Bourses trade flat in early afternoon session

In volatile trading session, Indian markets traded near neutral lines with negative bias in early afternoon session. Traders were cautious amid monthly F&O expiry day for the November series. Investors took note of report that Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in its November monthly bulletin has said that global uncertainty remains elevated, although October witnessed a slight pullback after more than a year of continuous increase. It said concerns persist about the heightened exuberance in global equity markets, raising questions about its sustainability and its implications for financial stability. Sector wise, agriculture sector remained in limelight as sowing of Rabi-season crops has increased 12.29% at 306.31 lakh hectares area as on November 21, 2025. The total area covered under Rabi crops was 272.78 lakh hectares during the corresponding period of last year. 

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mixed even as South Korea's consumer confidence strengthened in November after easing in the previous month. The consumer sentiment index rose to 112.4 in November from 109.8 in the previous month. A score above 100 indicates a positive outlook.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 84860.60, down by 40.11 points or 0.05% after trading in a range of 84765.10 and 85110.24. There were 14 stocks advancing against 16 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading mixed; the BSE Mid cap index declined 0.01%, while Small cap index was up by 0.05%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 1.32%, Metal up by 0.51%, Healthcare up by 0.46%, PSU up by 0.41% and Basic Materials was up by 0.32%, while IT down by 0.89%, TECK down by 0.58%, Oil & Gas down by 0.21%, FMCG down by 0.17% and Consumer Durables was down by 0.14% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Bharat Electronics up by 1.68%, SBI up by 1.51%, Bajaj Finserv up by 0.72%, Reliance Industries up by 0.62% and Tata Steel up by 0.54%. On the flip side, Infosys down by 1.41%, HCL Tech down by 1.05%, Adani Ports down by 0.73%, Tata Motors Passenger down by 0.64% and HDFC Bank down by 0.58% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Crisil Ratings in its latest report has said that non-bank finance companies (NBFCs) are likely to maintain growth in assets under management (AUM) at 18 per cent, despite a cautious approach on lending in certain buckets due to high customer leverage. It said the overall AUMs for the industry are expected to touch Rs 50 lakh crore by FY27-end on the back of a steady 18-19 per cent growth per annum.

The agency said unsecured MSME business loans, which constitute 6 per cent of industry AUM, have seen an increase in delinquencies amid higher borrower leverage and adjacencies with the microfinance customer segment. It noted that this will result in the AUM growth slowing down to 13-14 per cent from over 31 per cent seen in the last two fiscals. It said in the case of personal loans, which constitute 11 per cent of the industry AUM, the growth is expected to improve to 22-25 per cent from 18 per cent, but will still be lower than the 37 per cent seen in FY24.

The report said recent policy measures, such as rationalisation and reduction of goods and services tax (GST) rates, together with benign inflation, will help sustain retail credit demand across asset classes. It said the growth in loan against property (LAP)/secured MSME segment, constituting 15 per cent of NBFC AUM, is expected to normalise to 26-27 per cent in FY26 and FY27, but lenders will be cautious on the low-ticket segment due to an increase in early delinquencies. It added that the gold loan segment, which is 6 per cent of AUM, should continue to outperform other asset classes, driven by increased formalisation, with a shift from unorganised players, high gold prices, and NBFCs' interest in entering the gold finance market. 

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 25957.95, down by 1.55 points or 0.01% after trading in a range of 25924.15 and 26025.50. There were 26 stocks advancing against 24 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Dr. Reddy's Lab up by 1.84%, Bharat Electronics up by 1.72%, SBI up by 1.48%, JSW Steel up by 1.39% and Hindalco up by 1.11%. On the flip side, Adani Enterprises down by 2.37%, Infosys down by 1.36%, Tata Consumer down by 0.91%, Interglobe Aviation down by 0.89% and HCL Tech. down by 0.76% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mixed; Taiwan Weighted added 407.93 points or 1.52% to 26,912.17, Hang Seng advanced 77.5 points or 0.3% to 25,794.00, Shanghai Composite strengthened 33.25 points or 0.87% to 3,870.02 and KOSPI was up by 11.72 points or 0.3% to 3,857.78. On the flip side, Nikkei 225 slipped 5.88 points or 0.01% to 48,620.00, Straits Times fell 15.42 points or 0.34% to 4,481.21 and Jakarta Composite was down by 55.2 points or 0.64% to 8,515.05.