Equities in India fell 318 points, or 0.4%, to 84,633 in morning trade on Tuesday, halting gains from the previous six sessions, as traders remained cautious ahead of the release of key US economic data that could influence the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy decision next month. The BSE Sensex followed Wall Street’s decline overnight ahead of the announcement of the jobs data and Nvidia’s quarterly results. The Nifty 50 also dipped 0.4%, while mid-cap and small-cap stocks fell 0.4% and 0.8%, respectively. Monday’s trade data also weighed on sentiment, as India posted a record trade deficit, with shipments to the US continuing to decline. However, hopes of upcoming US–India trade deals limited the fall. Tech stocks led the losses, shrinking 0.9% in line with Wall Street’s Nasdaq, with notable declines from Infosys (-1.0%), Tech Mahindra (-1.0%), and HCL Tech (-0.8%). Other early decliners included Bajaj Finserv and Bajaj Finance, each down 0.9%.
