Sensex, Nifty trade in red after positive start

Indian equity benchmarks made a slightly positive start on Tuesday but failed to hold the gains and soon fell below neutral lines amid mixed trade in Asian counterparts. Sensex and Nifty were trading lower with cut of over 0.20% each in early deals amid selling in Utilities, Power and Consumer Durables stocks. However, downside remained capped amid bargain hunting in Telecom, TECK and Capital Goods counters. Traders overlooked Ministry of Statistics report said that the unemployment rate (UR) in India among persons of age 15 years and above declined to 5.2 per cent in July-September this year from 5.4 per cent in the previous quarter of April-June. On the sectoral front, telecom stocks were in focus as Telecom regulator TRAI is reviewing all nine existing interconnection regulations and has sought stakeholder views on multiple aspects, including the interconnect framework for satellite-based telecommunications networks with other telecom networks.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mixed, following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight, as traders reacted to further progress made towards ending the US government shutdown, with the US Senate commencing a series of votes on a package to reopen the government and end the longest shutdown on record. Meanwhile, overall bank lending in Japan was up 4.1 percent on year in October. Also, Japan posted a seasonally adjusted current account surplus of 4.483 trillion yen in September.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 83346.59, down by 188.76 points or 0.23% after trading in a range of 83247.41 and 83726.51. There were 17 stocks advancing against 13 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index fell 0.40%, while Small cap index was down by 0.47%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Telecom up by 1.02%, TECK up by 0.49%, Capital Goods up by 0.36%, IT up by 0.27% and Industrials up by 0.09%, while Utilities down by 0.67%, Power down by 0.55%, Consumer Durables down by 0.45%, Realty down by 0.42% and Consumer Discretionary down by 0.33% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Bharat Electronics up by 1.46%, Bharti Airtel up by 0.86%, HCL Technologies up by 0.55%, Eternal up by 0.50% and Adani Ports & SEZ up by 0.36%. On the flip side, Bajaj Finance down by 6.86%, Bajaj Finserv down by 6.53%, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles down by 1.49%, Tata Steel down by 1.07% and Power Grid Corp down by 0.76% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Statistics in its latest Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) has showed that the unemployment rate (UR) in India among persons of age 15 years and above declined to 5.2 per cent in July-September this year from 5.4 per cent in the previous quarter of April-June. The share of rural employment in the agriculture sector rose to 57.7 per cent during July-September from 53.5 per cent in the previous quarter due to Kharif agricultural operations. The share of workers engaged in the urban tertiary sector also increased to 62 per cent during July-September from 61.7 per cent in the previous quarter, reflecting a higher level of employment. Self-employed workers in rural areas witnessed a notable rise to 62.8 per cent during July-September from 60.7 per cent in the preceding quarter of April-June. 

Urban areas recorded a modest improvement for regular wage employees to 49.8 per cent during the July-September quarter from 49.4 per cent in the previous quarter. The female worker population ratio (WPR) recorded an increase across all sectors - rural, urban, and overall - during July–September this year compared to the previous April-June quarter, reflecting a rise in employment. Female participation in the labour force, which is another indicator of employment, also witnessed an increase to 33.7 per cent in July-September from 33.4 per cent in April-June.

The overall Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR), which reflects the level of employment, increased to 55.1 per cent during July-September 2025, compared to 55 per cent in the previous quarter for persons of age 15 years and above. Female participation in the labour force witnessed an increase to 33.7 per cent in July–September 2025 from 33.4 per cent in April–June 2025. The Worker Population Ratio (WPR) for persons aged 15 years and above exhibited a marginal increase from 52 per cent in April–June to 52.2 per cent in July–September. The increasing trend in the LFPR, indicating a rise in employment, continued for the third month in a row, with the overall participation rate touching a 5-month high of 55.3 per cent in September.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 25519.05, down by 55.30 points or 0.22% after trading in a range of 25486.65 and 25637.60. There were 23 stocks advancing against 26 stocks declining, while 1 stock remain unchanged on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Bharat Electronics up by 1.38%, Bharti Airtel up by 0.95%, Interglobe Aviation up by 0.89%, Eternal up by 0.83% and HCL Technologies up by 0.68%. On the flip side, Bajaj Finance down by 6.73%, Bajaj Finserv down by 6.36%, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles down by 1.49%, JIO Financial Services down by 1.28% and Eicher Motors down by 1.27% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mixed; Nikkei 225 surged 193.24 points or 0.38% to 51,105.00, Taiwan Weighted added 180.25 points or 0.65% to 28,049.76, Straits Times rose 52.06 points or 1.16% to 4,540.19 and KOSPI increased 35.43 points or 0.87% to 4,108.67. On the other hand, Hang Seng declined 30.06 points or 0.11% to 26,619.00, Jakarta Composite plunged 20.43 points or 0.24% to 8,370.81 and Shanghai Composite weakened 15.43 points or 0.38% to 4,003.17.