Indices trim gains in late morning deals

Indian equity indices trimmed most of their gains and were trading marginally higher in late morning deals on account of buying in Mahindra & Mahindra, Reliance Industries, NTPC, Adani Ports and Tata Steel companies’ stocks. There was some encouragement in markets as India and the United States held key discussions to boost strategic cooperation across defence, tech and trade. However, gains got trimmed as Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 3,760.08 crore on Tuesday, according to exchange data. On the BSE sectoral front, traders were seen piling up positions in Metal, Energy, Oil & Gas, Basic Materials and Utilities, while selling was witnessed in Capital Goods, IT, TECK, Telecom and Bankex.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in red as traders were reluctant to make significant moves ahead of the US Fed's monetary policy announcement later in the day. Back home, in the stock specific development, Highway Infrastructure surged following the company received an order worth Rs 328.78 crore from National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) for operation at Kaza fee plaza on Chilakaluripet-Vijayawada section of NH-16 in the state of Andhra Pradesh.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 84744.17, up by 77.89 points or 0.09% after trading in a range of 84604.62 and 85020.34. There were 17 stocks advancing against 13 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading mixed; the BSE Mid cap index was down by 0.32%, while Small cap index up by 0.14%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 0.78%, Energy up by 0.74%, Oil & Gas up by 0.68%, Basic Materials up by 0.59% and Utilities up by 0.51%, while Capital Goods down by 0.33%, IT down by 0.32%, TECK down by 0.24%, Telecom down by 0.18% and Bankex down by 0.14% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.27%, Reliance Industries up by 1.10%, NTPC up by 0.89%, Adani Ports up by 0.84% and Tata Steel up by 0.75%. On the flip side, Eternal down by 1.87%, TCS down by 0.67%, HDFC Bank down by 0.53%, Bajaj Finance down by 0.47% and Tata MotorsPassenger down by 0.36% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the Crisil Intelligence has estimated that Indian cement industry's volume likely to rise 8% to 9% year-on-year (YoY) in the second half of FY26, led by pent-up demand and better liquidity. Further, industry’s margins are estimated to grow by 250-300 basis points, supported by various factors, including higher realisation, stable cost, GST cut, premiumisation, and volume growth, which will ease pressure for manufacturers. It also expects an overall higher growth of 6.5% to 7.5% this fiscal against around 5% in the previous fiscal.

The average Pan-India cement prices are expected to remain range-bound at Rs 354-359 per 50 kg bag. Crisil noted that premiumisation will offset the downward pressure exerted by GST rate cuts on retail prices. This along with higher demand will aid an improvement in realisations for the manufacturers. Excluding GST, cement prices are estimated to rise 3% to 4% YoY in the coming quarter. Besides, it expects pace of realisations to slow down to a modest 0% to 2% YoY in the second half of FY26 as against 5% growth in the first half. Consequently, the full-year average improvement is expected to be 2.5% to 3.5% YoY.

In terms of regions, it highlighted that healthy demand prospects and a low base are expected to support price recovery in the east and south, leading to prices inching up 0% to 2% in those geographies this fiscal, after declining 12% and 7%, respectively, last fiscal. However, prices in the other regions are expected to dwindle 2% to 3%. Meanwhile, on the cost side, power and freight costs, which together comprise 54% to 55% of the total expenses, are projected to fall 2% to 3% and 1% to 2%, respectively, this fiscal. However, overall costs are expected to be stable, resulting in an expansion in operating margin to 18% to 20% from 16% last fiscal.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 25860.10, up by 20.45 points or 0.08% after trading in a range of 25822.35 and 25947.65. There were 28 stocks advancing against 22 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Eicher Motors up by 2.04%, Hindalco up by 1.35%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.31%, Reliance Industries up by 1.02% and Max Healthcare up by 1.01%. On the flip side, Eternal down by 1.83%, Interglobe Aviation down by 0.96%, TCS down by 0.69%, HDFC Bank down by 0.55% and Bajaj Finance down by 0.54% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mostly in red; Nikkei 225 slipped 232.1 points or 0.46% to 50,423.00, Shanghai Composite weakened 14.15 points or 0.36% to 3,895.37, KOSPI dropped 8.51 points or 0.21% to 4,135.04, Hang Seng declined 44.23 points or 0.17% to 25,390.00 and Straits Times fell 16.36 points or 0.36% to 4,496.88. However, Taiwan Weighted added 171.83 points or 0.61% to 28,354.43 and Jakarta Composite gained 36.53 points or 0.42% to 8,693.71.