Benchmarks continued to trade lower in late afternoon session weighed by weakness in banking stocks. Traders were cautious after Reserve Bank of India declined pleas for more time to transition to the expected credit loss (ECL) - based provisioning. The central bank has made clear that the newer system will be implemented from April 1, 2027. Although, these regulations are aimed at providing the safety in long-term, they are expected to affect short-term profitability of lender or banks, especially lenders with higher unsecured or 30-90-day overdue loans. Besides, the Indian rupee weakened by 39 paise to trade 94.54 against the US dollar in late afternoon deals, which sparked caution among investors. 

On the global front, Asian equity markets were trading mostly in red as U.S.-Iran talks remained at a standstill. European equity markets were trading higher as investors braced for big tech earnings and the upcoming Federal Reserve decision. 

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 77002.83, down by 300.80 points or 0.39% after trading in a range of 76793.24 and 77493.53. There were 11 stocks advancing against 19 stocks declining on the index.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Energy up by 1.57%, Telecom up by 1.31%, Oil & Gas up by 1.29%, Metal up by 0.73% and Basic Materials up by 0.43%, while Bankex down by 1.30%, IT down by 0.84%, Auto down by 0.50%, Consumer Discretionary down by 0.46% and Realty down by 0.34% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Reliance Industries up by 1.77%, Bajaj Finserv up by 0.90%, Bharti Airtel up by 0.88%, Tata Steel up by 0.87% and Sun Pharmaceutical Industries up by 0.85%. On the flip side, Eternal down by 3.35%, HCL Technologies down by 2.78%, Interglobe Aviation down by 2.69%, Axis Bank down by 2.57% and SBI down by 1.69% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, citing the impact of a high base and evolving macroeconomic headwinds, rating agency ICRA in its latest report has projected India's passenger vehicle (PV) industry growth to ease to 4-6% in FY2027 from 8.6% in FY2026, despite stable demand. The report flags a weak monsoon outlook and the ongoing West Asia crisis as critical factors, as both could affect inflation dynamics and consumer sentiment, making these factors crucial to monitor for the industry.

ICRA is expecting demand to remain supported by GST rate cuts and new model launches by original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), which will partly offset the impact of the elevated base. It highlighted that wholesale volumes witnessed 16 per cent rise year-on-year to 4.4 lakh units in March 2026, while retail sales reported growth of 21 per cent, on the back of strong demand and new launches. For FY2026, wholesale volumes grew 8.6 per cent year-on-year to an all-time high of 4.7 million units, while retail volumes rose 11 per cent to 4.6 million units. ICRA said the growth in FY2026 was uneven, with volumes declining 0.2 per cent in the first half but rising sharply by 17 per cent in the second half following GST rate changes.

The report also highlighted the data from the Federation of Automobile Dealers Association, which showed improvement in channel health, with inventory levels declining to around 28 days in March 2026 from over 50 days a year ago, aided by stronger retail offtake. The report further added that export volumes increased by 18 per cent in FY2026, driven by higher supply from Indian OEMs.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 24008.85, down by 83.85 points or 0.35% after trading in a range of 23961.25 and 24181.80. There were 18 stocks advancing against 32 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were ONGC up by 4.67%, Adani Enterprises up by 3.89%, Coal India up by 2.54%, Reliance Industries up by 1.55% and Hindalco up by 1.51%. On the flip side, Eternal down by 3.26%, HCL Technologies down by 2.77%, Interglobe Aviation down by 2.75%, Axis Bank down by 2.60% and Shriram Finance down by 2.28% were the top losers.

Asian equity markets were trading mostly in red; Nikkei 225 slipped 696.36 points or 1.16% to 59,841.00, Taiwan Weighted lost 94.9 points or 0.24% to 39,521.73, Hang Seng declined 279.65 points or 1.09% to 25,646.00, Straits Times fell 8.17 points or 0.17% to 4,884.56, Shanghai Composite weakened 7.7 points or 0.19% to 4,078.64 and Jakarta Composite plunged 34.89 points or 0.49% to 7,071.63, while KOSPI increased 25.99 points or 0.39% to 6,641.02.

European equity markets were trading higher; UK’s FTSE 100 increased 27.03 points or 0.26% to 10,348.12, France’s CAC rose 17.68 points or 0.22% to 8,159.60 and Germany’s DAX gained 19.27 points or 0.08% to 24,102.80.