Domestic equity indices pared some losses in late morning trade as buying interest surged in Tata Motors, Titan, IndusInd Bank, Maruti Suzuki, and NTPC. Investor sentiment found some support after foreign institutional investors made net purchases of Indian equities worth ₹1,506.75 crore on Thursday. Optimism also grew as Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal highlighted rapid progress in implementing the free trade agreement (FTA) with the EFTA bloc, expected to take effect by year-end. However, rising crude oil prices kept the markets under pressure.

Sectorally, Oil & Gas, Consumer Durables, Energy, PSU, and Metals saw gains, while IT, TECK, Bankex, Realty, and Healthcare sectors faced selling pressure.

Globally, Asian markets were largely in the green despite weak overnight cues from U.S. markets. China's markets slipped as bond yields hit record lows, with the People's Bank of China signaling potential interest rate cuts.

The Sensex was trading at 79,694.71, down by 249 points (0.31%), within a range of 79,274.77 to 80,072.99. While 18 stocks gained, 12 declined. The broader BSE Mid-cap and Small-cap indices were up by 0.07% and 0.65%, respectively.

Sector Highlights:
Top gainers included Oil & Gas (+1.09%), Consumer Durables (+1.02%), and Energy (+0.88%). On the losing side were IT (-1.06%), TECK (-0.88%), and Bankex (-0.42%).

Stock Performances:
Top Sensex gainers: Tata Motors (+3.53%), Titan (+2.38%), and IndusInd Bank (+1.65%).
Top losers: Tech Mahindra (-1.74%), HDFC Bank (-1.55%), and ICICI Bank (-1.46%).

Credit Growth Insights:
An ICRA report noted that banks' credit growth might slow to 9.7-10.3% by FY26 due to a high credit-to-deposit ratio and new liquidity regulations. It revised the FY25 credit growth forecast to 10.5-11% from an earlier estimate of 11.6-12.5%.

Global Markets:
Most Asian indices gained, with Hang Seng rising by 0.41% and KOSPI surging 1.73%. However, Shanghai Composite dropped by 0.73%.

The Nifty was at 24,113.20, down 75.45 points (0.31%), with an even split of 25 gainers and losers. Top Nifty performers included Tata Motors (+3.52%) and ONGC (+2.86%), while Hero MotoCorp (-2.12%) and Wipro (-2.11%) lagged.