Domestic equity indices remained weak and were trading lower with cut of over 0.65 percent in late morning deals on account of selling by funds and retail investors. Sentiments were weak as foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 6,267.31 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data. Further, traders were cautious as Iran war continued to fuel oil volatility. However, some respite came in markets from low levels as private report said that Iran has allowed Indian oil tankers to pass through the Strait of Hormuz following talks between External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi. Meanwhile, Iran has set out three key conditions to end its ongoing conflict with the United States and Israel, including recognition of its rights and compensation for damages caused during the war.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in red as investors grappled with volatile oil prices and escalating tensions in the Middle East. Back home, in the stock specific development, Vascon Engineers surged as the company secured a work order worth around Rs 115.90 crore from Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation, Sardar Patel Bhavan, Municipal Corporation, Danapith, Ahmedabad.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 76323.10, down by 540.61 points or 0.70% after trading in a range of 75871.18 and 76576.49. There were 7 stocks advancing against 23 stocks declining on the index.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Utilities up by 2.17%, Power up by 1.49%, Energy up by 1.33%, Oil & Gas up by 0.76% and PSU up by 0.19%, while Auto down by 2.53%, Consumer Disc down by 1.62%, FMCG down by 1.29%, Bankex down by 1.13% and Metal down by 0.98% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were NTPC up by 1.37%, Power Grid up by 1.31%, Reliance Industries up by 1.01%, HCL Technologies up by 0.69% and Tech Mahindra up by 0.65%. On the flip side, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 2.97%, Trent down by 2.76%, Maruti Suzuki down by 2.61%, Bajaj Finance down by 2.30% and Ultratech Cement down by 2.12% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Government think tank Niti Aayog has urged state governments to strictly adhere to prudent fiscal deficit guidelines under the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act, through disciplined expenditure management, broadening the GST base, and boosting their own tax capacity by curbing committed expenditure to restore fiscal flexibility. It noted that the FRBM Act aims to regulate the country's debt level by restricting fiscal and revenue deficits as a percentage of GDP. It said rationalising subsidies, adopting standard expenditure heads, improving the quality and composition of capital spending, and adopting medium-term fiscal plans can help contain deficits and stabilise debt trajectories. 

The Fiscal Health Index (FHI) 2026 for the financial year 2023-24, released by Niti Aayog Vice Chairman Suman Bery, suggested that states with widening revenue deficits should prioritise aligning revenue expenditure with sustainable revenue growth. According to the index, Odisha, Goa, Jharkhand, Gujarat, Maharashtra Chhattisgarh, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh have emerged as India's top 10 fiscally-wise states. However, Punjab, West Bengal and Kerala remained at the bottom of the index, while Bihar, Karnataka and Telangana showed a mild recovery. In the previous FHI released in 2025, which ranked states based on their fiscal situation during 2022-23, Odisha ranked first, followed by Chhattisgarh, Goa, Jharkhand and Gujarat. 

The FHI 2026 report said overall, higher-ranked states display stronger fiscal discipline and resource mobilisation efforts, while lower-ranked states exhibit higher non-developmental expenditure and less sustainable fiscal patterns. It said among north-eastern and Himalayan states, Arunachal Pradesh has topped in the index, followed by Uttarakhand, Tripura, Meghalaya, Assam and Mizoram.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 23703.50, down by 163.35 points or 0.68% after trading in a range of 23556.30 and 23774.00. There were 11 stocks advancing against 39 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Coal India up by 4.24%, Adani Enterprises up by 1.63%, Power Grid up by 1.31%, NTPC up by 1.29% and Reliance Industries up by 1.11%. On the flip side, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 3.07%, Eicher Motors down by 2.82%, Trent down by 2.75%, Maruti Suzuki down by 2.49% and Tata MotorsPassenger down by 2.46% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Nikkei 225 slipped 847.37 points or 1.54% to 54,178.00, Taiwan Weighted lost 498.43 points or 1.46% to 33,615.76, Shanghai Composite weakened 19.54 points or 0.47% to 4,113.89, KOSPI dropped 59.20 points or 1.06% to 5,550.75, Hang Seng declined 345.76 points or 1.34% to 25,553.00, Straits Times fell 26.05 points or 0.54% to 4,837.76. However, Jakarta Composite gained 39.38 points or 0.53% to 7,428.78.