Indian Markets Decline Amid IT Sector Weakness; Budget 2026 to Boost Defence Spending

Indian markets experienced a second consecutive day of losses, primarily due to declines in IT and realty stocks, with Nifty IT constituents falling amid concerns over disappointing Q3 results from LTIMindtree and a drop in top BFSI clients. Investor sentiment is further affected by foreign institutional investor outflows, a weakening rupee, and uncertainty surrounding US-Europe tariff disputes. Meanwhile, Motilal Oswal anticipates a 15% increase in defence spending and strong RBI dividend support in the upcoming Budget 2026, alongside sustained capital expenditure and muted GST growth as the government targets a 4.4% fiscal deficit.