Indian equity markets continued to trade higher in late morning deals on account of buying by funds and retail investors. Meanwhile, broader indices were also trading in green with BSE Mid cap index and Small cap index gaining in the range of 0.35-0.55%. Sentiments were supported by Indian rupee appreciating 11 paise to 86.96 against the dollar at the Interbank Foreign Exchange on increased selling of the US currency by exporters and banks. Sentiments also got boost as the Labour Ministry in its latest payroll data has showed that retirement fund body Employees' Provident Fund Organisation's (EPFO) recorded a 13.46% year-on-year growth in net member addition of 21.89 lakh in June, marking the highest recorded addition since payroll data tracking began in April 2018.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mixed ahead of US Fed Chair Jerome Powell's highly anticipated speech at the Jackson Hole Economic Symposium on Friday. His remarks could have a significant impact on the outlook for interest rates ahead of the Fed's next monetary policy meeting in September. Back home, on the BSE sectoral front, traders were seen piling up positions in Realty, Industrials, Healthcare, Capital Goods and Oil & Gas, while selling was witnessed in FMCG, Power, Utilities, Consumer Durables and Auto.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 82121.17, up by 263.33 points or 0.32% after trading in a range of 81921.22 and 82231.17. There were 21 stocks advancing against 9 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.37%, while Small cap index up by 0.54%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 1.21%, Industrials up by 0.79%, Healthcare up by 0.69%, Capital Goods up by 0.55% and Oil & Gas up by 0.54%, while FMCG down by 0.47%, Power down by 0.44%, Utilities down by 0.34%, Consumer Durables down by 0.10% and Auto down by 0.02% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Larsen & Toubro up by 1.10%, Bajaj Finserv up by 1.10%, Reliance Industries up by 1.03%, Bharat Electronics up by 0.97% and ICICI Bank up by 0.81%. On the flip side, Hindustan Unilever down by 1.01%, Power Grid down by 0.94%, NTPC down by 0.92%, Eternal down by 0.81% and Ultratech Cement down by 0.39% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the Labour Ministry in its latest payroll data has showed that retirement fund body Employees' Provident Fund Organisation's (EPFO) recorded a 13.46% year-on-year growth in net member addition of 21.89 lakh in June, marking the highest recorded addition since payroll data tracking began in April 2018. Besides, on a month-on-month basis, net payroll additions increased 9.14%. The ministry indicated that the 13.46% year-on-year rise reflects increased employment opportunities and heightened awareness of employee benefits, bolstered by EPFO’s effective outreach initiatives. In the month of June 2025, the EPFO enrolled around 10.62 lakh new subscribers, representing a year-on-year growth of 3.61% and 12.68% growth over May 2025. 

The data highlighted that the 18-25 age group contributed a major chunk of new subscribers amongst total new EPFO subscribers added in June 2025. The EPFO added 6.39 lakh new subscribers in the 18-25 age group, constituting a significant 60.22% of the total new subscriber addition in the month. Further, new subscribers in the 18-25 age group added in the month show an increase of 14.08% compared to the previous month of May 2025. The net payroll addition for the age group in June 2025 is around 9.72 lakh, reflecting an increase of 11.41% from the previous month of May 2025 and a 12.15% year-on-year growth. This is in consonance with the earlier trend, which indicates that most individuals joining the organised workforce are youth, primarily first-time job seekers.

As per state-wise analysis of payroll data, the top five states/ UTs constitute around 61.51% of net payroll addition, registering a total of around 13.46 lakh net payroll in June. Further, Maharashtra led the pack by adding 20.03% of the net payroll during the month. Moreover, industry-wise data showed, significant month-on-month growth in the net payroll addition of people working in establishments engaged in various sectors, such as school, expert services, building and construction industry, university, college, electrical, mechanical or general engineering products, trading-commercial firms, and financing companies. Meanwhile, out of the total net membership, around 42.14% addition is from expert services, where manpower suppliers constitute around 51.31%.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 25119.50, up by 68.95 points or 0.28% after trading in a range of 25054.90 and 25145.70. There were 30 stocks advancing against 20 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Dr. Reddy's Lab up by 1.66%, Cipla up by 1.27%, Bajaj Finserv up by 1.10%, Larsen & Toubro up by 1.07% and SBI Life up by 1.07%. On the flip side, Coal India down by 1.39%, Tata Consumer down by 1.28%, Hindustan Unilever down by 1.00%, Power Grid down by 0.95% and Indusind Bank down by 0.88% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mixed; Taiwan Weighted added 336.69 points or 1.41% to 23,962.13, Shanghai Composite strengthened 8.37 points or 0.22% to 3,774.58, KOSPI increased 20.08 points or 0.64% to 3,150.17 and Straits Times rose 7.2 points or 0.17% to 4,226.74. However, Nikkei 225 slipped 262.55 points or 0.61% to 42,626.00, Jakarta Composite plunged 48.48 points or 0.61% to 7,895.35 and Hang Seng declined 111.94 points or 0.44% to 25,054.00.