BENGALURU: India’s equity benchmarks ended marginally higher on Wednesday, as losses in local IT stocks following a global selloff of software companies over artificial intelligence-fuelled disruption fears dampened optimism over the U.S. trade deal. The Nifty 50 rose 0.19% to 25,776, while the BSE Sensex added 0.09% to 83,817.69. They fell as much as 0.7% in early trade on pressure from IT stocks. Thirteen of the 16 major sectors ended higher. IT sector, which has the second-heaviest weightage on benchmarks, plunged 5.9% in its biggest daily drop in nearly six years. The broader small-caps and mid-caps rose 1.3% and 0.6%, respectively. U.S. AI developer Anthropic on Friday launched plug-ins for its Claude Cowork agent that would automate tasks across legal, sales, marketing and data analysis. It sparked worries of a disruption in traditional software businesses. Sunny Agrawal, head of fundamental equity research at SBICAPS Securities, called the drop in domestic IT stocks a knee-jerk reaction. “It is not clear how much impact this will have on software companies, but the market is pre-empting the concerns that a new AI tool could reduce billable hours and cost arbitrage for them,” he said.

MUMBAI: Indian Continent Investment, an entity led by billionaire Sunil Mittal, will sell a stake worth at least $806 million in telecom operator Bharti Airtel in bulk deals, a document detailing the deal terms showed on Tuesday. ICIL, which over the last few months has been paring its hold in Bharti Airtel and as of September-end owned a 1.48% stake in the company, will sell 34.3 million shares at a floor price of 2,096.70 rupees, the document showed. That implies a 3% discount to the company’s Tuesday closing price of 2,161.60 rupees. Singtel sells about $1.2 billion stake in India’s Bharti Airtel Goldman Sachs Securities is the placement agent for the deal, the document showed. Bharti Airtel and Goldman Sachs did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment. Shares of the company ended 0.44% higher on Tuesday. They are up 36% this year.

Brendan Lynch, chief negotiator from the US Trade Representative’s office, will hold discussions with Indian officials on Tuesday.

The surge reflects renewed optimism for India’s textile exporters, with expectations that easing U.S. duties could revive margins and boost demand across the sector.

NEW DELHI: The United States has doubled tariffs on Indian imports to as much as 50% as scheduled on Wednesday, hitting goods and produce as varied as garments, jewellery and shrimp. Sectors such as smartphones, pharmaceuticals and energy are exempt from U.S. tariffs, but others such as gems, textiles and some auto components - which make up a large part of Indian exports to the U.S. - will bear the brunt of U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade ire in their largest overseas market. Below are some of India’s largest exports to the U.S. Gems & jewellery The U.S. is the largest market for Indian gems and jewellery accounting for goods worth $10 billion last year, or nearly 30% of the sector’s global sales. In the western Indian city of Surat, where more than 80% of the world’s rough diamonds are cut and polished, orders have started drying up as U.S. tariffs shake buyer confidence. While small exporters have few options to cushion the blow, big players plan to shift operations to countries whose goods are subject to lower U.S. tariffs, such as Botswana at 15%.

India’s decision to slash tariffs on UK-made cars to whiskey as part of a sweeping trade pact could create a line of winners, including Jaguar Land Rover and Diageo Plc.The Free Trade Agreement, announced Tuesday after three years of negotiations, will make it cheaper for UK firms to sell their whiskeys, cars, auto parts, cosmetics, biscuits, clothes and electrical machinery in the world’s most populous nation. Indian exporters to the UK will benefit from lower levies on 99% of products and services.The deal saw India opening up some of its most protected sectors — cars for instance — and sets a precedent for other trade pacts under discussion, including with the European Union and the US. Such bilateral agreements also provide a cushion against the tariffs pain inflicted by US President Donald Trump.UK-India Trade by Commodity and ServicesThe trade pact might kick in after a year, DBS Bank Ltd. Economist Radhika Rao wrote in a May 7 note. Bilateral commerce is expected to nearly double in a few years from $21 billion in the year ended March 2024, she wrote.As exporters and companies await the fine print of the deal, here’s a quick list of probable winners and losers:AutomobilesWhile the reduced tariffs — from 110% to 10% — will start with fossil fuels-fed cars, these will eventually be extended to the electric and hybrid vehicles over a 10-year timeline, according to information on the UK government website.The UK will also offer Indian carmakers the opportunity to export these technologies to that country, with similar riders.Beneficiaries may include JLR and other luxury brands with factories in the UK such as Bentley, Aston Martin, Vauxhall and Mini. 120986925Domestic carmakers like Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. and Maruti Suzuki India Ltd., which have invested in EV, may feel the pinch.