Markets trade flat in early deals amid weak global cues

Indian equity benchmarks made a negative start on Thursday and were trading flat in early deals, amid weak global cues. Traders were cautious amid mixed signals on U.S.-India trade talks. Persistent foreign fund outflows also dented domestic sentiments. Foreign institutional investors offloaded shares worth Rs 2,425.75 crore on a net basis on Wednesday. Traders took note of RBI bulletin stating that the GST reform will have a positive impact on the Indian economy by promoting ease of doing business, lowering retail prices, and strengthening consumption growth drivers. Besides, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari has stressed on the need to increase the share of agriculture and allied sector in the GDP to at least 26 per cent from the present 18 per cent to make India self-reliant.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mixed, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight, as traders remain cautious amid lingering uncertainty about the outlook for interest rates as they fretted about sticky US inflation and a slowing US job market. They also reacted to mixed messages from the US Fed officials on interest rates, with Fed Chair Jerome Powell striking a cautious tone.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 81703.40, down by 12.23 points or 0.01% after trading in a range of 81492.37 and 81840.73. There were 11 stocks advancing against 19 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading mixed; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.07%, while Small cap index was down by 0.10%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Utilities up by 0.60%, Capital Goods up by 0.50%, Oil & Gas up by 0.44%, Power up by 0.44% and Metal up by 0.37%, while Auto down by 0.58%, Realty down by 0.55%, Consumer Discretionary down by 0.44% and Consumer Durables down by 0.35% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Bharat Electronics up by 1.82%, Infosys up by 0.59%, Larsen & Toubro up by 0.50%, Bharti Airtel up by 0.46% and Hindustan Unilever up by 0.35%. On the flip side, Tata Motors down by 2.16%, Asian Paints down by 0.96%, Titan Company down by 0.89%, Eternal down by 0.80% and Maruti Suzuki down by 0.76% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, an article on the state of the economy published in the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) September Bulletin has said that the GST reform will have a positive impact on the Indian economy by promoting ease of doing business, lowering retail prices, and strengthening consumption growth drivers. It further said global uncertainty remained elevated in the wake of the imposition of US trade tariffs on major trading partners and renewed concerns over the fiscal health of advanced economies. It said ‘The landmark GST reforms should progressively result in a sustained positive impact through significant gains in ease of doing business, lower retail prices and strengthening of consumption growth drivers’. The government came out with the GST 2.0, a two-rate structure (5 per cent and 18 per cent), replacing the earlier four-rate duty regime. The new rates have come into effect on September 22.

The article said the Indian economy exhibited marked resilience as evident from the five-quarter high growth during Q1 2025-26, propelled by domestic drivers. It noted that consumer price index (CPI) based headline inflation edged up, but remained well below the target rate for the seventh consecutive month. It added system liquidity remained in surplus, facilitating the pass-through of policy rate cuts. It further pointed out that Indian equity markets witnessed bidirectional movements during August-September. India’s current account deficit moderated in Q1 over the last year, supported by robust services exports and strong remittance receipts.

Moreover, the article said the Q1 2025-26 GDP estimates reinforced the resilience of domestic growth drivers. High-frequency indicators for August show manufacturing and services activity at a decadal high. It pointed out that ‘In this scenario, the growth outlook for H2 is one of optimism. Healthy corporate balance sheets and the focus on structural reforms by the government are the bright spots of the economy’. It further said global uncertainty remained elevated in the wake of lingering US trade policy uncertainties with key trading partners, renewed concerns on the fiscal health of advanced economies (AEs) and geopolitical risks.

The article said ‘Net foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows reached a 38-month high in July, aided by higher gross FDI and slower repatriation and outward FDI. Foreign exchange reserves remained adequate, underscoring external sector stability’. In this scenario, the growth outlook for H2 (second half of the year) is one of optimism. Healthy corporate balance sheets and the focus on structural reforms by the government are the bright spots of the economy. Also, a higher kharif sowing is expected to translate to a sustained growth momentum in the agriculture sector, while also keeping food prices under check. However, the RBI said the views expressed in the Bulletin article are of the authors and do not represent the views of the central bank.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 25054.00, down by 2.90 points or 0.01% after trading in a range of 25003.90 and 25092.70. There were 22 stocks advancing against 27 stocks declining, while 1 stock remain unchanged on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Bharat Electronics up by 1.74%, ONGC up by 1.12%, Hindalco up by 1.11%, Apollo Hospital up by 0.77% and Larsen & Toubro up by 0.62%. On the flip side, Tata Motors down by 2.17%, Titan Company down by 0.99%, Asian Paints down by 0.94%, Eternal down by 0.79% and Maruti Suzuki down by 0.78% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mixed; Taiwan Weighted lost 53.97 points or 0.21% to 26,142.76, Jakarta Composite fell 42.64 points or 0.52% to 8,083.92, Straits Times declined 8.85 points or 0.21% to 4,281.55 and KOSPI was down by 2.26 points or 0.07% to 3,469.88. On the other hand, Hang Seng surged 147.35 points or 0.55% to 26,666.00, Nikkei 225 rose 82.69 points or 0.18% to 45,713.00 and Shanghai Composite was up by 5.98 points or 0.16% to 3,859.62.