HOME > MARKETS > MARKET COMMENTARY
  MARKET COMMENTARY
EQUITY
Key indices snap 3-day winning streak ahead of Budget
Jan-30-2026

Snapping a three-day winning streak, Indian equity benchmarks ended lower on Friday dragged by metal, Basic Materials stocks and caution ahead of the Budget presentation on February 1. Fresh foreign fund outflows and weakness in the rupee also added to the bearish trend in the equity markets.

Some of the important factors in trade:

Infra projects see cost overrun of Rs 5.42 lakh crore in December: A monthly government report said several infrastructure projects worth above Rs 150 crore each registered a cumulative cost overrun of Rs 5.42 lakh crore.

India receives unexpectedly trade benefit in Turkey through EU FTA: The Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) has said that India unexpectedly gained a small bonus from its free trade (FTA) agreement with the European Union (EU), as Indian goods can enter Turkiye with duty concessions, while Turkish products are not able to use the pact to export to India.

India must focus more on opportunities instead of tariffs amid geopolitical tensions: World Bank Group President Ajay Banga has said that India should ‘think less’ about tariffs and focus more on opportunities, amid concerns over global trade due to geopolitical tensions.

Fertilizer stocks remain in watch: India and Canada have committed to enhance collaboration in the fertilizer sector and strengthen the strategic partnership between the two nations for long-term food and agriculture security. 

Global front: European markets were trading higher after U.S. lawmakers reached a bipartisan funding deal to avoid a government shutdown. Asian markets settled mostly lower as Apple warned of rising memory chip prices and China's state-owned Securities Times warned against speculative trading. 

Finally, the BSE Sensex fell 296.59 points or 0.36% to 82,269.78 and the CNX Nifty was down by 98.25 points or 0.39% to 25,320.65.   

The BSE Sensex touched high and low of 82,430.82 and 81,941.03 respectively. There were 13 stocks advancing against 17 stocks declining on the index.        

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Telecom up by 2.17%, FMCG up by 1.48%, Healthcare up by 1.05%, Capital Goods up by 1.00% and Consumer Discretionary up by 0.87%, while Metal down by 5.12%, Basic Materials down by 2.56%, Oil & Gas down by 0.88%, Energy down by 0.87% and IT down by 0.82% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.38%, SBI up by 1.23%, ITC up by 1.11%, Bharat Electronics up by 1.01% and Hindustan Unilever up by 0.94%. On the flip side, Tata Steel down by 4.57%, ICICI Bank down by 2.10%, Power Grid Corporation down by 1.61%, HCL Technologies down by 1.55% and Tech Mahindra down by 1.29% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, continuing structural reforms in the mining sector, the Government of India has accorded a Critical and Strategic Mineral status to Coking Coal under the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957 (MMDR Act). Although India has an estimated 37.37 billion tonnes of coking coal resources, largely located in Jharkhand, with additional reserves in Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal and Chhattisgarh, the country remains heavily dependent on imports. Besides, around 95% of the coking coal requirement of the steel sector is currently met through imports, leading to significant foreign exchange outgo.

Classifying coking coal as a critical and strategic mineral will enable optimal utilisation of domestic coking coal resources and reinforce national mineral security. This move is expected to facilitate faster approvals, improve ease of doing business, and accelerate exploration and mining activities, including of deep-seated deposits. Mining of critical minerals is exempt from public consultation requirements and permits the utilisation of degraded forest land for compensatory afforestation, measures that are also expected to encourage greater private sector participation.

This will also reduce import dependence, strengthen supply-chain resilience for the steel sector, and support the objectives of the National Steel Policy. It is also expected to promote private investment in exploration, beneficiation, and the adoption of advanced mining technologies, while generating employment across the mining, logistics, and steel value chain.

CNX Nifty touched high and low of 25,370.70 and 25,213.65 respectively. There were 25 stocks advancing against 25 stocks declining on the index.    

The top gainers on Nifty were Nestle up by 3.46%, Tata Consumer Product up by 2.24%, Apollo Hospital up by 2.19%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.77% and ITC up by 1.16%. On the flip side, Hindalco down by 5.98%, Tata Steel down by 4.81%, Coal India down by 3.46%, ONGC down by 2.66% and ICICI Bank down by 1.92% were the top losers.

European markets were trading higher; UK’s FTSE 100 increased 13.82 points or 0.14% to 10,185.58, France’s CAC rose 28.44 points or 0.35% to 8,099.80 and Germany’s DAX gained 187.04 points or 0.77% to 24,496.50.

Asian markets settled mostly lower on Friday tracking Wall Street’s slight weakness as investors digested the latest US earnings reports, with Apple warning that rising costs are squeezing margins. Investors opted for a risk off approach after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened Canada with a 50% tariff on all aircraft sold in the United States and also signed an executive order that would impose a tariff on any goods from countries that sell or provide oil to Cuba, a step that raises fresh pressure on Mexico. China's Shanghai Composite fell as a sudden drop in gold prices combined with regulatory action to limit speculative losses triggered a sell-off in miners and other materials shares. However, Japan's Nikkei rose marginally as weaker-than-expected inflation data from Tokyo eased pressure on the Bank of Japan to hike rates again soon. Seoul shares ended marginally higher, hitting a new record high, despite data showed South Korea's industrial output grew at the slowest pace in five years in 2025.

Asian Indices

Last Trade            

Change in Points

Change in %      

Shanghai Composite

4,117.95

-40.04

-0.96

Hang Seng

27,387.11

-580.98

-2.08

Jakarta Composite

8,329.61

97.40

1.17

KLSE Composite

1,740.88

9.99

0.58

Nikkei 225

53,322.85

-52.75

-0.10

Straits Times

4,905.13

-24.90

-0.51

KOSPI Composite

5,224.36

3.11

0.06

Taiwan Weighted

32,063.75

-472.52

-1.45
  RELATED NEWS >>
Most Viewed >>
EXPLORE
© CITRUS INTERACTIVE
Designed & Developed Accord Fintech Pvt. Ltd.