Domestic equity indices maintained their gains in late morning trade, supported by buying from funds and retail investors. Sentiments got boost as Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman expressed hope that the India-US trade agreement would be concluded at the earliest, in the interest of global trade and bilateral economic ties between the two countries. Besides, support also came in as India’s merchandise exports rose by 23.05 per cent to $44.40 billion in September 2026 as compared to $36.08 billion in September 2025.
Both Sensex and Nifty were trading higher, gaining around half a percent, driven by buying in stocks of Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys, Tech Mahindra, Bharti Airtel, HDFC Bank. On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green following the positive cues from US markets overnight.
The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 74650.92, up by 335.31 points or 0.45% after trading in a range of 74012.99 and 74778.78. There were 15 stocks advancing against 15 stocks declining on the index.
The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were TECK up by 2.51%, IT up by 2.43%, Telecom up by 1.56%, Metal up by 1.14% and Auto up by 0.82% while, FMCG down by 0.65%, Energy down by 0.60%, Oil & Gas down by 0.35%, Bankex down by 0.27% and Healthcare down by 0.23% were the losing indices on BSE.
The top gainers on the Sensex were Tech Mahindra up by 7.53%, Infosys up by 3.73%, TCS up by 3.22%, Bharti Airtel up by 2.55% and Mahindra & Mahindra up by 2.52%. On the flip side, Reliance Industries down by 1.31%, ITC down by 1.06%, Asian Paints down by 0.86%, ICICI Bank down by 0.78% and Hindustan Unilever down by 0.78% were the top losers.
Meanwhile, the commerce ministry in its latest data has showed that India’s merchandise exports rose by 23.05 per cent to $44.40 billion in September 2026 as compared to $36.08 billion in September 2025, driven by healthy growth in shipments of petroleum products, electronic goods and chemicals. Merchandise imports grew by 8 per cent year-on-year to $74.61 billion in September 2026, up from $69.08 billion in September 2025. Trade deficit (difference between imports and exports) narrowed to $30.21 billion in September 2026 as against $33 billion in September 2025, due to a dip in imports of precious metals. Trade deficit stood at $26.86 billion in August 2026.
According to the data, merchandise exports during April-September 2026-27 were $259.89 billion as compared to $219.30 billion during April-September 2025-26. Merchandise imports during April-September 2026-27 were $437.53 billion as compared to $376.17 billion during April-September 2025-26. Merchandise trade deficit during April-September 2026-27 was $177.64 billion as compared to $156.88 billion during April-September 2025-26.
Non-petroleum and non-gems & jewellery exports in September 2026 were $34.81 billion compared to $28.53 billion in September 2025. Non-petroleum and non-gems & jewellery exports in April-September 2026-27 were $203.41 billion, compared to $175.06 billion in April-September 2025-26. Non-petroleum, non-gems & jewellery (gold, silver & precious metals) imports in September 2026 were $51.64 billion compared to $42.33 billion in September 2025. Non-petroleum, non-gems & jewellery (gold, silver & precious metals) imports in April-September 2026-27 were $292.88 billion, compared to $244.67 billion in April-September 2025-26.
The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 23117.50, up by 120.15 points or 0.52% after trading in a range of 22913.80 and 23149.85. There were 27 stocks advancing against 23 stocks declining on the index.
The top gainers on Nifty were Tech Mahindra up by 6.97%, Infosys up by 3.77%, TCS up by 3.35%, Bharti Airtel up by 2.43% and Mahindra & Mahindra up by 2.09%. On the flip side, BSE down by 2.19%, Nestle India down by 1.59%, HDFC Life Insurance down by 1.29%, Tata Consumer down by 1.14% and Max Healthcare down by 1.10% were the top losers.
Asian markets were trading mostly in green; Nikkei 225 surged 1218.05 points or 1.89% to 65,644.00, Taiwan Weighted added 212.65 points or 0.45% to 47,182.52, Shanghai Composite strengthened 10.18 points or 0.27% to 3,717.66, KOSPI increased 182.67 points or 3.29% to 5,736.89, Hang Seng advanced 222.28 points or 0.92% to 24,285.00 and Straits Times rose 29.94 points or 0.55% to 5,433.44. However, Jakarta Composite plunged 630.78 points or 12.05% to 5,233.00.
