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Key gauges trade mixed in morning deals
Sep-22-2026

Indian equity benchmarks traded mixed in morning deals, with benchmark indices witnessing divergent trends, as investors kept an eye on the latest developments in the Middle East and await the outcome of the Trump-Xi meeting in Washington on Thursday, with trade, AI and geopolitics dominating the agenda. Traders remained cautious as exchange data showed foreign institutional investors (FIIs) turned net sellers on Monday, offloading equities worth Rs 576.20 crore. Some concern also came as the Ministry of Commerce & Industry in its latest data showed that nine key infrastructure sectors’ output growth slowed down to 4.8 per cent in August 2026 due to a fall in the output of coal, natural gas, crude oil, and fertiliser. The output expanded by 6.2 per cent in August 2025 and by 5 per cent in July 2026.

The BSE Sensex was trading with minor cut, weighed down by selling pressure in IT, TECK and FMCG stocks, while gains in Telecom and Realty stocks helped cushion the decline. In contrast, the Nifty 50 was trading flat with positive bias following a rally in global markets and easing crude oil prices. But, gains were limited as traders were cautious ahead of Nifty weekly F&O expiry. 

On the global front, Asian markets are trading mostly in green following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight, as easing crude oil prices allayed concerns about global inflation and the corresponding outlook for interest rates. 

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 74821.42, down by 37.57 points or 0.05% after trading in a range of 74815.84 and 75038.93. There were 18 stocks advancing against 12 stocks declining on the index.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Telecom up by 1.42%, Realty up by 0.59%, Consumer Disc up by 0.40%, Industrials up by 0.34% and Power up by 0.33%, while IT down by 1.03%, TECK down by 0.61%, FMCG down by 0.26%, Healthcare down by 0.23% and Metal down by 0.11% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Titan Company up by 1.42%, HDFC Bank up by 0.96%, Eternal up by 0.66%, Asian Paints up by 0.65% and Adani Ports &SEZ up by 0.62%. On the flip side, HCL Technologies down by 1.90%, Tech Mahindra down by 1.34%, Infosys down by 1.27%, TCS down by 0.61% and State Bank of India down by 0.54% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, in the second tranche of its open market operation (OMO) sale of government securities, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has accepted bids worth Rs 25,000 crore, as it stepped up efforts to absorb surplus liquidity from the banking system. The RBI accepted Rs 11,512 crore of the 6.10 per cent GS 2031, Rs 8,758 crore of the 7.95 per cent GS 2032, Rs 2,300 crore of the 6.75 per cent GS 2029, Rs 2,250 crore of the 7.17 per cent GS 2030, and Rs 180 crore of the 7.17 per cent GS 2028.

However, the RBI did not accept any bids for the 8.28 per cent GS 2027. The OMO sale comes amid a large liquidity surplus in the banking system. According to the RBI data, liquidity surplus was estimated around Rs 6.05 lakh crore as of September 20. Under an OMO sale, banks and other investors pay the RBI for the government securities, thereby draining rupee liquidity from the banking system.  The RBI had announced OMO sales worth a total of Rs 1 lakh crore in three tranches - Rs 50,000 crore on September 17, followed by Rs 25,000 crore on September 21. The remaining last tranches of Rs 25,000 crore is scheduled for September 28. 

The banking system was flushed with liquidity due to heavy mobilisation of FCNR (B) deposits by banks, as the mobilisation brought foreign currency into the system, while subsequent swaps with the RBI provided rupee liquidity to banks. Besides FCNR(B) inflows, month-end government expenditure, including payments toward salaries and pensions, also added to liquidity in the banking system.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 23422.25, up by 7.95 points or 0.03% after trading in a range of 23414.20 and 23489.00. There were 26 stocks advancing against 24 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Coal India up by 2.74%, Titan Company up by 1.44%, Dr. Reddy's Labs. up by 1.31%, HDFC Life Insurance up by 0.97% and JIO Financial Services up by 0.92%. On the flip side, HCL Technologies down by 2.03%, Tech Mahindra down by 1.19%, Infosys down by 1.13%, Max Healthcare Inst. down by 1.09% and Grasim Industries down by 1.03% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mostly in green; Nikkei 225 surged 882.7 points or 1.36% to 65,018.95, Taiwan Weighted added 253.74 points or 0.53% to 47,972.58, Shanghai Composite strengthened 6.22 points or 0.16% to 3,956.13, KOSPI increased 41.36 points or 0.59% to 7,049.08, Hang Seng advanced 65.29 points or 0.26% to 25,108.00 and Straits Times rose 25.4 points or 0.45% to 5,700.63.

On the flip side, Jakarta Composite plunged 71.16 points or 1.11% to 6,313.57.
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