Indian equity benchmarks continued to trade lower in morning deals and key gauges slipped below their crucial 81,800 (Sensex) and 25,350 (Nifty) levels, tracking a weak trend in global markets and fresh foreign fund outflows. Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 3,465.99 crore on Thursday, according to exchange data. Traders remained on sidelines ahead of India’s GDP growth rate data, which will due later in the day. Separately, India has said the meeting between Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi and his Canadian counterpart Mark Carney next week will provide an opportunity to advance a forward-looking partnership between India and Canada. Carney will undertake a four-day visit to India beginning Friday, marking his first trip to the country as Prime Minister. On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in red, following a decline in Wall Street benchmarks, as sentiment was weighed down by a muted reaction to Nvidia Corp.’s earnings.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 81766.66, down by 481.95 points or 0.59% after trading in a range of 81673.38 and 82246.17. There were 6 stocks advancing against 24 stocks declining on the index.

The lone gaining sectoral index on the BSE was IT up by 0.67%, while FMCG down by 1.27%, Auto down by 1.21%, Telecom down by 1.10%, Basic Materials down by 1.04% and Realty down by 0.98% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Eternal up by 1.89%, HCL Technologies up by 1.29%, Infosys up by 1.14%, Tech Mahindra up by 0.71% and NTPC up by 0.24%. On the flip side, Ultratech Cement down by 2.07%, Maruti Suzuki down by 1.93%, Interglobe Aviation down by 1.68%, Hindustan Unilever down by 1.64% and Bharti Airtel down by 1.56% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, India has said the meeting between Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi and his Canadian counterpart Mark Carney next week will provide an opportunity to advance a forward-looking partnership between India and Canada. Carney will undertake a four-day visit to India beginning Friday, marking his first trip to the country as Prime Minister.

The Canadian prime minister’s first stop will be Mumbai, where he will take part in business meetings and interact with prominent corporate leaders, financial professionals, and innovators from both nations. The Canadian leader will arrive in New Delhi on Sunday, and the two prime ministers will hold wide-ranging talks on Monday.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said both leaders will assess the progress made so far in various sectors of the India-Canada strategic partnership, building on their earlier meetings in Kananaskis and Johannesburg in June and November, respectively. The MEA said ‘They will also take stock of ongoing cooperation in key pillars, including trade and investment; energy; critical minerals; agriculture; education, research, and innovation; and people-to-people ties. The two leaders will also exchange views on regional and global developments.’

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 25314.80, down by 181.75 points or 0.71% after trading in a range of 25292.40 and 25476.40. There were 9 stocks advancing against 41 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Eternal up by 1.68%, HCL Technologies up by 1.22%, Infosys up by 1.15%, Tech Mahindra up by 0.66% and Apollo Hospital up by 0.53%. On the flip side, Ultratech Cement down by 2.16%, Tata Consumer Product down by 2.00%, Maruti Suzuki down by 1.95%, Dr. Reddy's Lab down by 1.93% and Nestle down by 1.87% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Jakarta Composite plunged 25.93 points or 0.32% to 8,209.33, Shanghai Composite weakened 2.49 points or 0.06% to 4,144.14, KOSPI dropped 28.02 points or 0.44% to 6,279.25 and Hang Seng declined 384.7 points or 1.46% to 26,381.02.

On the flip side, Straits Times rose 17.29 points or 0.35% to 4,981.67 and Nikkei 225 surged 170.27 points or 0.29% to 58,753.39.