Indian markets traded in deep red during early afternoon session with escalating conflict in West Asia. Besides, foreign portfolio investors (FIIs) outflow also dampened investors’ sentiments. FIIs offloaded equities worth Rs 7536.36 crore on Friday. Traders overlooked the report that the seasonally adjusted HSBC India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) surged to 56.9 in February from 55.4 in January, indicating a stronger improvement in the health of the sector. Besides, the government data has showed that gross Goods and Services Tax (GST) collection rose 8.1 per cent to over Rs 1.83 lakh crore in February 2026 as compared to Rs 1.69 lakh crore collected in February 2025. On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in red as traders remain cautious and concerned about the fallout of the outbreak of hostilities between the U.S. and Israel against Iran over the weekend.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 79798.49, down by 1488.70 points or 1.83% after trading in a range of 78543.73 and 80632.55. There were 3 stocks advancing against 27 stocks declining on the index.

The losing sectoral indices on the BSE were Auto down by 3.00%, Consumer Durables down by 2.89%, Industrials down by 2.89%, Consumer Disc down by 2.88%, Utilities down by 2.65%.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Bharat Electronics up by 1.27% and Sun Pharma up by 0.38%. On the flip side, Larsen & Toubro down by 6.49%, Interglobe Aviation down by 4.98%, Adani Ports &Special down by 4.54%, Maruti Suzuki down by 3.67% and Mahindra & Mahindra down by 3.09% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, India manufacturing growth hit four-month high in the month of February 2026, as a substantial improvement in domestic demand for Indian goods fuelled new order intakes and spurred the greatest upturn in production volumes. According to the survey report, the seasonally adjusted HSBC India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) surged to 56.9 in February from 55.4 in January, indicating a stronger improvement in the health of the sector.

The report further noted that efficiency improvements, healthy underlying demand, rising intakes of new work and tech investment collectively boosted production volumes. With total new orders continuing to expand sharply, manufacturers in India purchased additional materials to supplement production and add to inventories. Buying levels rose at the fastest pace in three months.

Concurrently, pre-production inventories increased to a greater extent in February. The rate of accumulation was sharp and well above its long-run trend. In response to increasing workloads, firms stepped up input purchasing, lifted their inventories and hired extra staff. Further, companies sought to protect their margins from cost increases and lifted selling prices once again. However, international sales expanded at a comparatively mild pace, and one that was the weakest in close to a year-and-a-half.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 24728.55, down by 450.10 points or 1.79% after trading in a range of 24645.10 and 24989.35. There were 4 stocks advancing against 46 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Bharat Electronics up by 1.02%, Sun Pharma up by 0.40%, ONGC up by 0.25% and Hindalco up by 0.08%. On the flip side, Larsen & Toubro down by 6.31%, Interglobe Aviation down by 4.98%, Adani Ports down by 4.50%, JIO Financial down by 3.76% and Maruti Suzuki down by 3.51% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Nikkei 225 slipped 1035.27 points or 1.79% to 57,815.00, Hang Seng declined 568.54 points or 2.13% to 26,062.00, Taiwan Weighted lost 319.4 points or 0.91% to 35,095.09, Jakarta Composite plunged 162.37 points or 1.97% to 8,073.12, Straits Times fell 96.27 points or 1.97% to 4,898.80. On the flip side, Shanghai Composite was up by 21.74 points or 0.52% to 4,184.62.