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Indices continue to trade under deep pressure in late morning deals
Mar-04-2026

Domestic equity indices continued to trade under deep pressure in late morning deals amid an escalating war in the Middle East. Meanwhile, the price of crude oil has continued to spike in response to the conflict, raising worries that the jump in prices will lead to higher inflation. Supply concerns were also worsened by the attacks on several oil refineries, including Saudi Aramco's oil facility in Ras Tanura, as well as the closure of the Strait of Hormuz by Iran. Further, sentiments were also weak as the government data showed that Index of Industrial Production (IIP) recorded a 4.8% year-on-year growth in January 2026, which is lower than 7.8% (Quick Estimate) growth in the month of December 2025.  All the sectoral indices on the BSE were trading in red led by Metal, Realty, Basic Materials, Industrials and Consumer Durables.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading in red following weak cues from the US markets overnight. Back home, in the stock specific development, Hindustan Aeronautics fell despite the company has secured contract worth Rs 5,083 crore from Ministry of Defence for supplying Advanced Light Helicopters to the Indian Coast Guard.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 78789.24, down by 1449.61 points or 1.81% after trading in a range of 78443.20 and 79016.30. There were 3 stocks advancing against 27 stocks declining on the index.

The top losing sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal down by 4.30%, Realty down by 3.66%, Basic Materials down by 3.60%, Industrials down by 3.40% and Consumer Durables down by 2.95%, while there were gainers on sectoral indices. 

The few gainers on the Sensex were Infosys up by 1.08%, Bharti Airtel up by 0.52% and Tech Mahindra up by 0.05%. On the flip side, Tata Steel down by 7.33%, Larsen & Toubro down by 6.41%, Ultratech Cement down by 4.77%, Interglobe Aviation down by 4.27% and Titan down by 3.27% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the data released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has showed that India’s current account deficit (CAD) edged up to $13.2 billion or 1.3% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), in the December quarter of FY26 (Q3FY26) from $11.3 billion or 1.1% of GDP in the year-ago period. The CAD widened mainly due to higher trade deficit.

On the merchandise front, the country’s trade deficit has grown 18% to $93.6 billion during Q3FY26 from $79.3 billion in the same quarter last year. Meanwhile, net services receipts have increased by 12.3% to $57.5 billion in Q3FY26 as compared to $51.2 billion in same quarter last year. The services exports have risen on a year-on-year basis in major categories such as computer services and other business services. Further, net outgo on the primary income account, mainly reflecting payments of investment income, has declined 25.61% to $12.2 billion during Q3FY26 as compared to $16.4 billion in year ago period.

However, the CAD has moderated to $30.1 billion or 1% of GDP during in April-December 2025, from $36.6 billion or 1.3% of GDP in the same period a year ago. During the April-December 2025 period, the country’s net foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows rose four-fold to $3.0 billion from $ 0.6 billion in during the same period last year. However, the FPI recorded net outflows of $4.3 billion in April-December 2025 period as against net inflows of $9.4 billion a year ago. Further, the foreign exchange reserves depleted by $30.8 billion (on a BoP basis) during the April-December 2025 period as compared with a depletion of $13.8 billion in the same period last year.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 24393.30, down by 472.40 points or 1.90% after trading in a range of 24305.40 and 24476.95. There were 3 stocks advancing against 47 stocks declining on the index.

The few gainers on Nifty were Coal India up by 2.05%, Infosys up by 1.02% and Bharti Airtel up by 0.47%. On the flip side, Tata Steel down by 7.42%, Larsen & Toubro down by 6.39%, Shriram Finance down by 4.97%, Ultratech Cement down by 4.80% and Interglobe Aviation down by 4.29% were the top losers.

All Asian markets were trading lower; Nikkei 225 slipped 2134.05 points or 3.79% to 54,145.00, Taiwan Weighted lost 1436.85 points or 4.37% to 32,886.80, Jakarta Composite plunged 343.19 points or 4.52% to 7,596.58, Shanghai Composite weakened 45.88 points or 1.11% to 4,076.80, KOSPI dropped 574.18 points or 9.91% to 5,217.73, Hang Seng declined 704.08 points or 2.73% to 25,064.00 and Straits Times fell 135.37 points or 2.75% to 4,781.28.
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