Sensex falls over 50 pts, Nifty below 25,100 as IT weakness offsets gains in auto stocks – News Air Insight

Indian benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty began the week on a subdued note on Monday, mirroring the cautious tone across Asian markets, as investors awaited the U.S. Federal Reserve’s policy meeting, where the central bank is expected to resume its easing cycle. Sentiment was also underpinned by anticipation of progress in India’s trade negotiations with Washington.

The S&P BSE Sensex edged up 46.95 points, or 0.06 per cent, to finish at 81,857.75, while the NSE Nifty 50 advanced 20.75 points, or 0.08 per cent, to 25,093.25. At 9:38 AM, Sensex traded 60 pts or 0.07% lower at 81,843, whereas Nifty50 fell 27 pts to 25,086.80

On the 30-stock Sensex, shares of Infosys, Sun Pharma, Asian Paints, Tata Consultancy Services and Tech Mahindra were among the main drags, slipping between 0.5% and 2%. In contrast, Bajaj Finance, Eternal, Tata Motors, Adani Ports and Power Grid led the gainers, advancing between 0.5% and 1.5%.

Broader markets outperformed modestly, with both small-cap and mid-cap indices rising about 0.2%.

Among notable movers, RailTel Corporation of India surged 8% after securing a fresh order worth nearly Rs 210 crore from the Bihar Education Project Council.

The Nifty 50 rallied 1.5% last week, extending its winning streak to eight sessions on Friday, supported by rising expectations of a U.S. Federal Reserve rate cut, prospects of progress in U.S.-India trade negotiations and government tax reductions aimed at boosting consumption.Separately, India’s retail inflation quickened to 2.07% in August but remained comfortably within the central bank’s target range, keeping the door open for another rate cut this year.

Expert views

There are indications of India’s underperformance this year getting corrected, and the 8-day winning streak of Nifty has the potential to continue supported by fundamental and technical factors, said Dr. VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Investments, adding that “fundamentally, earnings are set to improve moderately from Q3 FY26 onwards and accelerate in FY27 with earnings growth above 15%. Technical support to the rally can come from covering of the shorts, which continue to be significant.”

“Investors should focus on sectors which have the potential to lead earnings growth. Automobiles, white goods, healthcare, cement and hotels will be the beneficiaries of earnings revival. Capital goods, telecom, consumer discretionary like jewellery and digital stocks, too are on strong wicket. However, investors should avoid chasing overvalued stocks, particularly in the smallcap segment,” said Vijayakumar.

In technical terms, Anand James, Chief Market Strategist at Geojit Investments, said that, being in the vicinity of August peak, a pullback is expected.

“Favoured view expects such dips to be arrested at either 25070 or 24980, followed by resumption of uptrend aiming 25400-600. This may take a while, though. Slippage past 24930 could, however, signal a pause to the near-term uptrend, but we see 24700 as a firm support,” said James.

Global Markets

Equities began the week on a cautious footing in Asia, with investors bracing for a pivotal U.S. Federal Reserve meeting that is widely expected to mark the resumption of its easing cycle and potentially signal further cuts ahead.

Markets have fully priced in a 25 basis point reduction, which would take the Fed funds rate to 4.0–4.25%, while futures point to only a 4% probability of a deeper 50 basis point move, according to Reuters. U.S. President Donald Trump renewed his criticism of the central bank on Sunday, calling Fed chair Jay Powell “incompetent” and accusing him of damaging the housing market.

In Europe, EUROSTOXX 50 futures edged up 0.1%, FTSE futures slipped 0.1% and DAX futures were flat. U.S. equity futures were little changed, with both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq holding steady.

Japan’s Nikkei was closed for a holiday, though futures stood at 44,590, just shy of Friday’s cash close of 44,768, after a more than 4% rally last week. South Korea’s benchmark extended record highs after the government abandoned plans to increase taxes on equity investments. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was flat.

On the Chinese mainland, blue chips added 0.5%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index ticked up 0.2%.

In commodities, gold eased 0.1% to $3,639 an ounce, hovering close to last week’s all-time peak of $3,673.95.

Also read: Catch all the market action live here

FII/DII Tracker

On the institutional front, Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth nearly Rs 130 crore on September 12, while Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) were net buyers to the tune of Rs 1,556 crore.

Crude Impact

Crude prices held steady on Monday as traders weighed the fallout from Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian refineries, which threaten to disrupt crude and fuel exports, against prospects for stronger U.S. fuel demand.

Brent crude futures inched up 3 cents to $67.02 a barrel by 0009 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate rose 8 cents to $62.77.

Rupee vs Dollar

The Indian rupee slipped 3 paise to 88.29 against the U.S. dollar in early trading on Monday, as markets weighed the certainty over a Federal Reserve rate cut against persistent headwinds from U.S. trade tariffs.

The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, was down 0.03% at 97.63.

(with inputs from agencies)