Bourses continue sluggish trade in morning session

Indian equity markets continued their sluggish trade in morning session following weak global market cues, as investors remain cautious after the fresh escalation in the US-Iran war and subsequent rising in crude oil prices. Foreign fund outflows along with the renewed fears of interest rate hike by the US Federal Reserve also dented investors' sentiment. Traders remained cautious as the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) in its quick estimates has shown that industrial growth fell to 6.7 percent in the month of July 2026 (Base 2022-23=100) from a revised growth of 8.8 percent in June 2026 amid contraction in mining activity and slowdown in manufacturing growth. 

Both Sensex and Nifty were trading over half percent down during morning deals, with broad-based selling in heavyweight stocks. Metal stocks were the weakest, followed by IT and Basic Materials counters. However, gains in Telecom stocks helped cushion the decline. On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in red following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street on Friday. Market sentiment was soured on renewed US-Iran tensions after US forces struck two Iranian rocket launchers near the Strait of Hormuz over the weekend. 

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 76859.64, down by 404.87 points or 0.52% after trading in a range of 76784.85 and 77177.27. There was 1 stock advancing against 29 stocks declining on the index.

The lone gaining sectoral index on the BSE was Telecom up by 0.55%, while Metal down by 1.92%, IT down by 1.50%, Basic Materials down by 1.45%, Capital Goods down by 1.28% and Realty down by 1.26% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The lone gainer on the Sensex was HDFC Bank up by 1.44%. On the flip side, Infosys down by 2.28%, Tata Steel down by 2.12%, Interglobe Aviation down by 1.74%, Bajaj Finance down by 1.72% and Adani Ports &SEZ down by 1.60% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the Commerce Ministry has said that Argentina has committed to easing barriers to facilitate entry of Indian pharmaceutical sector in the South American nation. The move is expected to provide greater opportunities for Indian pharmaceutical companies and contribute to improving access to quality and affordable healthcare in Argentina.

It stated ‘Argentina has committed to work towards upgrading India from Annex II to Annex I under its pharmaceutical regulatory framework and reducing barriers to entry.’ The issue came up for discussions during the visit of Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agarwal to Buenos Aires. 

He was in the country for the India-Argentina Joint Trade Committee (JTC), which was held on August 24, 2026 at Palacio San Martín, Buenos Aires. Bilateral trade between India and Argentina crossed $6.5 billion in 2025, registering consistent annual growth of over 17 per cent.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 24008.05, down by 167.60 points or 0.69% after trading in a range of 24004.70 and 24128.70. There were 6 stocks advancing against 44 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were HDFC Bank up by 1.15%, Coal India up by 1.03%, ONGC up by 0.66%, Bajaj Auto up by 0.66% and Apollo Hospital up by 0.50%. On the flip side, Adani Enterprises down by 3.02%, Hindalco Industries down by 2.64%, Bajaj Finance down by 2.19%, Infosys down by 2.19% and Tata Steel down by 2.12% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Nikkei 225 slipped 274.56 points or 0.41% to 66,131.00, Taiwan Weighted lost 583.57 points or 1.26% to 45,747.88, Jakarta Composite plunged 2.42 points or 0.04% to 6,515.70, Shanghai Composite weakened 4.05 points or 0.1% to 3,948.13, KOSPI dropped 21.70 points or 0.32% to 6,767.18 and Hang Seng declined 150.79 points or 0.59% to 25,434.00.

On the flip side, Straits Times rose 29.94 points or 0.53% to 5,729.87.