Indices edge higher; breadth weak
FMCG, PSU Bank and Oil & Gas shares advanced while pharma, metal and realty shares declined.
At 09:25 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex jumped 224.35 points or 0.30% to 74,232.44. The Nifty 50 index rose 69.35 points or 0.31% to 23,189.45.
The broader market underperformed the frontline indices. The BSE 150 MidCap Index fell 0.38% and the BSE 250 SmallCap Index declined 0.80%.
The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 1,095 shares rose and 2,082 shares fell. A total of 208 shares were unchanged.
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth Rs 2,977.86 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net buyers to the tune of Rs 2,686.05 crore in the Indian equity market on 15 September 2026, according to provisional data.
Economy:
India's Unified Payments Interface (UPI) will roll out a targeted Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) regime effective 15 October 2026, ending a years-long blanket zero-MDR policy to build a self-sustaining funding base for network infrastructure, cybersecurity, and platform scalability.
Under the new guidelines notified by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) and the Reserve Bank of India, a standard 0.4% MDR?capped at Rs 300 for high-ticket purchases?will apply strictly to commercial person-to-merchant (P2M) payments above Rs 2,000, while essential utilities and fuel will draw a flat Rs 5 fee and capital market transfers are levied at 0.02%. Retail consumers and individual peer-to-peer (P2P) transfers remain entirely insulated from charges, as do small merchants processing under Rs 1 lakh a month and all transactions up to Rs 2,000, which together account for over 95% of daily UPI transaction volumes.
India?s current account deficit widened to $11.2 billion during April-July 2026 from $6.6 billion in the corresponding period a year earlier, mainly due to a higher merchandise trade deficit. The goods trade gap increased to $117.8 billion in the first four months of the financial year from $97.1 billion a year ago, as imports grew faster than exports. Meanwhile, net services receipts rose to $69.3 billion from $64.3 billion in April-July 2025.
Stocks in Spotlight:
GMR Airports rose 0.29%. The company reported that passenger traffic rose 0.9% YoY to 94.35 lakh in August 2026. Domestic passenger traffic declined 1.1% to 71 lakh, while international passenger traffic increased 0.5% to 24 lakh. Aircraft movements rose 6.3% to 62,498.
Saatvik Green Energy jumped 7.33% after the company announced that it has received an order worth Rs 1,041.63 crore from Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) for the supply of solar PV modules.
Sonata Software declined 1.16%. The company announced that its subsidiary Sonata Information Technology has signed a five-year Strategic Collaboration Agreement (SCA) with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to accelerate cloud adoption and modernisation for enterprises across India.
Numbers to Track:
The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal paper rose 0.66% to 7.088 compared with the previous session close of 7.021.
In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 95.8750 compared with its close of 95.8800 during the previous trading session.
MCX Gold futures for 5 October 2026 settlement rose 0.51% to Rs 1,51,550.
The US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was up 0.04% to 99.66.
The United States 10-year bond yield fell 0.26% to 4.983.
In the commodities market, Brent crude for the November 2026 settlement fell 68 cents or 0.63% to $108.07 a barrel.
Global Markets:
Asian equity benchmarks traded higher on Wednesday, supported by regional gains ahead of the US Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement. The upward movement occurred alongside elevated crude oil prices and higher US Treasury yields.
In Japan, trade deficit widened significantly to JPY 1,105.6 billion in August 2026 from JPY 294.1 billion a year earlier. It marked the fourth consecutive month of deficit and the largest since January, as imports grew faster than exports. Imports surged 28.0% year-on-year to JPY 11,153.9 billion, following a 27.9% rise in July, marking the strongest growth since November 2022. Exports rose 19.3% to JPY 10,048.4 billion.
US indices declined on Tuesday, driven by positioning ahead of the Federal Reserve meeting and rising bond yields. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 328.09 points, or 0.63%, to 52,093.11; the S&P 500 declined 0.45% to 7,585.73; and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.78% to 25,981.57. Certain technology shares recorded advances, with Qualcomm gaining over 4%, and Advanced Micro Devices and Coherent each rising approximately 2%.
The Federal Reserve is scheduled to release its interest rate decision on Wednesday. Market pricing reflects expectations of a 25-basis-point increase from the existing target range of 3.5% to 3.75%. Market attention is focused on the policy statement and accompanying commentary regarding inflation, economic conditions, and projected interest rate adjustments.
Powered by Capital Market - Live News