Post Session: Quick Review

Indian equity benchmarks failed to sustain their initial gains and ended in negative territory on Thursday, amid persistent geopolitical concerns and heightened uncertainty in global markets. Investors also remained focused on global interest-rate expectations, including the possibility of a US Federal Reserve rate hike. However, losses were limited after India raised a $127.23 billion in Foreign Currency Non-Resident (FCNR-B) deposits under the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) special USD-INR forex swap facility till August 31.

The BSE Sensex closed over half a percent lower as selling pressure dominated across key sectors. At the end, the index extended its losses amid pressure due to the weekly F&O expiry. Similarly, the Nifty 50 ended lower with marginal cut of 0.17% as losses in IT and auto heavyweight stocks weighed on market sentiment and kept the index under pressure. However, buying interest in banking heavyweights helped limit the downside and prevented index from falling further.

Some of the important factors in trade:

India records ‘remarkable growth’ of 7.8% in Q1FY27 despite global disruptions: Traders paid no heed to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s statement 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. 

Piyush Goyal calls for nationwide FTA utilisation drive to expand India’s global trade footprint: Traders overlooked that Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal called for a focused, inclusive and nationwide effort to maximise the utilisation of Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) to expand India’s trade across the world and ensure that the benefits of enhanced market access reach businesses across the country. 

India must review green finance to meet 100 GW nuclear capacity target by 2047: Traders took note of NITI Aayog Member Abhay Karandikar’s statement that India must urgently reassess its green finance frameworks and invest in developing a robust nuclear workforce to achieve its ambitious target of 100 gigawatt (GW) nuclear capacity by 2047.

On the global front: European stocks were trading mostly lower, as investors weighed renewed concerns over global inflation. Sentiments were also pressured by data showing weaker-than-expected growth in US private-sector employment. Asian markets closed mostly in the green, following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight, amid optimism over the outlook for interest rates.

The BSE Sensex ended at 76152.86, down by 417.49 points or 0.55% after trading in a range of 76152.86 and 76924.48. There were 9 stocks advancing against 21 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 2.39%, Capital Goods up by 0.95%, Industrials up by 0.75%, Power up by 0.46%, and Basic Materials up by 0.25% while, IT down by 1.00%, TECK down by 0.66%, Consumer Durables down by 0.61%, Auto down by 0.47% and FMCG down by 0.45% were the top losing indices on BSE. (Provisional)

The top gainers on the Sensex were Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone up by 1.75%, Axis Bank up by 1.28%, HDFC Bank up by 1.05%, Bharat Electronics up by 0.70% and Asian Paints up by 0.44%. On the flip side, Titan Company down by 1.56%, HCL Technologies down by 1.50%, Tech Mahindra down by 1.48%, ITC down by 1.26% and Mahindra & Mahindra down by 1.16% were the top losers. (Provisional)

Meanwhile, India’s services sector expanded further in the month of August, as demand conditions remained supportive and new business inflows continued to rise. Although growth of output and sales strengthened since July, rates of expansion were however still among the weakest seen in over four years. Firms nevertheless continued to hire, with job creation reaching a 15-month high, while price pressures picked up only modestly.

According to the survey report, the seasonally adjusted HSBC India Services PMI Business Activity Index rose to 54.1 in August from 53.3 in July. New business increased more quickly, helped by stronger customer demand and marketing initiatives. However, the pace of expansion was still the second-slowest in nearly four-and-a-half years, amid challenging market conditions and weaker client interest in selected services.

International demand continued to support growth. New export orders rose solidly and at a similar rate to July, with companies reporting gains from clients in markets including Australia, Brazil, Canada, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, Sri Lanka and the UAE. Even so, the upturn in export sales remained below the average seen over the past year. Outstanding business fell for the second month running, though only marginally. However, the HSBC India Composite PMI Output Index -- which measures both manufacturing and services -- remained unchanged at 54.3 in August, same reading as in July.

The CNX Nifty ended at 23873.45, down by 41.00 points or 0.17% after trading in a range of 23873.45 and 24025.40. There were 21 stocks advancing against 29 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The top gainers on Nifty were Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone up by 2.02%, Axis Bank up by 1.04%, HDFC Bank up by 0.83%, Tata Consumer Products up by 0.71% and Bharat Electronics up by 0.70%. On the flip side, Bajaj Auto down by 1.73%, Tech Mahindra down by 1.54%, Trent down by 1.29%, Cipla down by 1.28% and Mahindra & Mahindra down by 1.25% were the top losers. (Provisional)

European markets were trading mostly in red; France’s CAC fell 27.63 points or 0.33% to 8,253.00 and Germany’s DAX lost 6.13 points or 0.02% to 25,833.20, while UK’s FTSE 100 increased 13.45 points or 0.13% to 10,769.90.

Asian markets ended mixed on Thursday amid a weaker-than-expected US private-sector jobs data. A report released by payroll processor ADP has showed private sector employment rose by 38,000 jobs in August after climbing by an upwardly revised 46,000 jobs in July. Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump stated that renewed US attacks on Iran would likely be short-lived, helping ease concerns over a prolonged Middle East conflict, while falling Brent crude prices provided some relief regarding inflationary pressures. Chinese markets ended largely flat after the RatingDog China General Services PMI rebounded to 51.4 in August from 50.4 in July, though it was still the second-lowest reading ?in 14 months. Japanese markets declined marginally as the yen strengthened sharply, while traders weighed the possibility of further Japanese currency intervention against rising expectations for Bank of Japan rate hikes.