Indian equity benchmarks trimmed some losses but continued to trade lower in morning deals, after the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) raised repo rates by 25 basis points (bps) to 5.50% against 5.25% earlier, first increase since February 2023. This comes amid rising inflation, higher oil prices, and a weaker rupee. MPC also changed its stance to 'calibrated tightening' from 'neutral' and also underscored that rate cut is unlikely in the near term given the current conditions. Besides, losses remain capped as traders took some support with the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) in its latest edition of Manufacturing Survey stated that India's manufacturing sentiment improved in the July-September quarter of fiscal year 2026-27 (Q2FY27) as factories reported higher capacity utilisation and higher or same levels of production as compared to the previous quarter.
Both indices remained in the red during morning deals, with Sensex losing over 0.25% and Nifty was trading down by over 0.30%, with broad-based selling in heavyweight stocks. Consumer Durables sector was leading the losers, followed by Metal and Auto counters. However, gains in Telecom stocks helped to cushion the decline.
On the global front, Asian markets were trading in red amid persistent risks to Middle East energy flows after Iran increased the pace of attacks on tankers in the Strait of Hormuz in recent days as well as the conflict between Saudi Arabia and Iran-backed Houthi forces in Yemen.
The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 72881.35, down by 186.46 points or 0.26% after trading in a range of 72520.73 and 72969.57. There were 2 stocks advancing against 28 stocks declining on the index.
The few gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Telecom up by 0.56% and Bankex up by 0.11%, while Consumer Durables down by 1.37%, Metal down by 1.17%, Auto down by 0.78%, Basic Materials down by 0.76% and Oil & Gas down by 0.63% were the top losing indices on BSE.
The top gainers on the Sensex were Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 1.68% and Bharti Airtel up by 0.61%. On the flip side, Titan Company down by 3.65%, Bharat Electronics down by 1.78%, Asian Paints down by 1.71%, Ultratech Cement down by 1.37% and Bajaj Finserv down by 1.25% were the top losers.
Meanwhile, the World Bank in its latest report titled 'India and Artificial Intelligence: Seizing the Development Opportunity', has said that India is among the top 10 leading emerging-market performers in artificial intelligence (AI) readiness and is well positioned to harness the technology, supported by its large technical workforce, globally connected IT industry and digital public infrastructure.
It stated private investment in AI in India more than tripled, rising from $1.2 billion in 2024 to $4.1 billion in 2025. At the same time, the number of professionals employed by Global Capability Centres (GCCs) rose to 2.36 million in 2025 from 1.9 million a year ago. However, it mentioned that the long-term economic and labour market impact of AI remains uncertain.
It called for cross-cutting policy measures to strengthen AI-enabling infrastructure, improve the business environment, broaden access to AI and enhance labour capacity so that the benefits of the technology are widely shared.
The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 22697.90, down by 78.20 points or 0.34% after trading in a range of 22578.25 and 22701.60. There were 8 stocks advancing against 42 stocks declining on the index.
The top gainers on Nifty were Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 1.75%, Bajaj Finance up by 0.88%, Dr. Reddy's Labs. up by 0.68%, Coal India up by 0.30% and State Bank f India up by 0.29%. On the flip side, Titan Company down by 3.68%, Hindalco Industries down by 1.88%, Bajaj Auto down by 1.67%, Bharat Electronics down by 1.61% and JSW Steel down by 1.37% were the top losers.
Asian markets were trading in red; Nikkei 225 slipped 513.98 points or 0.73% to 70,170.00, Taiwan Weighted lost 20.18 points or 0.04% to 49,802.37, Jakarta Composite plunged 32.37 points or 0.53% to 6,160.56, KOSPI dropped 96.60 points or 1.41% to 6,844.79, Hang Seng declined 160.56 points or 0.67% to 24,120.00 and Straits Times fell 81.27 points or 1.45% to 5,620.27.
