Indian markets continued to trade under selling pressure in early afternoon session amid geopolitical tensions. Investors were looking forward to India’s GDP Growth Rate data to be out later in a day. Traders overlooked the commerce ministry’s statement that the India and Israel are likely to hold next round of in-person negotiations in May 2026 in Israel. The two sides concluded the first round of four-day talks. Both sides agreed to continue inter-sessional engagements virtually. Besides, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal held a meeting with US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick and US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor and discussed ways to expand trade and economic partnership between the two countries. 

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mixed despite Industrial production in Japan was up a seasonally adjusted 2.2 percent on month in January. That was well shy of forecasts for an increase of 5.5 percent following the 0.1 percent contraction in December.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 81708.08, down by 540.53 points or 0.66% after trading in a range of 81595.96 and 82246.17. There were 7 stocks advancing against 23 stocks declining on the index.

The few gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were IT up by 0.65%, Oil & Gas up by 0.33% and Energy was up by 0.04%, while Telecom down by 1.53%, Realty down by 1.44%, Basic Materials down by 1.09%, FMCG down by 1.08% and Auto was down by 1.01% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Eternal up by 1.48%, Infosys up by 1.39%, Trent up by 1.22%, HCL Tech up by 1.18% and Tech Mahindra up by 0.39%. On the flip side, Bharti Airtel down by 2.72%, Interglobe Aviation down by 2.38%, Ultratech Cement down by 1.93%, Maruti Suzuki down by 1.60% and Sun Pharma down by 1.48% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, with resilient rural demand and a gradual recovery in urban consumption, the rating agency ICRA has estimated that Indian companies to sustain favourable Year-on-Year (Y-o-Y) revenue growth of 8-10% in Q4 2025-26 (vis-a-vis 10.6% YoY increase in Q3 2025-26). Further, the operating profit margin of India Inc. is expected to expand by 50 to 75 basis points (bps) on a YoY basis. Thus, the credit metrics are likely to remain healthy, with an estimated interest coverage ratio of 5.3-5.5 times in Q4 2025-26, broadly stable compared with 5.3 times recorded in Q3 2025-26.

ICRA noted that policy tailwinds like Goods & Services Tax (GST) rate rationalisation, income tax relief announced in the Union Budget 2025, cumulative reduction of 125 bps in policy rates by the Reserve Bank of India between February and December 2025, and easing food inflation are expected to support a gradual revival in urban consumption. Besides, the reduction in US tariff and various free trade agreements have improved the medium-term growth prospects for export-oriented sectors such as textiles, diamonds, leather, and auto components. However, it pointed that the uncertainty in the trade environment will continue in the near term, given the tariff vacillations, ongoing geopolitical tensions, and the evolving supply-chain realignments.

On Indian companies’ Q3 2025-26 performance, it said that GST 2.0 reforms impacted various sectors differently. It noted that consumption-oriented sectors such as automobiles emerged as key beneficiaries, reflected in around 20% YoY growth in sales volumes across several segments in Q3 2025-26. In contrast, the EBITDA margins of printing and writing paper companies witnessed pressure owing to the emergence of an inverted duty structure, while mid-scale hotel operators recorded a modest margin dip due to withdrawal of certain input tax credit benefits. Besides, export-oriented sectors faced margin pressure due to higher US tariffs than that of competing countries. Moreover, commodity price trends resulted in divergent sectoral outcomes with gold jewellery retailers benefitted from the continued uptrend of gold prices, copper miners reported growth in revenues & margins driven by higher copper prices.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 25272.95, down by 223.60 points or 0.88% after trading in a range of 25270.05 and 25476.40. There were 10 stocks advancing against 40 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Eternal up by 1.34%, Infosys up by 1.28%, Trent up by 1.17%, HCL Tech up by 1.14% and JIO Financial Serv. up by 0.59%. On the flip side, Bharti Airtel down by 2.78%, Dr. Reddy's Lab down by 2.59%, Grasim Industries down by 2.50%, Nestle down by 2.25% and Shriram Finance down by 2.19% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mixed; Nikkei 225 surged 170.27 points or 0.29% to 58,753.39, Shanghai Composite strengthened 16.25 points or 0.39% to 4,162.88 and Straits Times was up by 15.21 points or 0.31% to 4,979.59. On the flip side, Jakarta Composite plunged 25.93 points or 0.32% to 8,209.33, KOSPI dropped 63.14 points or 1.01% to 6,244.13 and Hang Seng was down by 384.7 points or 1.46% to 26,381.02.