Key gauges continue to trade lower in morning deals

Indian equity benchmarks continued to trade lower in morning deals, dragged by blue-chips Reliance Industries and ICICI Bank. Sustained foreign fund outflows and global tariff uncertainties also dented investors' sentiment. Foreign institutional investors offloaded equities worth Rs 4,346.13 crore on Friday, according to exchange data. Traders remained cautious as Crisil Ratings’ report warned that India’s merchandise exports are likely to face strong headwinds due to uncertainty persists over India's trade negotiations with the United States (US) and concerns grow over further US tariffs on Russian crude oil purchases. Sector-wise, diamond stocks remained in watch as the Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) said India's overall gems and jewellery exports witnessed a 4.98 per cent on-year decline to $1,883.85 million (Rs 16,978.44 crore) in December 2025, as geopolitical uncertainties affected demand in key export markets. On the global front, Asian markets are trading mixed, following negative cues from Wall Street on Friday, amid the rising tension between Trump's United States and the larger European Union over Greenland.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 83057.71, down by 512.64 points or 0.61% after trading in a range of 82941.01 and 83539.93. There were 14 stocks advancing against 16 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index fell 0.31%, while Small cap index was down by 0.73%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Capital Goods up by 0.52%, Power up by 0.47%, FMCG up by 0.36%, PSU up by 0.05% and Consumer Durables up by 0.03%, while Realty down by 1.57%, Energy down by 1.08%, Oil & Gas down by 0.81%, Telecom down by 0.72% and IT down by 0.68% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Interglobe Aviation up by 3.92%, Tech Mahindra up by 2.50%, Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 1.55%, Hindustan Unilever up by 1.42% and Maruti Suzuki up by 1.14%. On the flip side, ICICI Bank down by 3.45%, Reliance Industries down by 2.46%, Eternal down by 1.11%, HDFC Bank down by 0.94% and Infosys down by 0.89% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Crisil Ratings in its latest report has warned that India’s merchandise exports are likely to face strong headwinds due to uncertainty persists over India's trade negotiations with the United States (US) and concerns grow over further US tariffs on Russian crude oil purchases. It said in the near term, select agri-export segments, particularly tea and basmati rice, could face some pressure following the US decision to impose a 25% additional duty on any country doing business with Iran.

According to the report, India’s current account deficit (CAD) is expected to remain manageable, helped by a strong services trade surplus, steady remittance inflows and softer crude oil prices. It said the CAD is expected to be 1 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) in the current financial year, with a mild uptick, but still within the safe zone, to 1.6 per cent in the financial year 2026-27.

The report further said with the merchandise exports growth rate lagging imports, the merchandise trade deficit widened to $25 billion in December of 2025 from $20.6 billion in the corresponding period of the previous year, marking the sharpest trade gap for the month on record. In terms of destinations, India's merchandise exports to the US declined 1.85 per cent to $6.88 billion in December 2025 as compared to $7.01 billion in the corresponding period of the previous year, impacted by high tariffs imposed by the US. Exports to the rest of the world rose at a slower rate. However, the US remained India's top export destination, largely driven by smartphone shipments from India.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 25540.65, down by 153.70 points or 0.60% after trading in a range of 25504.85 and 25653.30. There were 21 stocks advancing against 29 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Interglobe Aviation up by 3.84%, Tech Mahindra up by 2.77%, Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 1.63%, Hindustan Unilever up by 1.33% and Maruti Suzuki up by 1.19%. On the flip side, Wipro down by 6.84%, ICICI Bank down by 3.32%, Tata Motors Passenger down by 3.08%, Reliance Industries down by 2.60% and Cipla down by 1.60% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mixed; Taiwan Weighted added 373.79 points or 1.18% to 31,782.49, Jakarta Composite gained 22.76 points or 0.25% to 9,098.17, Shanghai Composite strengthened 12.36 points or 0.3% to 4,114.27, KOSPI increased 61.16 points or 1.25% to 4,901.90.

On the flip side, Straits Times fell 21.66 points or 0.45% to 4,827.44 and Nikkei 225 slipped 516.17 points or 0.97% to 53,420.00 and Hang Seng declined 199.96 points or 0.74% to 26,645.00.