Indian equity markets are likely to make a negative start on Thursday amid weak global cues, as concerns over further US rate hikes intensified following data showing that inflation rose faster than expected in the US. Sentiment may remain downbeat as foreign institutional investors (FIIs) continued their selling streak, offloading equities worth Rs 1,857.44 crore on Wednesday.
Some of the key factors to be watched:
India, Canada talks gaining momentum, to conclude CEPA negotiations this year: Canada’s Minister of International Trade Maninder Sidhu on Wednesday said that trade talks between Ottawa and New Delhi are ‘gaining momentum’ and the negotiations on the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) will conclude this year.
Jaishankar meets Georgian counterpart in Abu Dhabi, discusses trade, connectivity and regional developments: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met his Georgian counterpart Maka Botchorishvili in Abu Dhabi and discussed ways to deepen bilateral cooperation in areas including business, connectivity and culture.
India, US ironing out differences on trade deal: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said that India and the US are continuing to engage to iron out differences on the proposed trade deal, and negotiations are heading towards a ‘landing point’, while noting that the core fundamentals of the bilateral strategic partnership remain unchanged.
Govt to roll out BS-VII emission norms for new cars and SUVs from April 2029: The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) is planning to roll out stricter BS-VII emission standards for new cars and SUVs from April 1, 2029.
India working to rebuild ties with China: Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said that India is working to rebuild its relations with China, but the last word on this journey has not yet been scripted. He also said India is open to joint ventures with any country, provided it gets a fair deal.
On the global front: The US markets ended in red on Wednesday, as hotter-than-expected consumer inflation strengthened expectations of more aggressive Federal Reserve rate hikes. Asian markets were trading lower on Thursday following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight.
Back home, Indian equity benchmarks closed lower on Wednesday amid profit-taking after a sharp rally in the previous session, as a spike in wholesale price-based inflation and firm crude oil prices hit investor sentiment. Continued foreign outflows also added pressure to Indian equities. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) remained net sellers, offloading equities worth Rs 1,305.13 crore on Tuesday. Finally, the BSE Sensex fell 251.89 points or 0.34% to 72,781.89 and the CNX Nifty was down by 99.25 points or 0.44% to 22,622.70.
Some of the important factors in trade:
Wholesale inflationary pressures intensify in India in September: India's wholesale price index (WPI) inflation rose significantly in the month of September 2026 to 11.39 per cent, as compared to 9.92 per cent in August 2026, due to a sharp rise in fuel and power, food and manufactured product prices.
India, Canada discuss advancing trade pact talks: Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said that India and Canada have discussed advancing negotiations for the proposed trade pact to provide deeper market access for each other's goods and services.
RBI to continue efforts to curb rupee volatility: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that the RBI will continue its efforts to prevent excessive volatility in the rupee, which has depreciated ‘very significantly’ over the past year and a half.
