Domestic equity indices remained under heavy pressure in late morning deals as market participants continued to reduce their positions. Weak global cues and higher crude oil prices dampened sentiments in the domestic market. Crude oil prices rose as tensions between the U.S. and Iran continued to simmer after Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian blamed the U.S. and Israel for stoking global instability. Further, a depreciating rupee, which slipped 17 paise to trade at 95.90 against the US dollar, made traders more nervous.
Both the Sensex and Nifty were trading around one per cent lower, weighed down by selling in index heavyweights such as Reliance Industries, Bharti Airtel, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank and Larsen & Toubro. On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in red, following negative cues from US markets overnight, amid uncertainty in the resolution of the Middle East conflict and the reopening of the critical Strait of Hormuz.
The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 74151.23, down by 677.02 points or 0.90% after trading in a range of 74054.15 and 74362.29. There were 4 stocks advancing against 26 stocks declining on the index.
The only gaining sectoral index on the BSE was Realty up by 0.50%, while Bankex down by 1.59%, Metal down by 1.00%, Telecom down by 0.97%, Energy down by 0.76% and Basic Materials down by 0.65% were the top losing indices on BSE.
The few gainers on the Sensex were Tech Mahindra up by 0.58%, Titan Company up by 0.56%, TCS up by 0.41%, HCL Technologies up by 0.14% and Sun Pharma up by 0.05%. On the flip side, Bajaj Finance down by 4.30%, Axis Bank down by 4.00%, Bajaj Finserv down by 3.09%, Interglobe Aviation down by 1.64% and Larsen & Toubro down by 1.32% were the top losers.
Meanwhile, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in its Interim Economic Outlook has raised India's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth forecast for the current fiscal year 2026-27 (FY27) by 80 basis points to 7.1 per cent, up from 6.3 per cent projected in June. It said this upward revision is driven by resilient domestic demand and government policies that have helped cushion households and firms from the impact of elevated energy prices.
The Paris-based inter-governmental body said structural policy reforms that enhance the ability of economies to cope with supply side disruptions are also a key priority for governments at the current juncture. It said ‘despite recent strong momentum, reduced purchasing power is also expected to weaken growth in India through the second half of this year, before a gradual recovery takes place in 2027.’ On the annual basis, it said India’s growth is expected to moderate from 7.8% in FY26 to 7.1% in FY27 and further to 6.5% in FY28.
Among emerging-market economies, the OECD expects India to temporarily raise policy rates to help offset stronger inflationary pressures. In some emerging market economies, such as India, government price support measures are mitigating energy price pressures and will continue to do so in the near-term. The OECD projects India’s inflation to average 4.7 per cent in 2026. At the global level, it said economic prospects remain ‘heavily dependent’ on whether a durable resolution to the Middle East conflict is achieved.
The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 23216.95, down by 229.85 points or 0.98% after trading in a range of 23196.45 and 23281.95. There were 8 stocks advancing against 42 stocks declining on the index.
The top gainers on Nifty were Sun Pharma up by 0.27%, Bharat Electronics up by 0.27%, Tech Mahindra up by 0.22%, NTPC up by 0.18% and Cipla up by 0.12%. On the flip side, HDFC Life Insurance down by 5.08%, Bajaj Finance down by 4.70%, Axis Bank down by 3.72%, Bajaj Finserv down by 3.18% and Hindalco Industries down by 1.84% were the top losers.
Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Taiwan Weighted lost 132.69 points or 0.28% to 48,024.60, Jakarta Composite plunged 67.8 points or 1.07% to 6,307.11, Shanghai Composite weakened 35.94 points or 0.91% to 3,900.58, Hang Seng declined 125.12 points or 0.5% to 24,709.00 and Straits Times fell 4.8 points or 0.08% to 5,705.11. However, Nikkei 225 surged 766.05 points or 1.18% to 65,785.00.
