Indian equity markets continued to trade lower in late afternoon session as inconclusive U.S. jobs data added more uncertainty about Federal Reserve’s December rate cut. Though the data showed a rise in non-farm payroll employment by 119,000 jobs in September after a revised dip of 4,000 jobs in August, the unemployment rate crept up to 4.4 percent in September from 4.3 percent in August. The unemployment rate was expected to remain unchanged. Besides, traders remained cautious after India’s flash Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) data report showed that India's private sector activity expanded at its slowest pace in six months in November. On the global front, all Asian and European equity markets were trading lower tracking overnight losses from Wall Street. 

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 85507.65, down by 125.03 points or 0.15% after trading in a range of 85195.07 and 85609.40. There were 17 stocks advancing against 13 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index declined 0.89%, while Small cap index was down by 0.85%.

The few gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Auto up by 0.24%, FMCG up by 0.11% and TECK up by 0.09%, while Metal down by 1.52%, Realty down by 1.46%, Capital Goods down by 1.41%, Industrials down by 1.05% and Basic Materials down by 0.87% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Maruti Suzuki up by 1.52%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.06%, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles up by 0.90%, Asian Paints up by 0.86% and Infosys up by 0.85%. On the flip side, HCL Technologies down by 2.20%, Tata Steel down by 1.88%, Bajaj Finance down by 1.84%, Bharat Electronics down by 1.25% and Bajaj Finserv down by 1.18% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, India’s flash Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) data report has showed that India's private sector activity expanded at its slowest pace in six months in November. The HSBC Flash India Composite Output Index - a seasonally adjusted index that measures the month-on-month change in the combined output of India's manufacturing and service sectors - fell to 59.9 in November 2025 from 60.4 in October 2025. The HSBC Flash India Manufacturing PMI – a weighted average of the New Orders, Output, Employment, Suppliers’ Delivery Times and Stocks of Purchases indices – fell from 59.2 in October to 57.4 in November, indicating the slowest improvement in the health of the sector for nine months. The current figure nevertheless stayed above its long-run average.

According to the report, the slowdown in growth reflected a softer increase in factory production, one that was the weakest since May. Some manufacturers reported subdued intakes of new business in November. Concurrently, the latest rise in services activity was faster than that recorded in the previous month.  The rate of growth in new export orders among goods producers matched that seen in October, while service providers experienced a mild loss of growth momentum. At the composite level, international sales rose at a marked pace that was the weakest since March. 

Besides, the report stated that Indian private sector companies signalled an absence of capacity pressures for the second month in a row, with outstanding business volumes decreasing further during November. Only marginal declines were noted at both manufacturing and services firms, however. The combination of slower sales growth and falling backlogs reportedly stymied job creation across India's private sector midway through the third fiscal quarter. The latest increase in employment was the forty-second in consecutive months, but the least marked in over a year-and-a-half. Rates of expansion eased at manufacturing firms and their services counterparts.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 26150.60, down by 41.55 points or 0.16% after trading in a range of 26055.95 and 26179.20. There were 24 stocks advancing against 26 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Maruti Suzuki up by 1.57%, Interglobe Aviation up by 1.46%, Max Healthcare Institute up by 1.23%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.03% and Tata Consumer Produc up by 1.01%. On the flip side, Hindalco down by 2.28%, HCL Technologies down by 2.22%, Tata Steel down by 1.93%, Bajaj Finance down by 1.85% and JSW Steel down by 1.45% were the top losers.

All Asian equity markets were trading lower; Nikkei 225 slipped 1140.94 points or 2.34% to 48,683.00, Taiwan Weighted lost 991.42 points or 3.75% to 26,434.94, Hang Seng declined 646.57 points or 2.57% to 25,189.00, KOSPI dropped 151.59 points or 3.93% to 3,853.26, Straits Times fell 42.28 points or 0.94% to 4,469.59, Shanghai Composite weakened 96.16 points or 2.51% to 3,834.89 and Jakarta Composite plunged 49.93 points or 0.6% to 8,369.99.

All European equity markets were trading lower; UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 39.44 points or 0.41% to 9,488.21, France’s CAC fell 21.57 points or 0.27% to 7,959.50 and Germany’s DAX lost 134.85 points or 0.58% to 23,144.00.