down by 0.80% and Apollo Hospital down by 0.65% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mostly in green; Nikkei 225 surged 119.1 points or 0.3% to 39,807.91, Taiwan Weighted added 110.4 points or 0.49% to 22,472.67, KOSPI increased 16.36 points or 0.53% to 3,131.31, Straits Times rose 6.2 points or 0.15% to 4,054.06, Jakarta Composite gained 24.96 points or 0.36% to 6,929.35 and Shanghai Composite strengthened 10.21 points or 0.29% to 3,507.69. On the flip side, Hang Seng declined 177.68 points or 0.74% to 23,970.39.