Benchmarks trade marginally in red in early deals

Indian equity benchmarks made a cautious start on Tuesday and were trading marginally in red in early deals, amid continued concerns over U.S. President Donald Trump's new H-1B visa policies. Traders are keeping a close eye on ongoing trade talks with the U.S. as well as escalating tensions in Europe and the Middle East, with EU targeting Russian supplies and Ukraine intensifying its attacks on Russian energy infrastructure. Besides, foreign fund outflows dented market sentiments. Foreign investors offloaded shares worth Rs 2,910 crore on a net basis on September 22. Investors are looking ahead to the HSBC Composite PMI Flash, HSBC Manufacturing PMI Flash, HSBC Services PMI Flash data to be out later in the day.

On the global front, Asian markets are trading mostly in green, following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight, as traders remain optimistic about the outlook for the markets amid expectations of further interest rate cuts by the US Fed. Meanwhile, The Japanese stock market is closed for Autumnal Equinox day on Tuesday.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 82045.85, down by 114.12 points or 0.14% after trading in a range of 82016.54 and 82307.50. There were 10 stocks advancing against 20 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading mixed; the BSE Mid cap index fell 0.02%, while Small cap index was up by 0.05%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Auto up by 1.23%, Consumer Discretionary up by 0.24%, Metal up by 0.15%, Industrials up by 0.10% and Energy up by 0.04%, while Consumer Durables down by 0.66%, FMCG down by 0.54%, TECK down by 0.53%, IT down by 0.35% and Utilities down by 0.33% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Maruti Suzuki up by 2.37%, Tata Motors up by 1.34%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.20%, Bajaj Finance up by 0.99% and Tata Steel up by 0.88%. On the flip side, Ultratech Cement down by 1.87%, Asian Paints down by 1.35%, Titan Company down by 1.20%, Bharti Airtel down by 0.97% and Sun Pharma down by 0.91% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Chief Economic Adviser (CEA) V Anantha Nageswaran has said that the government would stick to its 4.4 per cent fiscal deficit target and restrict market borrowing at the estimated Rs 6.82 lakh crore in the second half of the current fiscal year (H2FY26). The government had announced borrowing Rs 8 lakh crore through dated securities during the April-September period of 2025-26 to fund the revenue gap. The Union government, in consultation with the Reserve Bank of India is expected to announce a borrowing calendar for the second half (October-March) during this week.

Fiscal deficit -- the gap between the government's total revenue and total expenditure -- is estimated to be 4.4 per cent of GDP for FY26 as compared to 4.8 per cent of the GDP revised estimated for the FY25. To fund fiscal deficit, the government resorts to market borrowings. Out of gross market borrowing of Rs 14.82 lakh crore estimated for 2025-26, Rs 8 lakh crore, or 54 per cent, is planned to be borrowed in the first half (H1) through issuance of dated securities, including Rs 10,000 crore of Sovereign Green Bonds (SGrBs). In absolute terms, the fiscal deficit is pegged at Rs 15,68,936 crore for the financial year 2025-26. To finance the fiscal deficit, the net market borrowings from dated securities are estimated at Rs 11.54 lakh crore. The balance financing is expected to come from small savings and other sources.

Nageswaran further said India's FY26 GDP growth will tend towards the upper end of 6.3-6.8 per cent range in FY26, following the GST 2.0 reforms that came effect from September 22, 2025. He said ‘The GST 2.0 is a very significant landmark reform. I am very confident that it will provide a very significant boost to domestic demand. Coming on top to the indirect taxes are the concessions and relief announced as part of the Union Budget. Taking a multiplier effect, these will quite definitely boost the GDP numbers’. He added that the total impact of the multiplier effect due to direct tax relief (income tax cuts) and indirect tax relief (GST rate cuts) on the economy will be more than Rs 2.5 lakh crore, though some other uncertainties may dilute the effect.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 25173.40, down by 28.95 points or 0.11% after trading in a range of 25154.50 and 25250.85. There were 14 stocks advancing against 36 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Maruti Suzuki up by 2.35%, Eicher Motors up by 1.67%, Tata Motors up by 1.39%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.15% and Bajaj Finance up by 0.99%. On the flip side, Ultratech Cement down by 1.94%, Asian Paints down by 1.22%, Titan Company down by 1.20%, Bharti Airtel down by 0.95% and Sun Pharma down by 0.91% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mostly higher; Taiwan Weighted jumped 379.08 points or 1.46% to 26,259.68, Jakarta Composite gained 28 points or 0.35% to 8,068.04, KOSPI increased 20.56 points or 0.59% to 3,489.21 and Straits Times added 14.38 points or 0.33% to 4,311.75. On the other hand, Hang Seng declined 198.14 points or 0.76% to 26,146.00 and Shanghai Composite was down by 46.97 points or 1.23% to 3,781.61.