Domestic equity indices added more losses and were trading deeply in red in late morning deals as market participants indulged in reducing their positions. Rising crude oil prices weighed on the domestic sentiments. Crude oil prices rose after the Middle East conflict continues to stoke energy worries, with both the U.S. and Iran seizing ships as the Strait of Hormuz stays shut. Further, weakness also prevailed in the markets after an article on 'State of the Economy' published in the Reserve Bank's April bulletin stated that Persistent conflict in West Asia and supply chain disruptions could pose challenges to the domestic economy in the form of higher energy costs, input cost pressures, disruption in trade flows and financial market spillovers.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mixed as investors remained cautious despite a three-week extension of the Israel-Lebanon ceasefire, underscoring lingering geopolitical uncertainty. Back home, all the sectoral indices on the BSE were trading in red led by IT, TECK, Capital Goods, Utilities and Industrials. 

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 76791.47, down by 872.53 points or 1.12% after trading in a range of 76720.65 and 77710.82. There were 4 stocks advancing against 26 stocks declining on the index.

The top losing sectoral indices on the BSE were IT down by 3.93%, TECK down by 3.14%, Capital Goods down by 1.56%, Utilities down by 1.55% and Industrials down by 1.44%, while there were no gainers.   

The few gainers on the Sensex were SBI up by 0.28%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 0.21%, Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 0.07% and HDFC Bank up by 0.04%. On the flip side, Infosys down by 5.19%, HCL Technologies down by 4.31%, TCS down by 3.59%, Tech Mahindra down by 3.58% and Sun Pharma down by 3.50% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, engineering Export Promotion Council India (EEPC India) in its latest data has showed India’s engineering exports to the UAE (the second-largest market) and Saudi Arabia (the fourth-largest market) fell sharply in March 2026 as ongoing West Asia conflict has severely disrupted global shipping, particularly through the Strait of Hormuz. Engineering exports to the UAE declined by 66.8 per cent to $237.4 million in March as compared to $714.8 million in the same period of the previous year, while shipments to Saudi Arabia dropped by 45 per cent to $247.7 million in March as compared to $450.5 million in March 2025.    

Data indicated that despite challenges in key West Asian markets, the overall engineering sector exports during March were up 1.13 per cent to $10.94 billion compared with $10.82 billion in March 2025. During 2025-26, overall engineering shipments from India reached an all-time high of $122.43 billion as compared with $116.75 billion in the previous fiscal, registering growth of 4.86 per cent. The target is to take it to $250 billion by 2030. It said among the top export destination countries, shipments to the UAE and Saudi Arabia slumped 10 per cent and 13 per cent, respectively, while exports to the USA as the largest consumer increased 2 per cent in 2025-26. The share of the sector in the country's total merchandise exports in 2025-26 was 27.71 per cent. The share in March 2026 is even better at 28.11 per cent. 

Going forward, it said the combination of sectoral resilience, market diversification, and targeted policy interventions will remain critical for sustaining export momentum and progressing towards long-term export targets. It noted that record high exports of Indian engineering in the last fiscal year was led by high exports of motor vehicles/cars, copper and its products, iron and steel, electric machinery and equipment, two- and three-wheelers, products of iron and steel, industrial machinery, other construction machinery, and auto components/parts among others.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 23931.30, down by 241.75 points or 1.00% after trading in a range of 23903.25 and 24206.00. There were 11 stocks advancing against 39 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Coal India up by 1.21%, Bajaj Auto up by 0.83%, Eicher Motors up by 0.61%, Grasim Industries up by 0.55% and Max Healthcare Inst up by 0.26%. On the flip side, Infosys down by 5.05%, HCL Technologies down by 4.34%, Tech Mahindra down by 3.71%, TCS down by 3.60% and Sun Pharma down by 3.49% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mixed; Nikkei 225 surged 539.77 points or 0.91% to 59,680.00, Taiwan Weighted added 1218.25 points or 3.13% to 38,932.40 and Hang Seng advanced 70.8 points or 0.27% to 25,986.00. However, Jakarta Composite plunged 225.76 points or 3.16% to 7,152.85, Shanghai Composite weakened 19.88 points or 0.49% to 4,073.37, KOSPI dropped 0.58 points or 0.01% to 6,475.23 and Straits Times fell 20.64 points or 0.42% to 4,923.47.