Indian markets wiped out all of their initial gains in early afternoon session as traders preferred to play safe. Traders were cautious amid uncertainty over US tariff policies and ongoing US-Iran negotiations. Investors overlooked the Member of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister, Sanjeev Sanyal’s statement that India has maintained macroeconomic stability and managed to sustain growth of 7-7.5% despite global uncertainties. He pointed that sequential growth with stability is key to achieving the goal of a ‘Vikshit Bharat’. On the sectoral front, insurance stocks remained in limelight as IRDAI member (Non-Life) Deepak Sood has said that insurance industry needs to control customer acquisition costs and overall management expenses to improve profitability and make products more affordable.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mixed as the Bank of Korea maintained its key interest rate and signaled a neutral policy stance in its new six-month dot plot framework. The Monetary Policy Board unanimously decided to leave the Base Rate unchanged at 2.50 percent.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 82123.00, down by 153.07 points or 0.19% after trading in a range of 81983.96 and 82579.16. There were 11 stocks advancing against 19 stocks declining on the index.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Capital Goods up by 0.55%, Healthcare up by 0.40%, Industrials up by 0.38%, IT up by 0.33% and Telecom was up by 0.24%, while Utilities down by 0.78%, FMCG down by 0.58%, Consumer Durables down by 0.46%, Power down by 0.46% and PSU was down by 0.41% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Bharat Electronics up by 1.43%, Adani Ports up by 1.01%, Sun Pharma up by 0.63%, TCS up by 0.62% and Tech Mahindra up by 0.46%. On the flip side, Trent down by 1.61%, Power Grid down by 1.55%, NTPC down by 1.29%, Asian Paints down by 1.03% and Ultratech Cement down by 0.77% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, rating agency ICRA in its latest report has showed that the road sector is expected to see a slowdown in FY2025-26, with construction under the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) estimated to decline to 9,500-10,000 km from 10,660 km in FY2024-25, amid continued slowdown in project awarding and disruptions caused by the early onset and elongated monsoon across the country. 

According to the report, road execution by the MoRTH is likely to slow further to 9,000-9,500 km in FY2026-27. Road awards by the MoRTH are estimated at 7,250-7,750 km for FY2025-26, largely in line with 7,538 km of road awards for FY2024-25, while remaining lower than FY2020-21 - FY2022-23 levels.

It further stated that road awards for 8M FY2025-26 stood at 1,951 km, 24% lower than 2,558 km awarded in 8M FY2024-25, with higher awarding expected in Q4 FY2025-26. Several projects are in the bidding process at present, but awarding is yet to happen. Road execution under MoRTH declined by 3% on a YoY basis to 4,612 km in 8M FY2025-26 from 4,761 km in 8M FY2024-25 owing to declining order book.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 25432.40, down by 50.10 points or 0.20% after trading in a range of 25400.95 and 25572.95. There were 20 stocks advancing against 30 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Tata Motors Passenger up by 1.98%, Max Healthcare up by 1.35%, Bharat Electronics up by 1.31%, Adani Ports up by 0.96% and Sun Pharma up by 0.71%. On the flip side, Coal India down by 1.89%, Power Grid down by 1.59%, Trent down by 1.50%, NTPC down by 1.34% and Tata Consumer down by 1.17% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mixed; Hang Seng declined 257.72 points or 0.96% to 26,508.00, Jakarta Composite plunged 79.06 points or 0.95% to 8,243.17, Straits Times fell 32.9 points or 0.66% to 4,974.83 and Shanghai Composite was down by 0.6 points or 0.01% to 4,146.63. On the flip side, Taiwan Weighted added 1.42 points or 0% to 35,414.49, Nikkei 225 surged 145.88 points or 0.25% to 58,729.00 and KOSPI was up by 223.41 points or 3.54% to 6,307.27.