Indian equity markets continued to trade below neutral lines in late afternoon session dragged by heavyweights like Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services, Reliance Industries and HDFC Bank. Besides, heavy selling among the IT sector stocks, amid concerns of new AI tool threating their existing business model, has weighed on investors’ sentiments. Further, the stronger-than-expected U.S. jobs report has dented hopes for Federal Reserve rate cuts in the near term. The Labor Department said non-farm payroll employment jumped by 130,000 jobs in January after rising by a downwardly revised 48,000 jobs in December. Meanwhile, street had expected employment to climb by 70,000 jobs compared to the addition of 50,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month.

On the global front, Asian equity markets were trading mixed after reports indicated that the US and China are likely to extend their trade truce for up to a year when President Donald Trump and President Xi Jinping meet in Beijing in early April 2026. European equity markets were trading higher as investors cheered upbeat earnings from the likes of Legrand, Hermes and Siemens.  

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 83763.56, down by 470.08 points or 0.56% after trading in a range of 83674.88 and 84061.62. There were 14 stocks advancing against 16 stocks declining on the index.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Consumer Durables up by 0.65%, Industrials up by 0.20%, Telecom up by 0.17% and Capital Goods up by 0.03%, while IT down by 4.88%, TECK down by 3.23%, Realty down by 1.32%, Oil & Gas down by 1.30% and Energy down by 1.24% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Bajaj Finance up by 2.81%, Trent up by 1.79%, ICICI Bank up by 1.63%, Bharat Electronics up by 1.09% and Asian Paints up by 0.76%. On the flip side, Infosys down by 5.63%, TCS down by 5.48%, Tech Mahindra down by 5.37%, HCL Technologies down by 4.01% and Hindustan Unilever down by 2.02% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Crisil Ratings in its latest report has said that India's complex fertiliser manufacturing capacity is projected to increase by 25 per cent in the next three fiscal years (FY27, FY28 and FY29), which is likely to reduce the country's import dependency and boost self-reliance. It noted that the country’s complex fertiliser manufacturing sector is set for a major expansion, with an additional 4 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) capacity expected to be added by FY29, over the current base of 16 MTPA, as capacity utilisation has shot up due to negligible capacity addition in the past seven years amid steadily rising demand.    

Despite the capital expenditure (capex), the report said the credit profiles of manufacturers will remain comfortable, supported by healthy profitability amidst improving backward integration resulting in limited reliance on debt. It said the government's track record of timely subsidy disbursements also supports the working capital cycle of players. It added that complex fertilisers, accounting for a third of the overall domestic fertiliser consumption, provide balanced soil nutrition.

According to the report, around one-third of India's complex fertiliser requirement, particularly Di-ammonium Phosphate (DAP), is met through imports, while nitrogen phosphorous potassium (NPK) remains largely indigenously produced. In fiscal 2025, the share of NPK grades in overall complex fertilisers rose to 60 per cent, a significant increase from the 53 per cent average recorded over the preceding five fiscal years, on account of prioritisation of NPK production by domestic manufacturers due to better cost economics.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 25823.90, down by 129.95 points or 0.50% after trading in a range of 25803.25 and 25906.70. There were 20 stocks advancing against 30 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Bajaj Finance up by 2.79%, Eicher Motors up by 2.23%, Shriram Finance up by 1.85%, Trent up by 1.70% and ICICI Bank up by 1.62%. On the flip side, Infosys down by 5.32%, TCS down by 5.19%, Tech Mahindra down by 5.13%, Wipro down by 4.16% and HCL Technologies down by 3.93% were the top losers.

Asian equity markets were trading mixed; 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 22.02 points or 0.44% to 5,006.60 and Shanghai Composite strengthened 2.03 points or 0.05% to 4,134.02, while Hang Seng declined 255.38 points or 0.95% to 27,011.00 and Jakarta Composite plunged 44.61 points or 0.54% to 8,246.36.

European equity markets were trading higher; UK’s FTSE 100 increased 53.07 points or 0.5% to 10,525.18, France’s CAC rose 91.86 points or 1.09% to 8,405.10 and Germany’s DAX gained 361.55 points or 1.45% to 25,217.70.