Benchmarks end first trading session of FY26 on weak note

Extending losses for the second straight session, Indian equity benchmarks ended first trading session of FY26 on a weak note on Tuesday due to selling in Realty, Consumer Durables and IT shares amid heightened uncertainty ahead of the rollout of reciprocal tariffs by the US on April 2. 

Some of the important factors in today’s trade:

India's exports to fall below $435 billion in 2024-25: Think tank GTRI said the country's merchandise exports, which have been contracting since October last year, are expected to decline slightly by the end of this fiscal year (FY25) and fall below $435 billion. 

FIIs selling resumes: The foreign institutional investors turned net sellers on Friday after a brief buying streak. The FPIs have offloaded equities worth Rs 4,352.82 crore on Friday after it bought shares worth Rs 32,488.69 crore. So far in March, the FPIs have net offloaded equities worth Rs 3,973 crore, according to the National Securities Depository data.

RBI to shift focus on growth over inflation in April policy meeting: Care Edge Ratings has asserted that the RBI’s monetary policy committee is expected to shift its focus from concerns around inflation to supporting growth in its next review meeting in early April. It said the monetary policy committee will go for another 25-basis-point reduction in the repo rate at April 7-9 meeting. 

Centre’s fiscal deficit touches 85.8% of annual target by end of February 2025: The Controller General of Accounts (CGA) in its latest data has showed that the Centre’s fiscal deficit touched 85.8 per cent of the annual target by the end of February 2025. In actual terms, the fiscal deficit was Rs 13,46,852 crore during the April-February 2024-25 period.

Global market cues remain positive: European markets were trading higher as the HCOB Eurozone Manufacturing PMI came in with a reading of 48.6 in March, slightly below the preliminary estimate of 48.7 but up from February's final reading of 47.6. Asian markets settled mostly higher on Tuesday, clawing back some of the hefty losses suffered in recent weeks, though sentiment remained sluggish as Donald Trump prepares to unveil sweeping tariffs.

Finally, the BSE Sensex fell 1390.41 points or 1.80% to 76,024.51, and the CNX Nifty was down by 353.65 points or 1.50% to 23,165.70.   

The BSE Sensex touched high and low of 77,487.05 and 75,912.18 respectively. There were 2 stocks advancing against 28 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices ended mixed; the BSE Mid cap index fell 1.04%, while Small cap index was up by 0.07%.

The few gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Telecom up by 2.02% and Oil & Gas up by 0.62%, while Realty down by 3.05%, Consumer Durables down by 2.51%, IT down by 2.24%, TECK down by 1.73% and Bankex down by 1.50% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The few gainers on the Sensex were Indusind Bank up by 5.11% and Eternal up by 0.27%. On the flip side, HCL Technologies down by 3.87%, Bajaj Finserv down by 3.46%, HDFC Bank down by 3.35%, Bajaj Finance down by 2.81% and Infosys down by 2.73% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the Controller General of Accounts (CGA) in its latest data has showed that the Centre’s fiscal deficit touched 85.8 per cent of the annual target by the end of February 2025. In actual terms, the fiscal deficit - the gap between expenditure and revenue - was Rs 13,46,852 crore during the April-February 2024-25 period. The deficit was 86.5 per cent of revised estimates (RE) of 2023-24 in the year-ago period.

The CGA data showed that the central government’s tax revenue (net) was Rs 20 lakh crore or 78.8 per cent of the RE of 2024-25. It was at 79.6 per cent during the corresponding year of the last financial year. According to the revenue-expenditure data of the Union government, the total expenditure was Rs 38.93 lakh crore, or 82.5 per cent of the RE. In the year-ago period, it stood at 83.4 per cent.

In the Union Budget presented in Parliament, the fiscal deficit for 2024-25 has been pegged at 4.8 per cent of GDP (lower than the earlier estimate of 4.9 per cent) and 4.4 per cent for 2025-26. In absolute terms, the fiscal deficit for the financial year ending March 2025 is estimated at Rs 15.69 lakh crore.

According to the data, out of the total revenue expenditure, Rs 9.52 lakh crore was on account of interest payments and Rs 3.63 lakh crore was on account of major subsidies during the April-February period of the current financial year. CGA said Rs 11.80 lakh crore has been transferred to state governments as devolution of share of taxes by the government up to February 2025, which is Rs 1.47 lakh crore higher than the previous year.

The CNX Nifty traded in a range of 23,565.15 and 23,136.40. There were 13 stocks advancing against 36 stocks declining, while 1 stock remain unchanged on the index.  

The top gainers on Nifty were Indusind Bank up by 5.06%, Trent up by 4.56%, JIO Financial Services up by 1.51%, Bajaj Auto up by 1.22% and Hero MotoCorp up by 1.18%. On the flip side, HCL Technologies down by 3.64%, Bharat Electronics down by 3.47%, Bajaj Finserv down by 3.26%, HDFC Bank down by 3.19%, and Hindalco Industries down by 2.78% were the top losers.

European markets were trading higher; UK’s FTSE 100 increased 63.61 points or 0.74% to 8,646.42, France’s CAC rose 60.08 points or 0.77% to 7,850.79 and Germany’s DAX gained 247.56 points or 1.12% to 22,411.05.