Markets remain under pressure in late morning deals

Domestic equity indices remained under pressure and were trading lower with cut of around half percent in late morning deals owing to selling by funds and retail investors. Meanwhile, the broader markets were facing the heat of selling; the BSE mid-cap index dropped by 1.18 per cent and the small-cap index was down 1.34 per cent. A depreciating rupee, which slipped 13 paise to trade at 91.03 against the US dollar, made traders more nervous. Further, traders were cautious on account of relentless selling by foreign investors and a resurgence of global trade tensions. Traders overlooked report that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) raised India’s FY26 growth estimate to 7.3%, from 6.6% projected earlier, citing a better-than expected performance in the third quarter and strong momentum in the fourth quarter.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green despite the broadly negative cues from European markets and lack of cues from US markets overnight. Back home, all the sectoral indices on the BSE were trading in red led by Realty, Capital Goods, IT, Consumer Disc and Energy.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 82893.34, down by 352.84 points or 0.42% 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 was down by 1.18%, while Small cap index down by 1.34%.

The top losing sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty down by 2.77%, Capital Goods down by 1.27%, IT down by 1.26%, Consumer Disc down by 1.25% and Energy down by 1.23%, while there were no gainers on the sectoral indices. 

The top gainers on the Sensex were Hindustan Unilever up by 0.49%, Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 0.37%, NTPC up by 0.32%, ICICI Bank up by 0.32% and HDFC Bank up by 0.20%. On the flip side, Bajaj Finance down by 2.82%, Tech Mahindra down by 1.92%, Bajaj Finserv down by 1.86%, Interglobe Aviation down by 1.75% and Eternal down by 1.74% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has increased India's Gross domestic product (GDP) growth forecast for the fiscal year 2025-26 (FY26) by 0.7 percentage point to 7.3 percent from its October projection. This upward revision is attributed to the better-than-expected outturn in the third quarter of the year and strong momentum in the fourth quarter. 

In its World Economic Outlook (WEO), IMF has also revised India's growth projection to 6.4 per cent for the next fiscal year (FY27), from its earlier estimate of 6.2 per cent. It also expects growth to settle around 6.4 percent in FY28 as cyclical and temporary factors wane. 

Talking on inflation, IMF said it is expected to go back to near target levels after a marked decline in 2025 driven by subdued food prices. The Reserve Bank has a target to maintain consumer price index (CPI) based headline inflation at 4 per cent, with a margin of 2 per cent on the either side. 

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 25453.90, down by 131.60 points or 0.51% after trading in a range of 25432.60 and 25585.00. There were 11 stocks advancing against 39 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Dr. Reddy's Lab up by 0.83%, Hindustan Unilever up by 0.48%, Hindalco up by 0.45%, NTPC up by 0.41% and ICICI Bank up by 0.34%. On the flip side, Bajaj Finance down by 2.55%, Coal India down by 2.15%, Eternal down by 1.95%, Apollo Hospital Ent. down by 1.88% and Interglobe Aviation down by 1.84% were the top losers. 

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; Jakarta Composite gained 21.54 points or 0.24% to 9,155.41, Shanghai Composite strengthened 2.75 points or 0.07% to 4,116.75, KOSPI increased 12.49 points or 0.25% to 4,917.15, Hang Seng advanced 79.1 points or 0.3% to 26,643.00, Taiwan Weighted added 97.3 points or 0.31% to 31,736.59 and Straits Times rose 2.1 points or 0.04% to 4,836.98. However, Nikkei 225 slipped 472.57 points or 0.88% to 53,111.00.