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Indian equity benchmarks continued to trade higher in noon session, on account of broad based buying in blue chip counters amid positive Asian cues.  All sectoral indices were trading firm and metal was the top gainer on BSE, up by 2.17% followed by Industrials and Consumer Durables indices, trading up over 1% each. Apart from blue chips, broader indices too equally participated in the rally with both mid and small cap indices trading up by over 0.50% each. Sentiments were upbeat as foreign institutional investors (FIIs) stood as net buyers and bought shares worth Rs 369.06 crore on Thursday. In another positive development, Services Export Promotion Council (SEPC) said that implementation of the proposed India-UK free trade agreement will help to boost the country's services exports, particularly from legal, accounting and auditing sectors. Traders will also keep watch on U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s speech for cues on the path of interest rate hikes at the Jackson Hole event. On the global front, Asian markets were trading higher supported by news of possible progress for China and the United States to hammer out an audit deal.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 59069.71, up by 294.99 points or 0.50% after trading in a range of 58940.06 and 59321.65. There were 25 stocks advancing against 5 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.71%, while Small cap index was up by 0.67%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 2.17%, PSU up by 1.48%, Industrials up by 1.47%, Consumer Durables up by 1.46% and Capital Goods was up by 1.36%, while there were no losing sectoral indices on the BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Titan Co up by 3.00%, Tata Steel up by 2.78%, NTPC up by 2.52%, Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 2.09% and Tech Mahindra was up by 1.87%. On the flip side, Indusind Bank down by 1.57%, Asian Paints down by 1.43%, Bharti Airtel down by 0.81%, Reliance Industries down by 0.40% and HDFC was down by 0.08% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Services Export Promotion Council (SEPC) has said that implementation of the proposed India-UK free trade agreement will help to boost the country's services exports, particularly from legal, accounting and auditing sectors. It said under this agreement, both countries may significantly cut or eliminate customs duties on the maximum number of goods traded between them. Besides, norms would be relaxed to promote trade in services.

SEPC Chairman Sunil H Talati said that the British market holds huge potential for domestic services sectors like medical transcription, legal, accounting and auditing. He also said negotiations for the trade pact between the countries are at advanced stages and expected to conclude by the end of this month. After the conclusion of the talks, it would take some time to implement the agreement.

Talati further said that the council is hopeful of achieving the $300 billion exports target for 2022-23 on account of healthy growth in the outbound shipments so far. In 2021-22, it was $254 billion. Services exports have increased to $71 billion during April-June this fiscal against $56.22 billion in the same quarter last year. He has suggested the commerce ministry to extend support measures for the sector in the new foreign trade policy, which is likely to be released soon, to promote the growth of the sector.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 17624.25, up by 101.80 points or 0.58% after trading in a range of 17581.30 and 17685.85. There were 42 stocks advancing against 8 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Titan up by 3.05%, JSW Steel up by 2.84%, Tata Steel up by 2.68%, Hindalco up by 2.65% and NTPC was up by 2.49%. On the flip side, Eicher Motors down by 2.86%, Indusind Bank down by 1.69%, Asian Paints down by 1.44%, Bharti Airtel down by 1.19% and Reliance Industries was down by 0.46% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly higher; Hang Seng increased 101.44 points or 0.51% to 20,069.82, Nikkei 225 surged 162.37 points or 0.57% to 28,641.38, Taiwan Weighted strengthened 78.40 points or 0.52% to 15,278.44, Straits Times advanced 6.67 points or 0.21% to 3,254.47 and KOSPI was up by 3.78 points or 0.15% to 2,481.04.

On the flip side, Shanghai Composite declined 4.12 points or 0.13% to 3,242.13 and Jakarta Composite was down by 7.21 points or 0.1% to 7,167.00.

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