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Benchmarks continue weak trade in morning session
Mar-04-2026

Indian equity benchmarks continued their weak trade in morning session tracking a bearish trend in Asian markets, as the conflict in West Asia widened, driving oil prices higher. Sentiments remained down-beat as a survey showed India's services sector growth slowed in February as new business rose at its slowest pace in over a year and firms faced the steepest cost pressures in two-and-a-half years. The HSBC India Services Purchasing Managers' Index, compiled by S&P Global, fell to 58.1 in ‌February from ⁠January's 58.4, ⁠and undershot a preliminary estimate of 58.4. Traders also took a note of RBI data showed that India’s current account deficit (CAD) inched up to $13.2 billion, or 1.3 per cent of GDP, in the December quarter from $11.3 billion (1.1 per cent of GDP) in the year-ago period, mainly due to higher trade deficit. On the global front, Asian markets were trading lower as a broadening Middle East conflict threatened global fuel trade, sending oil prices soaring and fueling inflation and interest-rate worries.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 78860.68, down by 1378.17 points or 1.72% after trading in a range of 78443.20 and 78928.92. There were 4 stocks advancing against 26 stocks declining on the index.

The lone gaining sectoral index on the BSE was IT up by 0.12%, while Metal down by 3.76%, Realty down by 3.22%, Basic Materials down by 3.20%, Industrials down by 2.83% and Consumer Durables down by 2.78% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Infosys up by 1.38%, Tech Mahindra up by 0.46%, Bharat Electronics up by 0.46% and Bharti Airtel up by 0.01%. On the flip side, Larsen & Toubro down by 6.38%, Tata Steel down by 5.97%, Interglobe Aviation down by 4.59%, Ultratech Cement down by 4.18% and Titan Company down by 3.29% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) in its latest report has said that the cumulative gross revenue of telecom service providers (TSPs) surpassed Rs 1 lakh crore mark in the December 2025 quarter to Rs 1.02 lakh crore. This is an increase from Rs 96,390 crore in December 2024 quarter and Rs 99,828 crore in the September 2025 quarter.

Further, it stated the adjusted gross revenue (AGR) grew by 8.13 per cent on a year-over-year basis to Rs 84,270 crore in the December 2025 quarter, from Rs 77,934 crore in the corresponding quarter a year earlier.  The AGR is derived from the sale of telecom services and government levies, including licence fees and spectrum usage charges.

In the December 2025 quarter, access service providers such as Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, and Vodafone Idea accounted for 84.54% of the overall AGR. As per the performance indicator report, for the September 2025 quarter, Reliance Jio topped the list with AGR of Rs 31,767.11 crore. It was followed by Bharti Airtel with an AGR of Rs 28,497.45 crore, Vodafone Idea with Rs 8,176.62 crore. 

Moreover, it said state-run BSNL, which has turned profitable, has reported a decline of 12.61 per cent year-over-year in AGR to Rs 2,003.48 crore. BSNL's sister concern MTNL posted about a 75 per cent decline in AGR on a year-on-year basis to Rs 37.77 crore.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 24419.05, down by 446.65 points or 1.80% after trading in a range of 24305.40 and 24476.95. There were 5 stocks advancing against 45 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Coal India up by 2.25%, Infosys up by 1.29%, Tech Mahindra up by 0.39%, Bharat Electronics up by 0.34% and Bharti Airtel up by 0.05%. On the flip side, Larsen & Toubro down by 6.44%, Tata Steel down by 5.80%, Shriram Finance down by 5.39%, Interglobe Aviation down by 4.60% and Ultratech Cement down by 4.24% were the top losers.

All Asian markets were trading lower; Nikkei 225 slipped 2289.05 points or 4.07% to 53,990.00, Taiwan Weighted lost 1409.95 points or 4.11% to 32,913.70, Jakarta Composite plunged 333.74 points or 4.2% to 7,606.03, Shanghai Composite weakened 66.16 points or 1.6% to 4,056.52, KOSPI dropped 579.86 points or 10.01% to 5,212.05, Hang Seng declined 760.08 points or 2.95% to 25,008.00 and Straits Times fell 112.13 points or 2.28% to 4,804.52. 
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