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Indian equity markets are likely to make a flat to positive start on Thursday supported by optimistic cues from global markets as the US Supreme Court weighs the legality of Trump Tariffs. Traders are likely to adopt a wait-and-watch ahead of the release of the HSBC Composite PMI and Q2 earnings reports from prominent companies. However, some volatility may come from foreign institutional investors (FIIs), who were net sellers of shares worth Rs 1,067.01 crore.

Some of the key factors to be watched:

India set to become third-largest economy: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that India stands out as a fast-growing economy and will soon be the third-largest in the world.

India-Japan partnership enhances stability in Indo-Pacific: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said that the India-Japan partnership enhances the strategic stability in the Indo-Pacific region and contributes to economic growth at the global level. 

India, US holding continuous discussions for bilateral trade agreement: Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has said that India and the US are holding continuous discussions for the proposed bilateral trade agreement.

India will meet fiscal deficit target of FY26: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has exuded confidence that the government will meet the fiscal deficit target of 4.4 per cent of the GDP for the year ending March 2026.

India consistently protects interests of vulnerable sectors in FTAs: Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said India consistently protects the interests of vulnerable sectors like dairy and MSMEs in free trade agreements (FTAs).

On the global front: The US markets ended in green on Wednesday after ADP said private sector employment climbed by 42,000 jobs in October after slipping by a revised 29,000 jobs in September. Asian markets are trading mostly in green on Thursday, following the positive cues from Wall Street overnight.

Back home, Indian equity benchmarks ended over half percent lower on Tuesday amid persistent foreign fund outflows and weak trend in Asian and European markets. Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 1,883.78 crore on Monday, according to exchange data. Finally, the BSE Sensex fell 519.34 points or 0.62% to 83,459.15 and the CNX Nifty was down by 165.70 points or 0.64% to 25,597.65. 

Some of the important factors in trade:

India, New Zealand start fourth round of talks on free trade agreement: The commerce ministry has said that officials of India and New Zealand started the fourth round (November 3-7, 2025) of negotiations in Auckland for the proposed free trade agreement (FTA). 

US-APAC trade deals reduce uncertainty: Fitch Ratings has said that the bilateral trade agreements between the US and several APAC countries reduce uncertainty around the outlook for Asia's exporters, and could marginally increase the GDP growth of these nations over the next few years. 

Steel stocks in watch: The Ministry of Steel, Government of India, is all set to launch the Third Round (PLI 1.2) of the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme for Specialty Steel, one of the key initiatives under the Government’s Atmanirbhar Bharat vision.

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