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Sensex, Nifty trade lower in early deals amid persistent foreign investor selling
Oct-01-2026

Indian equity markets started the October month on pessimistic note on Thursday as oil prices remained elevated overnight and foreign investors continued to offload stocks. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) extended their selling spree, offloading equities worth Rs 10,148.41 crore on September 30. Besides, concerns over prolonged supply disruptions linked to the West Asia region continue to weigh on market sentiments.

Both the indices were trading lower with divergence in performance, as Sensex was trading marginally lower with cut of 0.13%, while Nifty witnessed 0.36% fall in early deals, led by losses in auto stocks ahead of their monthly sales numbers. Traders were concerned as the IMD said India received 87.4 per cent of its long-period average (LPA) rainfall during the southwest monsoon season from June to September, recording a rainfall deficit of about 13 per cent between June 1 and September 30 amid El Nino conditions.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly higher. Traders took note of report that efforts by Qatari mediators to broker a diplomatic breakthrough between the U.S. and Iran have made little progress. Some support came as consumer prices in the U.S. rose less than expected in August, with the data reducing the chances of interest rate hike by US Fed later this month. However, elevated bond yields continued to weigh on markets.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 72388.09, down by 92.20 points or 0.13% after trading in a range of 72187.62 and 72450.34. There were 8 stocks advancing against 22 stocks declining on the index.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were IT up by 0.77%, TECK up by 0.49%, Telecom up by 0.36%, Bankex up by 0.28% and Capital Goods up by 0.08%, while Auto down by 2.31%, Consumer Discretionary down by 1.29%, Basic Materials down by 1.17%, Realty down by 1.02% and Metal down by 0.90% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 3.20%, Infosys up by 1.46%, HCL Technologies up by 1.14%, TCS up by 0.93% and HDFC Bank up by 0.82%. On the flip side, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 2.03%, Eternal down by 1.85%, Ultratech Cement down by 1.78%, Maruti Suzuki India down by 1.73% and Bharat Electronics down by 1.46% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, citing expectations of strong growth in the April-September period, domestic rating agency Crisil has raised its FY27 GDP growth estimate for India to 7 per cent from its earlier projection of 6.6 per cent. Crisil Chief Economist D K Joshi said the revision was driven by expectations of robust growth in the first half, with GDP growth in Q1 estimated at 7.8 per cent. He said “The economy is doing well. We expect the first half to witness strong growth, while growth will slow in the second half”.

Joshi said the agency has assumed crude oil prices to average between $87 and $93 per barrel in FY27, compared with $70 per barrel in FY26, while making its growth projections. The monsoon is another key factor, with rainfall currently 12 per cent below the long-period average and potentially affecting the winter crop. Reservoir levels and soil moisture will be crucial for the rabi crop and could, in turn, have an impact on economic growth. On the currency front, he said the rupee is undervalued and is likely to appreciate to 93.5 against the US dollar by March 2027. He noted that previous episodes of currency depreciation have also been followed by a strengthening of the rupee after an initial period of pressure.

Crisil expects the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to raise the policy rate by 25 basis points each in October and December. However, Joshi said the rate hikes are unlikely to hurt private capital investment significantly, as corporates are sitting on large cash reserves and have deleveraged balance sheets. He added that the RBI is likely to continue using various tools to manage excess liquidity in the financial system. He also stressed the need to focus on skilling to make the growth process more broad-based and sustainable. While artificial intelligence could automate some existing jobs, he said it could also create new employment opportunities, as previous technological revolutions have done.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 22538.70, down by 81.75 points or 0.36% after trading in a range of 22508.05 and 22590.05. There were 15 stocks advancing against 34 stocks declining, while 1 stock remain unchanged on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 3.55%, Infosys up by 1.50%, Tata Consumer Products up by 1.34%, HDFC Life Insurance up by 1.12% and HCL Technologies up by 1.00%. On the flip side, Bajaj Auto down by 7.16%, Grasim Industries down by 2.99%, Eternal down by 2.47%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 2.36% and Shriram Finance down by 2.23% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; Nikkei 225 surged 1830.28 points or 2.74% to 68,584.00, Taiwan Weighted rose 232.28 points or 0.48% to 48,172.41, KOSPI increased 75.63 points or 1.09% to 6,913.67, Straits Times added 6.82 points or 0.12% to 5,687.01, while Jakarta Composite was down by 30.05 points or 0.5% to 6,041.09. Meanwhile, Chinese markets remained closed on account of holiday. 
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