The domestic benchmark indices opened marginally lower on Wednesday amid mixed global cues as selling was seen in the FMCG and auto sectors in the early trade.

At around 9.26 am, Sensex was trading 92.61 points or 0.11 per cent down at 81,459.02 while the Nifty declined 16.75 point or 0.07 per cent at 24,809.45.

Nifty Bank was up 78.15 points or 0.14 per cent at 55,430.95. The Nifty Midcap 100 index was trading at 57,326.05 after rising 171.55 points or 0.30 per cent. Nifty Smallcap 100 index was at 17,839.40 after climbing 114.25 points or 0.64 per cent.

According to analysts, Nifty ended lower yesterday in a rather volatile trading session. Technically, 24,462 remains a critical swing low. If it holds - and this is the preferred view - the market will target first resistance at 25,116 and then 25,390.

India's FDI inflows increased to $81.04 billion in FY 2024-25, marking a 14 per cent increase from $71.28 billion in FY 2023–24, according to a statement issued by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry on Tuesday.

There has been a steady rise in the annual flow of FDI into the country over the last 11 years, from $36.05 billion in FY 2013-14, due to the investor-friendly policy, under which most sectors are open for 100 per cent FDI through the automatic route, the statement said.

The services sector emerged as the top recipient of FDI equity in FY 2024–25, attracting 19 per cent of total inflows, followed by computer software and hardware (16 per cent), and trading (8 per cent). FDI into the services sector rose by 40.77 per cent to $9.35 billion from $6.64 billion in the previous year.

The Income Tax Department on Tuesday extended the due date to file income tax returns for FY 2024-25 (AY 2025-26) from July 31 to September 15.

The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has decided to extend the due date for filing returns "in view of the extensive changes introduced in the notified ITRs and considering the time required for system readiness and rollout of Income Tax Return (ITR) utilities for Assessment Year (AY) 2025-26", according to an official statement.

This extension is expected to mitigate the concerns raised by stakeholders and provide adequate time for compliance, thereby ensuring the integrity and accuracy of the return filing process, the statement said.

The Border Security Force (BSF), which played a critical role in 'Operation Sindoor' alongside the Indian armed forces, has released new visuals of the military action undertaken on May 7 against nine high-value terror targets in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir (PoK).

The offensive was launched in direct response to the brutal April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam, where four heavily armed terrorists from The Resistance Front (TRF), a Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) affiliate, killed 26 innocent and unarmed people, mostly tourists from India.

The Indian armed forces, through multiple Press briefings, have kept the public informed about 'Operation Sindoor'.

In continuation of this, the BSF released a 5-minute, 21-second video capturing intense action by Indian forces on several terror infrastructure facilities across the border.

The Indian stock market closed in the red on Tuesday due to profit booking, driven by valuation concerns and weakness across the Asian markets.

At the end of trading, Sensex was down 624.82 points or 0.76 per cent at 81,551.63 and Nifty was down 174.95 points or 0.70 per cent at 24,826.20.

The decline was led by FMCG, IT, auto and metal sectors. Nifty Auto index closed down 0.70 per cent, Nifty IT index 0.75 per cent, Nifty Financial Service index 0.64 per cent and Nifty FMCG index 0.88 per cent.

Unlike largecap, buying was seen in smallcap and midcap indexes. The Nifty Midcap 100 index rose 87.25 points, or 0.15 per cent, to close at 57,154.50, and the Nifty Smallcap 100 index rose 17.35 points, or 0.10 per cent, to close at 17,725.15.

The Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) on Tuesday said the country is projected to reach the export figure of $1 trillion by the end of this fiscal (FY26).

This will constitute merchandise exports at $525-535 billion -- a growth of about 12 per cent from last fiscal -- and services exports at $465-475 billion, a growth of nearly 20 per cent.

India's export sector achieved a significant milestone in the fiscal year 2024–25, with total exports reaching a record $824.9 billion, marking a 6.01 per cent increase from the previous year's $778.1 billion.

Services exports surged 13.6 per cent to $387.5 billion in FY25, driven by strong performances in IT, business, financial and travel-related services.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will meet representatives of the Confederation of Indian Industry on Tuesday evening to discuss the roll out of reforms in the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime, according to sources.

The Finance Ministry will seek inputs and representations from industry leaders on the proposed rate rationalisation, the future of the compensation cess, and broad structural reforms as part of the GST 2.0 reforms.

The meeting will be attended by the Secretaries of the Ministry of Finance, and officials from the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, sources said.

Global family offices are most likely to increase their exposure in their investment portfolios to India and China over the next 12 months and India has scored far better on the list, according to the '2025 Global Family Office' report by UBS.

More than a quarter (28 per cent) of family offices are planning to increase their exposure to India over the next 12 months while almost a fifth (18 per cent) are planning to increase exposure to China, the report mentioned, clearing indicating the robust macro-economic indicators and strong domestic growth in India.

"Middle Eastern family offices were the most likely to increase exposure to India," the report further stated. Middle Eastern family offices, followed by those in Europe, were the most likely to increase exposure to India.

In sustained efforts to boost India’s export competitiveness in global markets, the government on Tuesday announced the restoration of benefits under the Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products (RoDTEP) scheme.

The restoration of benefits under the scheme are for exports made by Advance Authorization (AA) holders, Export-Oriented Units (EOUs), and units operating in Special Economic Zones (SEZs).

The benefits will be applicable for all eligible exports made from June 1 onwards, said the Commerce Minister in a statement.

The benefits under RoDTEP for these categories were previously available until February 5, 2025, and their reinstatement is expected to provide a level-playing field for exporters across sectors.

The Indian benchmark indices opened lower on Tuesday amid weak Asian cues, as selling was seen in the IT, auto, financial services and pharma sectors in the early trade.

At around 9.28 am, Sensex was trading 747.69 points or 0.91 per cent down at 81,428.76 while the Nifty declined 204.10 point or 0.82 per cent at 24,797.05.

Nifty Bank was down 366.95 points or 0.66 per cent at 55,205.05 The Nifty Midcap 100 index was trading at 57,062.60 after dropping 4.65 points or 0.01 per cent. Nifty Smallcap 100 index was at 17,744.40 after climbing 36.60 points or 0.21 per cent.

According to analysts, technically, the Nifty appears to have regained its momentum, decisively breaking out from its consolidation zone of 24,500-25,000.