Key gauges continue to trade flat in morning deals

Indian equity benchmarks continued to trade flat with negative bias in morning deals, as relentless foreign fund outflows and US H-1B visa fee concerns made investors jittery. Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 2,425.75 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data. Also, a weak trend in global peers drove the domestic equity markets lower. However, traders took some support with an article on the state of the economy published in the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) September Bulletin stated 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. On the global front, Asian markets are trading mixed amid uncertainty about the outlook for Fed interest rate cuts and on concerns about near term trend following comments from Jerome Powell that equity prices are fairly highly valued by many measures. 

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 81634.54, down by 81.09 points or 0.10% after trading in a range of 81492.37 and 81840.73. There were 13 stocks advancing against 17 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.19%, while Small cap index was up by 0.09%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 1.01%, Capital Goods up by 0.92%, PSU up by 0.65%, Telecom up by 0.64% and Industrials up by 0.52%, while Auto down by 0.55%, Consumer Disc down by 0.45%, Consumer Durables down by 0.36%, Realty down by 0.34% and IT down by 0.07% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Bharat Electronics up by 2.38%, Bharti Airtel up by 0.67%, SBI up by 0.39%, Tata Steel up by 0.38% and Sun Pharma up by 0.33%. On the flip side, Tata Motors down by 2.71%, Asian Paints down by 1.62%, Eternal down by 1.13%, Titan Company down by 1.13% and Trent down by 0.87% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the commerce ministry has said that India and Australia have signed an agreement to facilitate trade of organic products including wine and agri produce in each other's countries. Under the mutual recognition arrangements (MRA), both will recognise each other's organic standards and certification systems. It stated ‘The MRA...is expected to boost India's organic exports further by reducing barriers, ensuring certification equivalence, and supporting more organic products and producers.’ 

The arrangement covers organic products that are grown and processed in the two countries. It includes unprocessed plant products, processed foods and wine. With organic produce commanding 30-40 per cent higher prices, farmers benefit from improved livelihoods. Sunil Barthwal, Secretary Commerce, emphasised the role of the National Programme for Organic Production (NPOP) in setting rigorous standards for India's organic ecosystem and keeping India's organic sector transparent and credible. 

Further, he stressed the need for labelling, penalties and regulatory measures to ensure strict separation of organic from non-organic produce, while also calling for greater capacity building, training and advisory support for farmers. India's organic exports to Australia reached $8.96 million in 2024-25 with a total export volume of 2,781.58 metric tonnes, led by psyllium husk, coconut milk and rice. Besides, Tom Black, First Assistant Secretary, Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Australia, noted that Australia leads with 53 million hectares of organic farmland and highlighted trade opportunities in cereals, tea, spices, beverages and wines.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 25043.55, down by 13.35 points or 0.05% after trading in a range of 25003.90 and 25092.70. There were 27 stocks advancing against 23 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Bharat Electronics up by 2.33%, Hindalco up by 1.85%, ONGC up by 1.10%, Bharti Airtel up by 0.65% and JSW Steel up by 0.64%. On the flip side, Tata Motors down by 2.85%, Asian Paints down by 1.49%, Titan Company down by 1.22%, Eternal down by 1.09% and Dr. Reddy's Lab down by 0.95% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mixed; Taiwan Weighted lost 106.51 points or 0.41% to 26,090.22, Jakarta Composite plunged 52.77 points or 0.65% to 8,073.79, KOSPI dropped 8.94 points or 0.26% to 3,463.20 and Straits Times fell 8.81 points or 0.21% to 4,281.59.

On the flip side, Nikkei 225 surged 4.69 points or 0.01% to 45,635.00, Hang Seng advanced 147.35 points or 0.55% to 26,666.00 and Shanghai Composite strengthened 1.04 points or 0.03% to 3,854.68.