The European Union free trade agreement which India established as its main trade agreement failed to generate investor interest because Indian equity markets only showed limited growth during Tuesday trading. Market experts said the subdued reaction reflected the fact that investors had largely priced in the agreement well ahead of its formal announcement.
The Nifty 50 index reached an intraday high of 0.8% before closing at 25,175.40 which represented a 0.5% increase. The Nifty Metal index achieved the highest sectoral performance for the day with a 3% gain while Nifty PSU Bank followed with a 1.8% increase. Adani Enterprises, Axis Bank and JSW Steel emerged as the top gainers, while Mahindra & Mahindra, Asian Paints and Kotak Mahindra Bank were among the laggards.
Market participants described the India–EU agreement as a clear strategic breakthrough, especially at a time when trade negotiations with the United States continue to drag on. However, analysts said the deal should be viewed as a long-lasting positive solution for the market instead of being an event which will temporarily increase stock prices.
Emkay Global Financial Services established that the agreement creates a new export framework which will not lead to immediate market growth. The brokerage added that market direction depends more on upcoming developments regarding the India–US trade agreement and currency stability and worldwide uncertainty reduction.
The analysts identify textiles and certain pharmaceutical firms and chemical producers as the most promising long-term investments for the financial sector. The pharmaceutical companies Dr Reddy’s Laboratories and Lupin and Sun Pharma together with the chemical firms SRF and Navin Fluorine and Aarti Industries and Gujarat Fluorochemicals will experience gradual stock increases which stem from the deal’s effects.
The trade agreement establishes free trade zones which cover approximately two billion people because it aims to eliminate or reduce tariffs on more than 97 percent of international goods that will be exchanged. The agreement provides Indian textiles and services with better market access while it permits European automobile and machinery products to enter India’s strictly controlled markets.
The Union commerce ministry states that India and the EU together have a combined global GDP share of approximately 25 percent which accounts for almost one third of international trade. The goods trade between the two countries reached a value of ₹11.5 trillion in FY25 while the service industry recorded a trade volume of ₹7.2 trillion in 2024.
Market experts attributed the dampened trading activity to two different technical elements. Nirav Karkera, who leads research at Fisdom, explained that the market had anticipated the deal and any failure in negotiations would have triggered greater market downturns. The trading activities experienced a decrease because of expiry-related market changes.
Rajesh Palviya from Axis Securities observed that market activity stayed unchanged because traders closed both their long and short positions after the derivatives expiration and upcoming high-profile events. According to provisional BSE data, foreign institutional investors sold shares worth ₹3,068 crore while domestic institutional investors purchased shares worth ₹8,999.71 crore which balanced out the selling pressure.
Market participants now concentrate on two main aspects which include the active earnings season and Budget-related expectations and India–US trade developments and foreign investment patterns and US Federal Reserve policy decisions. Investors will monitor Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s statements to assess inflation and forthcoming interest rate reductions and worldwide liquidity patterns even though interest rates are expected to stay the same.
