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Sensex, Nifty trade in red amid weak global cues
Nov-18-2025

Indian equity benchmarks made flat-to-positive start on Tuesday but soon slipped below neutral lines amid weak global cues, as concerns persist over tech valuations. Sensex and Nifty were trading in red in early deals amid selling in all the sector indices, except banking. Traders were concerned as the government data showed that India's exports contracted 11.80 per cent to $34.38 billion in October on account of the impact of high tariffs by the US, while the trade deficit widened to a record high of $41.68 billion, mainly due to a jump in gold imports. However, downside remained limited as traders took note of the government data showing that the rate of unemployment for those aged 15 and above remained steady at 5.2 per cent in October.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading deeply in red, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight, amid ongoing concerns about the market valuation, especially among technology shares, and the diminishing prospects of an interest rate cut by the US Fed next month. 

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 84767.74, down by 183.21 points or 0.22% after trading in a range of 84658.00 and 85042.41. There were 7 stocks advancing against 23 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index fell 0.50%, while Small cap index was down by 0.56%.

The sole gaining sectoral index on the BSE was Bankex up by 0.02%, while Realty down by 1.08%, Metal down by 0.85%, IT down by 0.85%, Basic Materials down by 0.62% and FMCG down by 0.44% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Bharti Airtel up by 0.89%, Bharat Electronics up by 0.66%, Axis Bank up by 0.61%, Eternal up by 0.53% and Adani Ports & SEZ up by 0.24%. On the flip side, Bajaj Finance down by 0.90%, Tech Mahindra down by 0.90%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 0.82%, HCL Technologies down by 0.82% and Infosys down by 0.76% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) in its Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) has said that the rate of unemployment for those aged 15 and above remained steady at 5.2 per cent in October. The unemployment rate (UR) was 5.2 per cent in September, 5.1 per cent in August, 5.2 per cent in July and 5.6 per cent in May and June. The UR was 5.1 per cent in April as per the first PLFS bulletin released in May 2025. 

The data showed that a marginal decline in the rural unemployment rate, from 4.6 per cent in September 2025 to 4.4 per cent in October 2025, coupled with a moderate rise in urban UR from 6.8 per cent to 7.0 per cent, resulted in overall stability in the pace of joblessness among persons aged 15 years and above. It stated that UR among females aged 15 years and above declined to 5.4 per cent in October 2025 from 5.5 per cent observed during September 2025.

The drop in UR among rural female, from 4.3 per cent in September 2025 to 4.0 per cent in October 2025, mainly contributed towards the decline in overall female joblessness rate. Among males, the rate of unemployment remained stable at 5.1 per cent in October 2025 as compared to previous month. A minor decrease in rural male UR, from 4.7 per cent in September 2025 to 4.6 per cent in October 2025, was offset by a slight uptick in urban male UR from 6.0 per cent to 6.1 per cent during the same period, which contributed to overall stability.

The overall Worker Population Ratio (WPR) in October 2025 was 52.5 per cent, which is consistently rising since June 2025. Rise in the female workforce in rural areas has brought about this increase. Overall WPR among females of 15 years and older increased steadily for the fourth month in a row, rising from 30.2 per cent in June 2025 to 32.4 per cent in October 2025. The female workforce in rural areas has increased consistently for four months, reaching 36.9 per cent in October 2025 from 33.6 per cent in June 2025.

The overall LFPR (labour force participation rate) among persons of age 15 years and above continued to increase for the four successive months to 55.4 per cent in October 2025 from 54.2 per cent recorded in June 2025. LFPR in rural areas also increased steadily from 56.1 per cent observed in June 2025 to 57.8 per cent in October 2025. Overall LFPR reached a six-month high of 55.4 per cent in October 2025. The overall LFPR among female aged 15 years and above reached 34.2 per cent in October 2025, marking the highest since May 2025, driven by the increase in female LFPR in rural areas. Overall female LFPR showed an increasing trend from 32.0 per cent in June 2025 to 34.2 per cent in October 2025.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 25952.05, down by 61.40 points or 0.24% after trading in a range of 25930.15 and 26029.85. There were 14 stocks advancing against 36 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Max Healthcare Inst up by 0.98%, Bharat Electronics up by 0.88%, Bharti Airtel up by 0.78%, Axis Bank up by 0.64% and Bajaj Auto up by 0.44%. On the flip side, Hindalco down by 1.18%, Infosys down by 0.98%, Tech Mahindra down by 0.98%, Bajaj Finserv down by 0.94% and Bajaj Finance down by 0.92% were the top losers.

All Asian markets are trading lower; Nikkei 225 slipped 1499.91 points or 2.98% to 48,824.00, Taiwan Weighted lost 528 points or 1.96% to 26,919.31, Hang Seng declined 361.28 points or 1.39% to 26,023.00, KOSPI dropped 104.40 points or 2.62% to 3,984.85, Shanghai Composite weakened 22.2 points or 0.56% to 3,949.83, Jakarta Composite fell 19.45 points or 0.23% to 8,397.43 and Straits Times was down by 19.39 points or 0.43% to 4,524.20.
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