Indian markets continued to trade lower in early afternoon session amid sustained selling in IT sector stocks. Besides, traders turned their focused towards India’s inflation data, which is due later in a day. Traders took note of Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) latest report showing that India's outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) commitments declined marginally by 0.78% to $3417.88 million in January 2026 as against $3444.68 million in January 2025, impacted by fall in equity investments. Sector wise, insurance stocks remained in limelight as DPIIT under the Commerce and Industry Ministry has notified 100 per cent foreign direct investment (FDI) in the insurance sector following the enactment of legislation in this regard.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green as producer prices in Japan were up 0.2 percent on month in January. In line with expectations and up from 0.1 percent in December.  On a yearly basis, producer prices rose 2.3 percent - again matching forecasts while moderating from 2.4 percent in the previous month. 

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 83783.03, down by 450.61 points or 0.53% after trading in a range of 83690.95 and 84061.62. There were 11 stocks advancing against 19 stocks declining on the index.

The few gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Industrials up by 0.13%, Metal up by 0.06% and Consumer Durables was up by 0.06%, while IT down by 4.39%, TECK down by 2.97%, Realty down by 1.25%, Oil & Gas down by 1.05% and Energy was down by 0.98% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Bajaj Finance up by 1.89%, ICICI Bank up by 1.18%, SBI up by 1.10%, Trent up by 0.86% and Tata Steel up by 0.53%. On the flip side, Infosys down by 4.99%, TCS down by 4.81%, Tech Mahindra down by 4.27%, HCL Tech down by 3.70% and Hindustan Unilever down by 2.62% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, at a time when India advancing towards becoming a developed nation, Union Minister for Heavy Industries and Steel HD Kumaraswamy has pointed that the auto component industry will play a central role in shaping next-generation supply chains. He noted that innovation in areas such as electronics, power electronics, light, lightweight materials and intelligent systems will be key to maintaining global competitiveness. He assured that the government remains committed to providing a stable policy environment, encouraging technology adoption and working closely with industry stakeholders to support scale, quality and exports.

He highlighted that the government is driving with a clear objective of enabling the Indian manufacturers to participate and lead the global value chains. He mentioned that India's automotive industry stands among the fastest-growing in the world. He said that vehicle production has increased from 28.4 million units in 2023-24 to nearly 31 million units in 2024-25 while exports have grown from 4.5 million to over 5.3 million vehicles during the same period.

Besides, he said the government is providing support to the automotive sector by bringing in various initiatives, including rare earth manufacturing and creation of corridors for the same. He added that Union Budget has announced around Rs 13,000 crore for the enhancement of construction and infrastructure equipment, reinforcing India's capabilities in heavy engineering, infrastructure development, and complementing demand-side measures. Further, the deal with the European Union is focused on addressing non-tariff barriers, regulatory cooperation and standard alignment, particularly in emissions sustainability and advanced and automotive technologies. He also pointed that the recent India-US trade agreement will provide preferential access for select automotive components in US.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 25836.60, down by 117.25 points or 0.45% after trading in a range of 25806.50 and 25906.70. There were 18 stocks advancing against 32 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Shriram Finance up by 2.48%, Bajaj Finance up by 2.12%, Eicher Motors up by 1.76%, ICICI Bank up by 1.29% and Trent up by 1.28%. On the flip side, TCS down by 4.84%, Infosys down by 4.78%, Wipro down by 4.49%, Tech Mahindra down by 4.14% and HCL Tech down by 3.31% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; Nikkei 225 surged 230.46 points or 0.4% to 57,881.00, KOSPI increased 167.78 points or 3.04% to 5,522.27, Straits Times rose 29.83 points or 0.6% to 5,014.41 and Shanghai Composite was up by 2.03 points or 0.05% to 4,134.02. On the flip side, Jakarta Composite plunged 38.64 points or 0.47% to 8,252.33 and Hang Seng was down by 252.38 points or 0.93% to 27,014.00.