Indian equity markets have relinquished most of their gains to trade flat during late afternoon deals. Traders opted to cash in some profit amid uncertainties surrounding US trade tariffs and talks between US and Iran. Besides, weakness in market heavyweights like Reliance Industries, HDFC bank and State Bank of India has weighed on sentiments. Meanwhile, investors took note of report that India and the six-nation bloc of Middle Eastern nations -- the Gulf Cooperation Council have inked the Joint Statement on the India-GCC Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and launched negotiations for a comprehensive and mutually beneficial agreement. 

On the global front, Asian equity markets were trading mostly in green with Japanese and South Korean shares rallying to record highs on strength in technology stocks. European equity markets were trading higher after Anthropic announced new partnerships, helping ease artificial-intelligence disruption concerns.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 82268.51, up by 42.59 points or 0.05% after trading in a range of 82132.63 and 82957.91. There were 19 stocks advancing against 11 stocks declining on the index.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 2.22%, Auto up by 1.56%, IT up by 1.37%, Basic Materials up by 1.16% and Healthcare up by 1.05%, while Telecom down by 1.43%, Realty down by 0.40%, FMCG down by 0.23%, Bankex down by 0.19% and PSU down by 0.13% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were HCL Technologies up by 2.66%, Tata Steel up by 2.46%, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries up by 1.77%, Interglobe Aviation up by 1.68% and TCS up by 1.66%. On the flip side, SBI down by 1.90%, Adani Ports & SEZ down by 1.89%, Bharti Airtel down by 1.58%, Reliance Industries down by 1.44% and Eternal down by 1.38% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, ratings agency ICRA in its latest report has said that Indian aviation industry’s net loss is likely to reduce to Rs 11,000 crore - 12,000 crore in the next financial year (FY27) from a projected Rs 17,000 crore-18,000 crore in FY26, led by growth in domestic air passenger traffic and expected normalisation of operations post disruptions seen in 2025-26 that had resulted in flight cancellations and passenger refunds.

ICRA said domestic air passenger traffic is expected to grow by 6-8 per cent, reaching around 175-179 million passengers in FY27. In December 2025, ICRA had revised its forecasts for the domestic air passenger traffic growth in FY26 to 0-3 per cent reaching 165-170 million, lower than its previous expectations of 4-6 per cent on a YoY basis. ICRA has maintained a ‘stable outlook’ for the Indian aviation industry, supported by expectations of modest growth in domestic air passenger traffic and a gradually improving operating environment, despite near-term challenges.

According to the report, the international air passenger traffic growth for Indian carriers is expected to remain relatively stronger, aided by low base effect, expanding e-visa/visa-on-arrival coverage, and the Central Government's focus on developing theme-based and iconic tourist destinations. It said the international air passenger traffic is seen growing at 7-9 per cent for this financial year and 8-10 per cent next year, and added that the current fiscal year has seen a period of modest domestic air passenger traffic growth due to cross-border escalations, weather-related disruptions, travel hesitancy following the June 2025 aircraft accident, the impact on business travel owing to the headwinds stemming from elevated US tariffs and operational disruptions at IndiGo in December 2025.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 25475.70, up by 51.05 points or 0.20% after trading in a range of 25428.20 and 25652.60. There were 35 stocks advancing against 15 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were HCL Technologies up by 2.76%, Bajaj Auto up by 2.47%, Tata Steel up by 2.42%, Coal India up by 1.83% and TCS up by 1.77%. On the flip side, SBI down by 1.89%, Adani Ports & SEZ down by 1.86%, Bharti Airtel down by 1.50%, Eternal down by 1.44% and Reliance Industries down by 1.33% were the top losers.

Asian equity markets were trading mostly in green; Nikkei 225 surged 1354.91 points or 2.31% to 58,676.00, Taiwan Weighted added 712.25 points or 2.01% to 35,413.07, Hang Seng advanced 137.68 points or 0.52% to 26,728.00, KOSPI increased 114.22 points or 1.88% to 6,083.86, Shanghai Composite strengthened 29.82 points or 0.72% to 4,147.23 and Jakarta Composite gained 41.46 points or 0.5% to 8,322.29, while Straits Times fell 9.52 points or 0.19% to 5,011.27.

European equity markets were trading higher; UK’s FTSE 100 increased 84.76 points or 0.79% to 10,765.35, France’s CAC rose 24.49 points or 0.29% to 8,543.70 and Germany’s DAX gained 89.65 points or 0.36% to 25,075.90.