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Indian equity markets are likely to make cautious start on Thursday, tracking mixed global cues. Traders are likely to remain cautious amid continued selling pressure from foreign institutional investors (FIIs), who were net sellers of shares worth Rs 1,750.03 crore. However, some support may come from renewed hopes of a potential trade deal between India and US.

Some of the key factors to be watched:

Retail inflation in October touches record low of 0.25% on GST cuts: India’s retail inflation fell to a record low of 0.25 per cent in October following cut in GST rates on nearly 380 items of mass consumption coupled with subdued prices of vegetables, fruits and eggs.

Government approves schemes worth Rs 45,000 crore to boost exports: The government has approved two schemes worth Rs 45,000 crore to help exporters tide over the impact of high tariffs imposed by the US on Indian shipments.

EAM Jaishankar holds talks with Rubio in Canada: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar held talks with his American counterpart Marco Rubio that largely focused on issues relating to trade and supply chains.

Finance ministry asks banks to step up credit to MSMEs, agriculture sector: The finance ministry has asked state-owned banks to focus on accelerating credit to MSMEs and the agriculture sector while sustaining growth in low-cost deposits and strengthening risk management.

Jitendra Singh calls for India-Mauritius cooperation in Blue Economy: Union Minister Jitendra Singh highlighted the common stake of India-Mauritius in Blue Economy. Further, he has called for deeper cooperation between both countries in emerging areas such as fisheries, ocean technologies, and desalination, describing them as new frontiers of sustainable growth and mutual prosperity for both maritime nations.

On the global front: The US markets ended mostly in green on Wednesday as investors remained optimistic about the US government shut down coming to an end. Asian markets trading mixed on Thursday, as concerns persisted about a potential artificial intelligence-driven market bubble and new data added to signs of a weakening U.S. labour market. 

Back home, Indian equity benchmarks continued their upward momentum for the third straight day on Wednesday, supported by gains in IT and consumer durables shares amid a rally in global equities markets. Optimism over the anticipated resolution of the US government shutdown and growing expectations of interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve also bolstered the sentiment. Finally, the BSE Sensex rose 595.19 points or 0.71% to 84,466.51 and the CNX Nifty was up by 180.85 points or 0.70% to 25,875.80.

Some of the important factors in trade:

Ind-Ra pegs India’s Q2 GDP growth at 7.2%: India Ratings & Research (Ind-Ra) has projected India's GDP to grow at 7.2 per cent in the second quarter of the current fiscal, with private consumption being the leading growth driver.  

Net direct tax collection grows 7% so far in FY26: Net direct tax collection has recorded a 7 per cent growth year-on-year at over Rs 12.92 lakh crore till November 10 this fiscal year, on higher corporate tax mop-up and slower refunds. It was about Rs 12.08 lakh crore in the year-ago period. 

Crisil’s FCI indicates improvement in domestic financial conditions in October: Crisil’s Financial Conditions Index (FCI) has showed an improvement in India’s domestic financial conditions in the month of October amid heightened optimism over country’s economic output. Crisil’s FCI rose to -0.3 in October, 2025 from -0.6 in September, 2025.

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