Indian markets continued to trade with hefty losses in early afternoon session following weak cues from other Asian markets. Traders were worried with escalating tensions in West Asia and sustained foreign investor outflows. Investors took a note of report that the seasonally adjusted HSBC India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) fell to 53.9 in March from 56.9 in February, marking its lowest level since June 2022. Further, banking stocks witnessed selling pressure following strict new regulations from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) that barred authorized dealer banks from offering non-deliverable forward (NDF) contracts involving the rupee to both residents and non-residents to prevent offshore speculation.   

On the global front, all Asian markets were trading lower as U.S. President Donald Trump did not give a clear timeline for ending the Middle East conflict in his highly anticipated prime-time address to the nation. 

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 71797.73, down by 1336.59 points or 1.83% after trading in a range of 71545.81 and 72262.05. There was 1 stock advancing against 29 stocks declining on the index.

The top losing sectoral indices on the BSE were Utilities down by 2.66%, Consumer Durables down by 2.59%, Bankex down by 2.51%, PSU down by 2.44% and Power was down by 2.41%, while there were no gaining sectoral indices on the BSE. 

The only gainer on the Sensex was HCL Tech up by 0.58%. On the flip side, Eternal down by 5.28%, SBI down by 3.53%, Interglobe Aviation down by 3.42%, Axis Bank down by 3.33% and Asian Paints was down by 3.23% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, India manufacturing sector growth eased in the month of March 2026, amid market uncertainty and the war in the Middle East which led to softer increases in new orders and output. According to the survey report, the seasonally adjusted HSBC India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) fell to 53.9 in March from 56.9 in February, marking its lowest level since June 2022.

On the inflation front, the report said input prices increased to the greatest extent in over three-and-a-half years, with higher prices of aluminium, chemicals, fuel, jute, leather, fabric, oil, rubber and steel. Despite the intensification in cost pressures, there was a slower increase in factory gate charges. The rate of output price inflation receded to a two-year low, curbed by customer-retention efforts and attempts to secure new clients at some firms.

The report further noted that Indian manufacturers recorded their strongest growth in export orders since last September, driven by increased demand from markets such as Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Europe, Japan, the Middle East, Turkey, and Vietnam. Alongside this surge in external sales, firms expanded their workforce at the greatest extent in seven months and became more optimistic towards the year-ahead outlook for production.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 22264.30, down by 415.10 points or 1.83% after trading in a range of 22182.55 and 22394.65. There were 2 stocks advancing against 48 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were HCL Tech up by 0.67% and Dr. Reddy's Lab up by 0.36%. On the flip side, Eternal down by 5.20%, SBI down by 3.50%, Shriram Finance down by 3.31%, Axis Bank down by 3.30% and Asian Paints down by 3.28% were the top losers.

All Asian markets were trading lower; Nikkei 225 slipped 1425.68 points or 2.73% to 52,314.00, Taiwan Weighted lost 602.39 points or 1.85% to 32,572.43, Hang Seng declined 313.03 points or 1.24% to 24,981.00, KOSPI dropped 244.65 points or 4.67% to 5,234.05, Jakarta Composite plunged 105.63 points or 1.47% to 7,078.81, Straits Times fell 39.95 points or 0.8% to 4,935.88 and Shanghai Composite was down 35.92 points or 0.91% to 3,912.63.