Benchmarks likely to make positive start amid strong global cues

Indian equity markets are likely to make a positive start on Thursday, tracking strong cues from global markets after US President Donald Trump indicated that the latest strikes on Iran would be ‘short-lived’ and said the US maintains crucial control over the Strait of Hormuz. Sentiments may also remain upbeat as foreign institutional investors (FIIs) remained net buyers, purchasing equities worth Rs 6,688.37crore on Wednesday. Traders will adopt a wait-and-watch approach ahead of the release of the final HSBC Composite PMI data later in the day.

Some of the key factors to be watched:

India records remarkable growth of 7.8% in Q1 despite global disruptions: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that India recorded a ‘remarkable growth’ of 7.8 per cent in the first quarter of fiscal year 2026-27 despite global disruptions, and against all odds, remains the fastest-growing major economy in the world.

India is in talks with certain countries for partnerships on critical minerals processing, development: Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said India is in talks with certain countries to enhance collaboration and partnerships for processing and development of critical minerals as per its requirements.

India, Canada strengthen dialogue, eye economic partnership: India and Canada held a key dialogue during which the two sides reaffirmed their shared commitment to conclude the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement negotiations before the end of the year.

India needs green finance, skilled workforce for 100 GW Nuclear: NITI Aayog Member Abhay Karandikar said India must urgently review its green finance frameworks and invest in developing a robust nuclear workforce to achieve its ambitious target of 100 GW nuclear capacity by 2047.

Banks mobilise $127.23 billion in deposits from Indian diaspora: India attracted a whopping $127.23 billion in Foreign Currency Non-Resident (FCNR-B) deposits under the Reserve Bank's special USD-INR forex swap facility till August 31, the closing date, which was advanced by a month following a robust response from the Indian diaspora.

Global front: The US markets ended higher on Wednesday, supported by value buying at lower levels after three consecutive sessions of losses. Asian markets are trading mostly higher on Thursday, following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight.

Back home, Indian equity benchmarks extended their losing streak to a third consecutive session on Wednesday following a bearish trend in global equities and higher oil prices due to escalating conflict in West Asia. Traders overlooked the exchange data showing that Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) returned to buying Indian equities on September 1, recording net purchases of Rs 1,143.38 crore. Finally, the BSE Sensex fell 373.93 points or 0.49% to 76,570.35 and the CNX Nifty was down by 141.35 points or 0.59% to 23,914.45. 

Some of the important factors in trade:

India's current account deficit widens to $4.2 billion or 0.5% of GDP in Q1FY27: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in its latest data has showed that India's current account deficit (CAD) widened to $4.2 billion, or 0.5 per cent of GDP in Q1FY27 from $3.4 billion, or 0.4 per cent of GDP, in the corresponding quarter of the previous year.

DGFT automates certification process to promote ease of doing business for exporters: With an aim to make export procedures simpler and more efficient, the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) has introduced automated issuance of Free Sale and Commerce Certificates (FSC) through its portal. 

India’s ER&D sector likely to generate over $100 billion in revenue by 2030: IT industry body Nasscom, in its report has said that India’s engineering research and development (ER&D) sector is expected to generate more than $100 billion in revenue by 2030, driven by the integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) into core engineering workflows.