Indices magnify losses in late morning deals

Domestic equity indices magnified their losses in late morning deals as market participants indulged in reducing their positions. Sensex and Nifty traded below their psychological 83,000 and 25,550 levels respectively. Meanwhile, the broader markets were facing the heat of selling; the BSE mid-cap index declined by 1.61 per cent and the small-cap index was down 1.93 per cent.  Rising crude oil prices weighed on the domestic sentiments. Oil prices rose as escalating protests in Iran sparked concerns about supplies from the OPEC producer. Further, weakness also prevailed in markets as the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said that India's forex reserves dropped by $9.80 billion to $686.80 billion in the week to January 2. All the sectoral indices on the BSE were trading in red led by Realty, Capital Goods, Industrials, Auto and Telecom. 

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green following the broadly positive cues from US markets on Friday, amid optimism about the outlook for interest rates after a report showed employment in the U.S. increased less than expected in December. Back home, in the stock specific development, Avenue Supermarts surged after reporting 18% rise in Q3 consolidated net profit. 

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 82969.45, down by 606.79 points or 0.73% after trading in a range of 82954.24 and 83617.53. There were 6 stocks advancing against 24 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index was down by 1.61%, while Small cap index down by 1.93%.

The top losing sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty down by 2.28%, Capital Goods down by 2.11%, Industrials down by 2.03%, Auto down by 1.80% and Telecom down by 1.80%, while there were no gainers on sectoral indices. 

The top gainers on the Sensex were Trent up by 0.75%, Tata Steel up by 0.45%, Hindustan Unilever up by 0.41%, Asian Paints up by 0.41% and NTPC up by 0.36%. On the flip side, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 1.93%, Bajaj Finance down by 1.89%, Eternal down by 1.88%, Adani Ports down by 1.81% and Bharat Electronics down by 1.64% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the commerce ministry in its latest data has showed that Spain, Germany, Belgium, and Poland are emerging as India’s key export destinations within the 27-nation European Union (EU) bloc. Among these, Spain has emerged as a high-growth European market for Indian exports, with exports surging by over 56% to $4.7 billion during April-November of FY26 from $3 billion in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal. This sharp surge has resulted in Spain’s share in India’s total exports rising to 2.4 percent, a gain of 0.5 percentage points, the highest share increase recorded among European partners during the period.  

Similarly, the data showed India's exports to Germany rose to $7.5 billion during the eight months of FY26 from $6.8 billion in the same period last year, reflecting a growth of 9.3 per cent. The country's shipments to Belgium rose slightly from $4.2 billion to $4.4 billion during April-November this fiscal. Also, India's exports to Poland grew 7.6 per cent to $1.82 billion during April-November 2025-26 from $1.69 billion in the same period of the previous financial year. 

As India and the EU are moving closer to a proposed free trade agreement (FTA), the bilateral trade between the two is expected to register healthy growth despite the global economic uncertainties. India bilateral merchandise trade with the EU stood at $136.53 billion in 2024-25, with exports worth $75.85 billion and imports of $60.68 billion, making it the largest trading partner for goods. The EU market accounts for about 17 per cent of India's total exports, and the bloc's exports to India constitute 9 per cent of its total overseas shipments.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 25507.35, down by 175.95 points or 0.69% after trading in a range of 25503.05 and 25700.95. There were 10 stocks advancing against 40 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Coal India up by 2.78%, Trent up by 0.86%, SBI Life up by 0.76%, HDFC Life Insurance up by 0.72% and Tata Steel up by 0.45%. On the flip side, Eicher Motors down by 2.30%, Bajaj Auto down by 2.05%, JIO Financial down by 2.04%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 1.96% and Eternal down by 1.88% were the top losers. 

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; Taiwan Weighted added 269.9 points or 0.88% to 30,558.86, Jakarta Composite gained 11.21 points or 0.13% to 8,947.96, Shanghai Composite strengthened 37.82 points or 0.91% to 4,158.25, Hang Seng advanced 265.21 points or 1% to 26,497.00 and Straits Times rose 30.23 points or 0.63% to 4,774.89. However, KOSPI dropped 6.24 points or 0.14% to 4,580.08.