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Key gauges end lower amid rising crude oil prices
Sep-30-2026

Indian equity benchmarks ended lower on Wednesday, extending losses for the third straight day, as firm crude oil prices, elevated global bond yields and foreign fund outflows made investors jittery. Exchange data showed foreign institutional investors (FIIs) continued their selling spree, offloading equities worth Rs 9,980.22 crore on Tuesday.

Both Sensex and Nifty ended in red, but the indices showed a divergence in losses. The BSE Sensex was ended with minor cuts, weighed down by weakness in Healthcare, Consumer Durables and Metal stocks. Gains in Realty, Banking and Telecom shares helped offset some of the pressure.  Similarly, the Nifty 50 was settled with losses of around half percent weighed down by selling in healthcare stocks such as Apollo Hospitals Enterprise and Max Healthcare Institute, following concerns raised by the Supreme Court over high medicine mark-ups at corporate hospitals.

Some of the important factors in trade: 

Indian corporate credit strong in H1FY27 despite conflict: Rating agency Ind-Ra said Indian companies' credit profile -- a detailed account of a business's borrowing history, financial health, and repayment reliability-- remained strong in the first half of 2026-27 fiscal year despite energy shock from West Asia conflict.

India-New Zealand trade pact boosts Agri, Food exports: The Trade Promotion Council of India (TPCI) said the free trade agreement between India and New Zealand, which will come into force from October 20, will give a major boost to domestic farm products and processed food sectors. 

CII Chief urges Indian businesses to capitalise on India-UK FTA opportunities: Narayan Sethuramon, chair of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) Trade Policy Council, has said that the implementation of the India-UK Free Trade Agreement (FTA) marks a great achievement in opening up markets and urged Indian businesses to capitalise on this ‘time-bound’ opportunity.

MoSPI’s ISP shows 17 out of 19 sub-sectors record positive growth in July: The Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation (MoSPI) has released Index of Services Production (ISP) for July 2026, which shown that 17 out of the 19 sub-sectors recorded positive growth, while 10 sub-sector recorded double-digit growth during the same period. 

RBI committee recommends 11.2% increase in WMA limit for states: In view of growing size of states budget, a Reserve Bank of India (RBI) committee recommended raising the aggregate Ways and Means Advances (WMA) limit for states to meet temporary cash mismatch by 11.2 per cent to Rs 67,839 crore. 

Global front: European markets were trading mostly in red even as revised data from the Office for National Statistics showed the UK economy expanded more than estimated in the second quarter. Gross domestic product posted a quarterly growth of 0.5 percent in the June quarter, which was revised up from 0.4 percent. Asian markets settled mostly higher despite overnight losses on Wall Street. 

Finally, the BSE Sensex fell 48.78 points or 0.07% to 72,480.29 and the CNX Nifty was down by 95.75 points or 0.42% to 22,620.45.

The BSE Sensex touched high and low of 73,062.23 and 72,366.44, respectively. There were 13 stocks advancing against 17 stocks declining on the index. 

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 1.42%, Bankex up by 0.68%, Telecom up by 0.54%, Utilities up by 0.38% and Auto up by 0.19%, while Healthcare down by 2.35%, Consumer Durables down by 1.43%, Metal down by 1.24%, Basic Materials down by 0.54% and FMCG down by 0.35% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 2.86%, ICICI Bank up by 2.31%, Interglobe Aviation up by 2.05%, Axis Bank up by 1.41% and Ultratech Cement up by 1.18%. On the flip side, Eternal down by 2.31%, Sun Pharma down by 2.15%, Titan Company down by 2.01%, Adani Ports &SEZ down by 1.76% and Tata Steel down by 1.76% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, with an aim to fast-track the trade pact process, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, on the sidelines of the annual meeting of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), held meetings with Qatar’s finance and foreign trade ministers to discuss the early conclusion of the Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) and continued engagement towards a Free Trade Agreement (FTA). Sitharaman met Qatar’s Finance Minister Ali bin Ahmed Al Kuwari, with discussions focusing on the expansion of India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) system in Qatar and the finalisation of the BIT.

During her meeting with Qatar’s Minister of State for Foreign Trade Ahmad bin Mohammed Al-Sayed, Sitharaman conveyed that India attaches high importance to deepening trade and investment ties with Qatar. She emphasised the need to restore normal trade between India and Qatar, as well as with other Gulf countries, including ensuring unimpeded maritime navigation and commerce through the Strait of Hormuz. The two sides also discussed the implementation of Qatar’s $10 billion investment commitment and the establishment of a Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) office in India. They further discussed the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement as a strengthened framework to provide greater certainty for trade, investment and taxation.

Separately, Sitharaman addressed a business roundtable organised by the Qatari Businessmen Association (QBA), where the Indian side highlighted the country’s strong structural growth momentum. Real GDP growth accelerated to 7.8 per cent in the first quarter of FY26, while investment grew by 11.9 per cent, underscoring the resilience of the Indian economy amid global uncertainty. During the interaction, she discussed emerging economic opportunities in both countries and encouraged Qatari businesses to actively explore trade and investment partnerships, with a view to further strengthening bilateral economic ties.

CNX Nifty touched high and low of 22,809.35 and 22,595.20, respectively. There were 17 stocks advancing against 32 stocks declining, while 1 stock remained unchanged on the index.  

 The top gainers on Nifty were Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 2.71%, Interglobe Aviation up by 2.30%, ICICI Bank up by 2.28%, Ultratech Cement up by 1.17% and Shriram Finance up by 1.15%. On the flip side, Apollo Hospital down by 5.70%, Max Healthcare down by 5.33%, BSE down by 3.38%, Nestle India down by 2.65% and Sun Pharma down by 2.60% were the top losers.

European markets were trading mostly in red; France’s CAC fell 49.77 points or 0.62% to 7,986.10 and Germany’s DAX lost 32.61 points or 0.13% to 25,366.60, while UK’s FTSE 100 increased 13.4 points or 0.13% to 10,650.11.

Asian markets settled mostly higher on Wednesday, despite overnight losses on Wall Street following ongoing Middle East tensions and elevated US Treasury yields that reached fresh multi-decade highs. China's Shanghai Composite Index rose as upbeat PMI data and fresh policy support strengthened confidence in China's economic outlook, while the country prepared for its annual National Day Golden Week holiday running from October 1 to 7, 2026. Moreover, Japanese market gained as technology shares led the rebound. Moreover, Japanese market gained as technology shares led the rebound.

Asian Indices

Last Trade            

Change in Points

Change in %      

Shanghai Composite

3,842.20

11.74

0.31

Hang Seng

24,613.27

89.70

0.37

Jakarta Composite

6,071.14

-50.56

-0.83

KLSE Composite

1,651.17

7.21

0.44

Nikkei 225

66,753.72

1,272.45

1.94

Straits Times

5,675.88

-38.96

-0.68

KOSPI Composite

6,838.04

-32.77

-0.48

Taiwan Weighted

47,940.13

308.17

0.65
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