Sensex, Nifty trade lower in early deals amid global sell-off

Indian equity benchmarks made flat-to-negative start on Wednesday tracking overnight losses on Wall Street as well as weakness in Asian counterparts as traders were cautious and remained reluctant to take major positions amid renewed concerns about a trade war between the U.S. and Europe over US President Donald Trump's efforts to take control of Greenland. Sensex and Nifty were trading lower with marginal cut in early deals as selling in mainly IT and Capital Goods stocks. Market participants remained worried over sustained fund outflows by foreign investors. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) net sold equities worth nearly Rs 3,000 crore on Tuesday. Some cautiousness also came as Indian rupee reached a new all-time low on Wednesday, highlighting continued pressure on the domestic currency amid challenging market conditions. However, downside remained capped as the government data showed that India’s eight key infrastructure sectors registered a four-month high growth rate of 3.7 per cent in December last year, driven by a jump in the output of fertiliser and cement.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 82052.48, down by 127.99 points or 0.16% after trading in a range of 81793.23 and 82282.25. There were 16 stocks advancing against 14 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index fell 0.70%, while Small cap index was down by 0.44%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 0.52%, Oil & Gas up by 0.37%, Energy up by 0.36%, Healthcare up by 0.12% and Telecom up by 0.12%, while IT down by 1.21%, Capital Goods down by 0.80%, Consumer Durables down by 0.80%, TECK down by 0.73% and Industrials down by 0.60% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Eternal up by 1.43%, Interglobe Aviation up by 1.32%, Sun Pharma up by 1.07%, Ultratech Cement up by 0.87% and Power Grid up by 0.73%. On the flip side, Bharat Electronics down by 1.50%, ICICI Bank down by 1.41%, Trent down by 1.16%, HCL Technologies down by 1.14% and Infosys down by 1.02% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Fitch Ratings has said the aggregate revenue for its rated corporates in India will rise by 6 per cent in FY27. It attributed expected rise in revenue to steady Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth in the country and improved consumer-spending outlook, following a comprehensive reduction in Goods and Services Tax (GST) rates. Though, it cautious that corporates may face some downside risks if additional US tariffs are imposed or in case of a sharp depreciation of the rupee.

Fitch has recently revised India's GDP growth forecast for FY26 to 7.4 per cent, from 6.9 per cent, and estimates annual growth of 6.4 per cent and 6.2 per cent over FY-27 and FY28, respectively. It anticipated that GDP growth and robust infrastructure spending to underpin healthy demand for cement and building materials, electricity, petroleum products, steel, and engineering and construction (E&C) companies during FY27.

The Indian corporates which are rated by Fitch generally have low direct exposure to the current US tariffs, but unaffected sectors, including pharmaceuticals, could be hit by further US tariff announcements. Direct effects on domestically focused sectors, such as oil and gas (upstream and downstream), cement and building materials, engineering and construction, telecom, and utilities, should be minimal, supported by local demand and regulatory stability.

It noted that potential additional tariffs, if sustained at levels significantly higher than in other Asian markets, could weigh on economic growth, affecting the operating performance of more Indian companies. It added the steel and chemicals sectors will face pricing pressure if US tariffs divert supply to other markets, including India.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 25199.45, down by 33.05 points or 0.13% after trading in a range of 25130.15 and 25277.75. There were 29 stocks advancing against 21 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Eternal up by 1.35%, Hindalco up by 1.24%, Interglobe Aviation up by 1.18%, JSW Steel up by 1.09% and HDFC Life Insurance up by 1.02%. On the flip side, Bharat Electronics down by 1.67%, ICICI Bank down by 1.51%, Trent down by 1.28%, Infosys down by 1.20% and Apollo Hospital down by 1.05% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Taiwan Weighted lost 420.46 points or 1.32% to 31,339.53, Nikkei 225 slipped 346.1 points or 0.65% to 52,645.00, Jakarta Composite fell 98.37 points or 1.08% to 9,036.33, KOSPI dropped 26.58 points or 0.54% to 4,859.17, Hang Seng declined 24.51 points or 0.09% to 26,463.00 and Straits Times was down by 15.52 points or 0.32% to 4,812.48, while Shanghai Composite was up by 6.45 points or 0.16% to 4,120.10.