Indian equity benchmarks made flat-to-positive start on Monday but failed to hold on their gains and slipped below neutral lines amid lingering global concerns surrounding the AI trade, with investors also awaiting the release of key domestic inflation data later this week. Traders turned concerned as FIIs sold Rs 25 lakh worth of capital market assets across the exchanges during the Muhurat Trading session, ending their six-day buying streak in Indian equities.
Sensex and Nifty were trading lower in early deals as investors booked some of their profits after seven-day winning streak. Selling pressure in Telecom, TECK and IT stocks also weighed on market sentiments. Some cautiousness came as the RBI said that India's forex reserves dropped by $2.691 billion to $717.06 billion during the week ended October 30.
On the global front, Asian markets were trading higher after artificial intelligence stocks recovered some ground lost in last week’s sell-offs. Meanwhile, China’s annual inflation rate eased to 0.7% in October 2026 from 0.9% in the prior month.
The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 80824.26, down by 175.14 points or 0.22% after trading in a range of 80654.05 and 81339.41. There were 5 stocks advancing against 25 stocks declining on the index.
The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Healthcare up by 1.12%, PSU up by 0.57%, Bankex up by 0.50% and Oil & Gas up by 0.01%, while Telecom down by 2.16%, TECK down by 1.50%, IT down by 1.37%, Metal down by 0.97% and Basic Materials down by 0.89% were the top losing indices on BSE.
The top gainers on the Sensex were State Bank of India up by 2.17%, HDFC Bank up by 0.87%, ICICI Bank up by 0.52%, Interglobe Aviation up by 0.51% and Sun Pharma up by 0.26%. On the flip side, HCL Technologies down by 2.08%, Infosys down by 1.66%, Bharti Airtel down by 1.62%, Ultratech Cement down by 1.39% and Power Grid down by 1.38% were the top losers.
Meanwhile, with higher central assistance and improved fiscal flexibility, Crisil Ratings in its report has said that States' capital expenditure is expected to increase 10-12 per cent to about Rs 8.5 lakh crore in FY27. The report estimates that they will achieve around 84 per cent of their aggregate budgeted capital outlay, compared with 82 per cent in the previous fiscal year. Capital outlay growth is expected to surpass the 8.6 per cent recorded last fiscal year, supported by a 33 per cent increase in allocation under the Special Assistance to States for Capital Investment (SASCI) scheme to Rs 2 lakh crore. The scheme, introduced in FY21, provides states with 50-year interest-free loans over and above their normal borrowing limits.
Anuj Sethi, Senior Director at Crisil Ratings said “Higher SASCI support gives states additional room to invest without drawing on their normal borrowing limits. The scheme has demonstrated strong utilisation, which should help translate this funding into capital spending”. Revenue receipts are expected to grow around 0.75 per cent faster than revenue expenditure, supported by GST collections and tax devolution from the Centre, which will help keeping the absolute revenue deficit broadly stable.
Capital outlay grew 8.8 per cent year-on-year in the first five months of the fiscal year, even as SASCI disbursements had reached only around 25 per cent of the budgeted allocation by September 2026. Spending is expected to gather pace in the second half as tied allocations are released. It said urban infrastructure, particularly water supply, sanitation, housing and urban development, is expected to register high double-digit growth, supported by higher state allocations and central schemes.
Transport, primarily roads and bridges, will remain the largest component, accounting for around one-fourth of aggregate capital outlay, with growth expected in the high single digits. Irrigation spending, however, is likely to grow at a low single-digit rate due to lower allocations by some states and a high base. Crisil said timely fulfilment of SASCI-linked conditions and efficient fund utilisation would be critical to achieving the spending targets. Higher borrowing costs, weaker revenue growth and increased welfare expenditure could also constrain states' capital spending. The projections assume nominal GSDP growth of about 13 per cent in the current fiscal, against 8.9 per cent in the previous fiscal.
The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 24924.90, down by 61.50 points or 0.25% after trading in a range of 24874.85 and 25084.05. There were 14 stocks advancing against 36 stocks declining on the index.
The top gainers on Nifty were State Bank of India up by 2.77%, Dr. Reddy's Labs up by 1.04%, HDFC Bank up by 0.97%, ICICI Bank up by 0.92% and Apollo Hospital up by 0.88%. On the flip side, HCL Technologies down by 2.01%, Bharti Airtel down by 1.78%, Hindalco Industries down by 1.70%, Infosys down by 1.59% and Tata Steel down by 1.43% were the top losers.
Asian markets were trading in green; Taiwan Weighted jumped 2357.78 points or 5.94% to 42,059.42, Nikkei 225 surged 1815.23 points or 3.16% to 59,250.00, KOSPI increased 55.78 points or 1.1% to 5,115.47, Jakarta Composite gained 30.34 points or 0.6% to 5,080.77, Hang Seng advanced 25.14 points or 0.1% to 24,507.00 and Shanghai Composite strengthened 16.76 points or 0.46% to 3,665.94.