Indian equity markets extend losses in late afternoon session as investors took a cautious approach amid reports of ceasefire violations in West Asia. Iran accused the United States of violating elements of a two-week ceasefire agreement, raising concerns that tensions could escalate again and disrupt energy supplies. Further, Brent crude oil prices surged to trade near $98 a barrel, which weigh on market risk sentiments. Besides, persistent selling from foreign institutional investors (FIIs) have kept market participants on edge. FIIs were the sellers on Wednesday’s session, offloading securities worth Rs 2,811.97 crore. Meanwhile, traders braced themselves for upcoming Q4 earnings season, with Tata Consultancy Services releasing results later in the day.
On the global front, Asian equity markets were trading mostly in red, while European equity markets were trading lower amid rising fears that ceasefire in West Asia will not hold.
The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 76388.46, down by 1174.44 points or 1.51% after trading in a range of 76347.90 and 77429.33. There were 8 stocks advancing against 22 stocks declining on the index.
The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Capital Goods up by 1.22%, Metal up by 0.98%, Power up by 0.93%, Healthcare up by 0.47% and Utilities up by 0.42%, while Bankex down by 1.87%, Consumer Durables down by 0.92%, Auto down by 0.86%, Consumer Discretionary down by 0.81%, TECK down by 0.40% were the top losing indices on BSE.
The top gainers on the Sensex were Bharat Electronics up by 1.39%, Power Grid Corporation up by 0.97%, NTPC up by 0.90%, TCS up by 0.61% and Tech Mahindra up by 0.47%. On the flip side, Interglobe Aviation down by 3.72%, Larsen & Toubro down by 2.84%, HDFC Bank down by 2.55%, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 2.54% and Eternal down by 2.44% were the top losers.
Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in its latest industrial outlook survey of the manufacturing sector has said that manufacturing firms expect demand conditions to soften in Q1:2026-27 as reflected in their lower optimism regarding production, order books and capacity utilisation. Besides, in the quarter, cost pressures are also anticipated to remain elevated, with a partial pass-through onto consumers, while profit margins are likely to remain under strain.
The survey report further noted that manufacturers’ optimism on demand conditions moderated in Q4:2025-26 compared to the previous quarter, with weaker sentiments on production and exports amid the West Asia conflict. Besides, in Q4:2025-26, manufacturing firms reported increased cost pressures and some rise in selling prices with pressure on profit margins. Overall, the Business assessment index remained stable in Q4:2025-26.
Going forward, manufacturing firms expect demand conditions to improve during Q2 and Q3:2026-27, while input cost pressures are likely to persist, but the firms are optimistic about selling prices. Meanwhile, a total of 1,256 companies responded in this round of the survey conducted during January-March 2026.
The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 23697.15, down by 300.20 points or 1.25% after trading in a range of 23682.80 and 23990.75. There were 17 stocks advancing against 33 stocks declining on the index.
The top gainers on Nifty were Hindalco up by 2.98%, Dr. Reddy's Laboratories up by 1.58%, Bharat Electronics up by 1.35%, ONGC up by 1.30% and Max Healthcare Inst up by 1.23%. On the flip side, Interglobe Aviation down by 3.75%, Jio Financial Services down by 3.69%, Shriram Finance down by 3.06%, Larsen & Toubro down by 2.86% and HDFC Bank down by 2.60% were the top losers.
Asian equity markets were trading mostly in red; Nikkei 225 slipped 258.42 points or 0.46% to 56,050.00, Hang Seng declined 129.02 points or 0.5% to 25,764.00, KOSPI dropped 94.33 points or 1.63% to 5,778.01, Straits Times fell 18.46 points or 0.37% to 4,977.59 and Shanghai Composite weakened 28.83 points or 0.73% to 3,966.17, while Taiwan Weighted added 99.78 points or 0.29% to 34,861.16 and Jakarta Composite gained 14.18 points or 0.19% to 7,293.39.
European equity markets were trading lower; UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 39.6 points or 0.37% to 10,569.28, France’s CAC fell 67.37 points or 0.82% to 8,196.50 and Germany’s DAX lost 299.43 points or 1.24% to 23,781.20.
