Domestic equity indies remain under pressure in late morning deals

Domestic equity indices trimmed some of their losses but remained in red in late morning deals on account of selling by funds and retail investors. Weak cues from other Asian markets weighed on the domestic sentiments. Traders were cautious after the United States entered Israel’s war against Iran over the weekend by striking three nuclear sites, a move by President Donald Trump that raised oil prices and risked a bigger conflict in the Middle East. Further, weakness also prevailed in markets as the government data showed a decline of 1.39 per cent in net direct tax collection to Rs 4.59 lakh crore so far (from April to June 19, 2025) this fiscal year (FY26), compared to Rs 4.65 lakh crore collected in the corresponding period a year ago. IT industry related stocks were under pressure, amid worries over sustained softness in global tech spending-especially after Accenture revealed its third straight year-over-year drop in outsourcing contracts. 

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in red, dragged by concerns over the ongoing tension in the Middle East region. Back home, on the BSE sectoral front, traders were seen pilling up positions in Capital Goods, Industrials and PSU, while selling was witnessed in IT, Auto, TECK, Bankex and Oil & Gas. In the stock specific development, LT Foods dropped after the US authorities imposed a 340.27 per cent countervailing duty on exports of organic soybean meal by its step-down subsidiary.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 81786.29, down by 621.88 points or 0.75% after trading in a range of 81476.76 and 81984.44. There were 4 stocks advancing against 26 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading mixed; the BSE Mid cap index was down by 0.08%, while Small cap index up by 0.16%.

The few gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Capital Goods up by 0.57%, Industrials up by 0.10% and PSU up by 0.04%, while IT down by 1.33%, Auto down by 0.96%, TECK down by 0.88%, Bankex down by 0.64% and Oil & Gas down by 0.49% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The few gainers on the Sensex were Bharat Electronics up by 2.39%, Trent up by 1.59%, Eternal up by 0.49% and Bharti Airtel up by 0.35%. On the flip side, Infosys down by 2.18%, HCL Technologies down by 1.76%, Hindustan Unilever down by 1.60%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 1.43% and TCS down by 1.23% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the government data showed a decline of 1.39 per cent in net direct tax collection to Rs 4.59 lakh crore so far (from April to June 19, 2025) this fiscal year (FY26), compared to Rs 4.65 lakh crore collected in the corresponding period a year ago, owed to slowdown in advance tax mop-up and higher refunds. The data showed a modest growth of 3.87 per cent in advance tax, which is an indicator of corporate profitability and income of individuals, to Rs 1.56 lakh crore between April 1 and June 19, 2025. The advance tax collections had recorded an annual growth of 27 per cent in comparable period in 2024. In current fiscal year, the advance tax paid by corporates saw a growth of 5.86 per cent to Rs 1.22 lakh crore, while those by non-corporates, including individuals, HUFs and firms, dropped 2.68 per cent to Rs 33,928 crore.

The refund issuances spiked 58 per cent to Rs 86,385 crore during the period between April 1 and June 19, 2025. During the same period, gross direct tax collection stood at Rs 5.45 lakh crore, marking a growth of 4.86 per cent as compare to last year. Meanwhile, the net corporate tax collection witnessed a slowdown at Rs 1.73 lakh crore, a decline of over 5 per cent year-on-year.

The non-corporate tax collections, which include mainly personal income tax, posted a slight increase of 0.7 per cent to Rs 2.73 lakh crore in the same period. Besides, Securities Transaction Tax (STT) collection has grown 12 per cent to Rs 13,013 crore. In the current fiscal year (2025-26), the government has projected its direct tax collections at Rs 25.20 lakh crore, up 12.7 per cent year-on-year. The government has collected 18.21 per cent of its direct tax target till June 19. The government aims to collect Rs 78,000 crore from STT in FY26.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 24943.50, down by 168.90 points or 0.67% after trading in a range of 24824.85 and 24988.10. There were 12 stocks advancing against 38 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Bharat Electronics up by 2.38%, Trent up by 2.05%, Adani Enterprises up by 1.14%, Nestle up by 0.80% and Eternal up by 0.57%. On the flip side, Infosys down by 2.16%, HCL Technologies down by 1.72%, Hindustan Unilever down by 1.57%, Hero MotoCorp down by 1.52% and Mahindra & Mahindra down by 1.50% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Jakarta Composite plunged 117.43 points or 1.73% to 6,789.71, Straits Times fell 14.15 points or 0.37% to 3,869.28, KOSPI dropped 7.45 points or 0.25% to 3,014.39, Nikkei 225 slipped 65.6 points or 0.17% to 38,337.63 and Taiwan Weighted lost 244.51 points or 1.12% to 21,801.23. However, Hang Seng advanced 52.49 points or 0.22% to 23,582.97 and Shanghai Composite strengthened 8.67 points or 0.26% to 3,368.57.