Key indices continue to trade lower in morning deals

Indian equity benchmarks continued to trade lower in morning deals, as relentless foreign fund outflows and geopolitical tensions weighed on investors' sentiments. Foreign institutional investors offloaded equities worth Rs 3,262.82 crore on Monday, according to exchange data. Traders overlooked State Bank of India’s (SBI) research report stated that India is set to transition to 'upper-middle income' country in next four years in 2030, joining the ranks of China and Indonesia, and become the third largest economy even earlier in 2028. Sector-wise, power stocks remained in watch as Crisil Ratings said the share of thermal power in India's electricity generation is set to drop below 70 per cent for the first time next fiscal, driven by slower growth in power demand and a sharp rise in renewable energy (RE) output. On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green even as tensions continued to rise over U.S. President Donald Trump's push to take control of Greenland and impose tariffs on European countries who oppose his demand to take control of the country.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 82980.93, down by 265.25 points or 0.32% after trading in a range of 82812.32 and 83254.28. There were 7 stocks advancing against 23 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index fell 1.07%, while Small cap index was down by 1.02%.

The lone gaining sectoral index on the BSE was Utilities up by 0.18%, while Realty down by 2.16%, Capital Goods down by 1.25%, Consumer Discretionary down by 1.08%, IT down by 1.02% and Healthcare down by 1.00% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Hindustan Unilever up by 1.03%, NTPC up by 0.96%, Ultratech Cement up by 0.68%, Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 0.66% and SBI up by 0.42%. On the flip side, Bajaj Finance down by 2.68%, Eternal down by 2.20%, Bajaj Finserv down by 1.92%, Trent down by 1.72% and Tech Mahindra down by 1.65% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have unveiled plans for a strategic defence partnership and finalized an LNG pact, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi and UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan set a target of $200 billion in annual trade by 2032 while outlining a broad agenda to strengthen bilateral ties. In 2024-25, the volume of two-way trade between the two sides was $100 billion. 

Within the framework of their defence partnership, India and the UAE are eyeing defence industrial collaboration and cooperation in advanced technologies, cyberspace training, special operations, interoperability of their militaries and counter terrorism. Another deal was finalized in which Abu Dhabi National Oil Company Gas will supply 0.5 million metric tonnes of LNG annually to Hindustan Petroleum Corporation over a ten-year span starting from 2028.

The UAE is India's second-largest supplier of LNG to India after Qatar. Further, both sides also decided to explore collaboration in advanced nuclear technologies, including the development of large nuclear reactors and small modular reactors, along with cooperation in advanced reactor systems, nuclear power plant operations and maintenance and nuclear safety.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 25482.60, down by 102.90 points or 0.40% after trading in a range of 25432.60 and 25585.00. There were 10 stocks advancing against 40 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were NTPC up by 1.28%, Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 0.84%, Hindustan Unilever up by 0.76%, HDFC Life Insurance up by 0.26% and SBI up by 0.22%. On the flip side, Bajaj Finance down by 2.51%, Eternal down by 2.10%, Bajaj Finserv down by 1.82%, Apollo Hospital down by 1.75% and JIO Financial Services down by 1.69% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; Taiwan Weighted added 58.79 points or 0.19% to 31,698.08, Jakarta Composite gained 29.34 points or 0.32% to 9,163.21, KOSPI increased 23.50 points or 0.48% to 4,928.16, Hang Seng advanced 24.1 points or 0.09% to 26,588.00 and Straits Times rose 7.41 points or 0.15% to 4,842.29.

On the flip side, Nikkei 225 slipped 553.57 points or 1.03% to 53,030.00 and Shanghai Composite weakened 12.94 points or 0.31% to 4,101.06.