At 13:25 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 59.58 points or 0.16% at 37,922.05. The Nifty 50 index lost 18.50 points or 0.16% at 11,209.05.

Hindalco (up 4.38%), Hero MotoCorp (up 3.76%), TCS (up 2.90%), Titan Company (up 2.21%) and UltraTech Cement (up 1.91%) were the top Nifty gainers.

IndusInd Bank (down 4.03%), ONGC (down 3.55%), Axis Bank (down 3.16%), UPL (down 2.86%) and Power Grid (down 2.53%) were the top Nifty losers.

President Donald Trump and Joe Biden, the Democratic nominee, will face off in their first Presidential debate Tuesday night. Three debates between the presidential candidates are scheduled to take place on 29 September, 15 October, and 22 October 2020. The US Presidential election is scheduled on Tuesday, 3 November 2020.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index slipped 0.26%.

Sellers outpaced buyers. On the BSE, 1001 shares rose and 1413 shares fell. A total of 151 shares were unchanged.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth Rs 26.98 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs), were net buyers to the tune of Rs 542.34 crore in the Indian equity market on 28 September, provisional data showed.

COVID-19 Update:

Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 33,353,615 with 10,01,646 deaths. India reported 9,47,576 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 96,318 deaths while 51,01,397 patients have been discharged, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.

Unlock 5.0:

The media reported that restaurants, bars and eatery outlets in Maharashtra will be allowed to re-start operations from the first week of October. Hotels, bars and restaurants have been surviving on home deliveries due to the covid-19 lockdown.

Economy:

Ratings agency ICRA after market hours on Monday revised its forecast for the contraction in the gross domestic product (GDP) for FY 2020-21 to -11% from -9.5% as fresh Covid-19 infections remaining elevated at the end of the second quarter. The rating agency however retained its earlier forecast of a 12.4% contraction in GDP in the second quarter

Stocks in Spotlight :

Zydus Wellness rose 0.87% to Rs 1855.80 after the company said it raised about Rs 649.97 crore through qualified institutional placement of 38.46 lakh equity shares at Rs 1,690 each. The issue price is at 4.83% discount to the QIP floor price of Rs 1,775.85 per equity share. The QIP issue opened on 23 September 2020 and closed on 28 September 2020.

Intellect Design Arena hit an upper circuit of 5% at Rs 215.40 after the company announced that it will steward the digital transformation of Myanmar's state-owned Myanma Foreign Trade Bank (MFTB).

Steel Strips Wheels (SSWL) rose 1.88% to Rs 441.20 after the company said it received new orders for nearly 9,000 wheels worth over 229,000 euros for European trailer market.

Global Markets:

European markets opened lower while most Asian indices advanced on Tuesday. Logistics firm ZTO Express soared in its Hong Kong debut. The firm is the latest U.S.-listed Chinese company to debut in the city.

Investors will remain cautious ahead of the first U.S. presidential debate set to take place later on Tuesday, and as lawmakers continue sporadic efforts to cobble together additional economic stimulus. U.S. consumer confidence and home price data is also due on Tuesday.

In US, Wall Street rallied to close sharply higher on Monday as investors sought bargains among sectors hardest-hit by the coronavirus recession, now limping toward its ninth month.

U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi reportedly said that stimulus talks with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin are due to continue, suggesting a possible progress to end the stalemate.