The prime ministers of Britain and India sealed a hard-wrought trade agreement on Thursday that will slash tariffs on products including Scotch whisky and English gin shipped to India and Indian food and spices sent to the U.

While the US nears a deal with China and is has a 50-50 chance of a pact with the European Union, there is no word still on a pact with India.

The foreign ministry said that the trade teams of both countries are presently engaged in active negotiations on the BTA and discussions are ‘aimed at adopting an integrated approach to further streng

US stocks are floating near all-time highs as Wall Street maintains cautious optimism that Washington might ink more trade deals, avoiding a worst-case scenario of extraordinarily high tariffs and enabling the resilient economy to continue chugging along.

India's equity benchmarks are expected to open little changed on Friday as investors weigh the newly signed trade pact with Britain, which will cut tariffs of goods ranging from textiles to whisky and cars.

For higher-end vehicles priced above £80,000, India will lower tariffs to 40 per cent starting in the sixth year, with a gradual tapering to 10 per cent by the end of the 15.5-year timeline

Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal on Friday said that India can face competition and is not the ‘tariff king’, as India’s average tariffs for the UK following the trade deal are set to drop to 3 per cent compared to the current levels of 15 per cent.

Steel Authority of India reported a rise in first-quarter profit on Friday, helped by a marginal rise in steel prices due to a temporary tariff imposed on some imports, easing input costs and strong domestic demand.

India, one of Washington’s key allies in Asia, is reportedly seeking preferential trade terms with the U.S. in the ongoing tariff negotiations. India’s Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said in an interview with CNBC on Thursday that “India will get a preferential tariff compared to our peers and our competitors,