Key gauges continue to trade lower in morning deals

Indian equity benchmarks continued to trade lower in morning deals, weighed down by persistent geopolitical uncertainty and elevated crude oil prices amid a lack of progress towards ending the Iran war. Traders took a note of the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) preliminary data showed that India’s current account deficit stood at $6.2 billion in June from a surplus of $1.2 billion in the year-ago month. The current account deficit was primarily driven by a widening merchandise trade deficit, which rose to $30.2 billion in June 2026 from $19.2 billion a year earlier.

Both Sensex and Nifty remained in the red during morning trading, with broad-based selling in heavyweight stocks. IT majors Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services and HCL Technologies emerged as the biggest laggards on both indices. Meanwhile, exchange data showed that Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 508.12 crore on Friday.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green amid easing concerns about the potential for an increase in interest rates after data from the US showed a significant deterioration in U.S. consumer sentiment in August and an unexpected decline in U.S. retail sales in July. 

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 77566.34, down by 442.91 points or 0.57% after trading in a range of 77545.99 and 77928.68. There were 1 stock advancing against 29 stocks declining on the index.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Capital Goods up by 0.54% and Industrials up by 0.07%, while IT down by 1.35%, TECK down by 1.03%, Realty down by 0.88%, Utilities down by 0.81% and Bankex down by 0.75% were the losing indices on BSE.

The lone gainer on the Sensex was Bharat Electronics up by 0.49%. On the flip side, Infosys down by 1.46%, TCS down by 1.44%, Hindustan Unilever down by 1.43%, HCL Technologies down by 1.40% and State Bank of India down by 1.19% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the Commerce Ministry, in its latest data, has shown that Europe emerged as the top destination for Indian electric motor car exports in the first quarter of 2026-27 (Q1FY27), with Spain becoming the largest market. Exports to Spain rose to $146.4 million, accounting for nearly 40% of India’s total exports under this category. A total of 4,007 electric vehicles were shipped to Spain during the quarter, making it the single largest destination by both value and volume.  

The United Kingdom (UK) emerged as the second-largest market, recording imports worth $78.7 million compared with almost negligible shipments in the corresponding quarter of the previous year. Several other European economies also witnessed strong growth in imports of Indian electric vehicles. Exports to Germany reached $25.1 million, followed by Norway ($21.1 million) and Denmark ($21 million). Additional demand came from Belgium ($12.9 million), the Netherlands ($12 million), Greece ($3.8 million), Italy ($2.7 million), Sweden ($2.1 million), and Poland ($1.6 million).

Besides, the data showed that India’s exports of electric motor cars surged in Q1FY27, with export earnings rising sharply to $369 million from $22.2 million a year earlier, while shipments jumped to 10,802 vehicles from 1,309 units, reflecting growing global competitiveness of India’s electric mobility industry. The growth reflects the rising international acceptance of India-manufactured electric vehicles (EVs) and the country’s emergence as a key manufacturing hub for sustainable mobility solutions.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 24260.45, down by 105.55 points or 0.43% after trading in a range of 24249.95 and 24357.60. There were 12 stocks advancing against 38 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were HDFC Life Insurance up by 0.95%, Hindalco Industries up by 0.68%, Titan Company up by 0.43%, Bharat Electronics up by 0.39% and ONGC up by 0.32%. On the flip side, TCS down by 1.52%, Infosys down by 1.51%, HCL Technologies down by 1.45%, Wipro down by 1.33% and State Bank of India down by 1.26% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; Nikkei 225 surged 206.2 points or 0.3% to 68,920.00, Taiwan Weighted added 183.75 points or 0.4% to 45,994.76, Shanghai Composite strengthened 33.83 points or 0.86% to 3,961.01 and Hang Seng advanced 412.15 points or 1.64% to 25,529.00. On the flip side, Straits Times fell 21.33 points or 0.37% to 5,722.26.