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Key gauges trade flat with negative bias in morning deals
Sep-15-2026

Indian equity benchmarks erased all of their initial gains and were trading flat with negative bias in morning deals, as soaring crude oil prices fueled global inflation concerns and indicated an imminent interest rate hike from the US Fed this week. Traders remained cautious as the government data showed India’s retail inflation rose to 4.82 per cent in August, driven by costly onions and other food items, a trend the RBI will have to factor in when its rate-setting panel meets early next month. Some concern also came as an another government data showed wholesale price-based inflation inched up to 9.92 per cent in August from 9.78 per cent in July, mainly due to rising prices of food, fuel and manufactured items. The August inflation print is the second highest in the new WPI series with 2022-23 as the base year. On the global front, Asian markets were trading in red following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight, as traders remain concerned about the uncertainty in the Middle East conflict. 

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 74756.54, down by 25.22 points or 0.03% after trading in a range of 74690.15 and 75436.44. There were 9 stocks advancing against 21 stocks declining on the index.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were IT up by 3.88%, TECK up by 2.31%, FMCG up by 0.28% and Oil & Gas up by 0.12%, while Capital Goods down by 2.03%, Realty down by 1.83%, Industrials down by 1.82%, Power down by 1.57% and Basic Materials down by 1.19% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were HCL Technologies up by 5.69%, Tech Mahindra up by 4.49%, Infosys up by 4.14%, TCS up by 3.86% and HDFC Bank up by 2.80%. On the flip side, Bharat Electronics down by 3.03%, Interglobe Aviation down by 1.67%, Bajaj Finserv down by 1.64%, ICICI Bank down by 1.64% and NTPC down by 1.55% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Retail inflation, measured by the All India Consumer Price Index (CPI) with the base year 2024, rose to 4.82% (Provisional) in August 2026 from 4.45% (Final) in July 2026, largely driven by higher food prices. August inflation numbers are the highest since the new series, with base year 2024, took effect in January. The CPI reading remained above the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI's) medium-term inflation target of 4%. RBI is mandated to maintain headline retail inflation at 4%, while allowing it to move within a tolerance band of 2% to 6%, for the five-year period from April 1, 2026, to March 31, 2031. Meanwhile, CPI inflation for Rural and Urban rose to 5.23% and 4.31% in August 2026, from 4.84% and 3.96% in July 2026, respectively. Moreover, the index value for CPI for rural, urban and combined stood at 109.27, 108.07 and 108.74, respectively, for the month of August 2026.

Food inflation, measured by the Consumer Food Price Index (CFPI), jumped to 5.95% (Provisional) for August 2026 as compared to 5.52% (Final) in July 2026. Corresponding inflation rates for rural and urban stood at 6.13% and 5.64%, respectively in August 2026, as compared to 5.79% and 5.05%, respectively in July 2026. Index value for CFPI for rural, urban and combined stood at 110.70, 110.72 and 110.71, respectively, for August 2026. 

Top five key items with high inflation at All India combined level in August 2026 were Silver Jewellery at 107.11% as against 109.89% in July 2026, Ginger at 73.82% in August 2026 as against 83.57% in July 2026, Onion at 48.27% in August 2026 as against 22.54% in July 2026, Garlic at 43.60% in August 2026 as against 35.36% in July 2026, and Gold/Diamond/Platinum Jewellery at 35.53% in August 2026 as against 32.98% in July 2026.

Top five key items with low inflation at All India combined level in August 2026 were Tomato at (-)31.09% as against (-)4.60% in July 2026, Potato at (-)13.14% in August 2026 as against (-)16.56% in July 2026, Motor car and jeep at (-)6.72% in August 2026 as against (-)6.72% in July 2026, Lady's finger at (-)5.41% in August 2026 as against (-)5.50% in July 2026, and Parwal/patal and Kundru at (-)3.60% in August 2026 as against (-)0.78% in July 2026.

Moreover, inflation in Food and beverages increased to 5.66% in August 2026 from 5.24% in July 2026, inflation in Transport rose to 4.60% in August 2026 from 4.43% in July 2026, inflation in Restaurants and accommodation services surged to 8.38% in August 2026 from 7.72% in July 2026, inflation in Clothing and footwear increased to 3.56% in August 2026 from 3.38% in July 2026. Also, inflation in Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels inched up to 2.61% in August 2026 from 2.16% in July 2026.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 23371.40, down by 26.70 points or 0.11% after trading in a range of 23351.45 and 23592.85. There were 14 stocks advancing against 36 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were HCL Technologies up by 6.04%, Tech Mahindra up by 4.99%, Infosys up by 4.64%, TCS up by 4.48% and Tata Motors Passenger up by 4.04%. On the flip side, Shriram Finance down by 2.99%, Bharat Electronics down by 2.78%, Larsen & Toubro down by 2.00%, Grasim Industries down by 1.96% and Ultratech Cement down by 1.89% were the top losers.

All the Asian markets were trading in red; Nikkei 225 slipped 180.99 points or 0.29% to 63,312.00, Taiwan Weighted lost 179.28 points or 0.39% to 45,683.24, Jakarta Composite plunged 49.77 points or 0.76% to 6,484.92, Shanghai Composite weakened 7.44 points or 0.19% to 3,877.89, KOSPI dropped 76.86 points or 1.15% to 6,607.51, Hang Seng declined 130.6 points or 0.52% to 24,787.00 and Straits Times fell 58.19 points or 1.02% to 5,659.83. 
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