Indian equity benchmarks extended losses in morning deals, dragged by weak global market trends. Traders remained cautious as data released by S&P Global showed the HSBC Flash India Composite Output Index, which measures the combined performance of India’s manufacturing and services sectors, fell to 59.9 in November from 60.4 in October, marking a six-month low. Traders overlooked report by Moody's Ratings stating that India is set to lead economic growth among emerging markets in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region excluding Greater China. It projected India's gross domestic product (GDP) growth at 7% in 2025 and 6.4% in 2026, supported by strong domestic demand amid global uncertainty. It maintained a stable outlook for the region for 2026. On the global front, Asian markets are trading lower as traders further scaled down their expectations for another U.S. Fed interest rate cut in December after the long-delayed US jobs report for September showed an unexpected uptick in unemployment rate, with job growth far exceeded economist estimates. 

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 85263.91, down by 368.77 points or 0.43% after trading in a range of 85195.07 and 85609.40. There were 8 stocks advancing against 22 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index fell 0.90%, while Small cap index was down by 1.04%.

The lone gaining sectoral indices on the BSE was Auto up by 0.19%, while Metal down by 1.46%, Capital Goods down by 1.24%, Realty down by 1.12%, Industrials down by 1.07% and Basic Materials down by 1.06% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.43%, Maruti Suzuki up by 0.64%, Tata Motors Passenger up by 0.36%, Titan Company up by 0.15% and Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 0.14%. On the flip side, Tata Steel down by 1.42%, Adani Ports &SEZ down by 1.28%, Eternal down by 1.17%, Bajaj Finance down by 1.17% and ICICI Bank down by 1.14% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Niti Aayog member Ramesh Chand has said that India's agriculture sector can easily maintain a 4 per cent growth rate over the next 10 years, and the country needs to enhance its warehouse infrastructure. Chand said agricultural products' demand will grow at 2.5 per cent. India's agriculture sector recorded a growth rate of 3.7 per cent during the first quarter of 2025-26. He stated ‘But our agricultural products' demand is not rising at that rate. So, either use these products for industry or tap the export market. I feel tapping the export market is a much better option.’ It stated warehousing requirements for rice and wheat are not different, but in the case of maize, it is different.

He noted that regulations are important in influencing investment decisions in warehousing, if the law of the land is that people cannot store more than a certain quantity. He pointed out ‘After we did not succeed in implementing three farm laws, the need to invoke the Essential Commodities Act has now been lesser and lesser. He also said that contrary to public perception, food losses (agricultural commodities loss) are not high in India.

He pointed out ‘I shared that in the UN conference, that in milk, our loss is only 0.5 per cent, and that is the most perishable commodity anyway. Noting that a large component of the current food losses is preventable, he said that there is a big incentive for investment in warehouses, as the more you prevent the losses, the higher the incentive for making an investment in warehouses. He also emphasised that warehousing is needed to sustain buffer stocks, along with maintaining inter-year and intra-year price stability of food, as it constitutes a major portion of household consumption expenditure.

India has emerged as the world’s second-largest producer of agricultural commodities and the eighth-largest exporter, with food grain output touching a record 354 million tonnes in 2024-25. As production is set to rise to nearly 368 million tonnes by 2030-31, strengthening scientific storage and post-harvest systems is a necessity for safeguarding food security, boosting farmer incomes, and cutting avoidable losses.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 26076.15, down by 116.00 points or 0.44% after trading in a range of 26055.95 and 26174.00. There were 12 stocks advancing against 38 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.27%, Eicher Motors up by 0.79%, Maruti Suzuki up by 0.76%, Tata Motors Passenger up by 0.25% and TCS up by 0.20%. On the flip side, Hindalco down by 2.39%, Tata Steel down by 1.48%, JSW Steel down by 1.31%, Adani Ports &SEZ down by 1.31% and ICICI Bank down by 1.16% were the top losers.

All Asian markets are trading lower; Nikkei 225 slipped 1107.94 points or 2.22% to 48,716.00, Taiwan Weighted lost 960.29 points or 3.5% to 26,466.07, Jakarta Composite plunged 20.58 points or 0.25% to 8,399.34, Shanghai Composite weakened 63 points or 1.6% to 3,868.05, KOSPI dropped 146.31 points or 3.65% to 3,858.54, Hang Seng declined 413.57 points or 1.6% to 25,422.00 and Straits Times fell 42.53 points or 0.94% to 4,469.34.