Key gauges end lower on heightened tensions in Middle East

Indian equity benchmarks fell over half percent on Monday, amid heightened tensions in the Middle East after the US bombed three major nuclear sites in Iran. A pullback in crude oil prices helped the Indian markets pare some of their morning losses, although they still ended on a negative note.  

Some of the important factors in today’s trade:

Net direct tax collection slips 1.39% to Rs 4.59 lakh crore so far in FY26: 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.

Rupee closes lower against US Dollar: Indian rupee plunged sharply against the US dollar amid a strengthening dollar and volatile crude oil prices following the US strike on Iran's nuclear facilities. A sharp decline in the domestic equity markets further pressured the rupee.

EPFO adds 19.14 lakh members on net basis in April 2025: The payroll data released by the Labour Ministry has indicated that the Employees' Provident Fund Organization (EPFO) added 19.14 lakh members on a net basis in April 2025. This figure depicts a significant increase of 31.31 per cent over March 2025 and 1.17 per cent growth over April 2024. 

FIIs continue buying spree: Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) continued their buying spree on June 20, logging their third highest single-day net purchase of the year with Rs 7,940.70 crore in equities. This marks the fourth consecutive day of FII inflows in June, the longest streak of the month. 

Weak global sentiment: Asian markets ended mostly down amid escalation in the middle-east conflict after the U.S. joined Israel in the weeks-long war with Iran, with US carrying out a ‘successful’ airstrike on three nuclear sites in Iran over the weekend. European markets were trading lower as investors waited for Iran's response to the weekend U.S. air strikes on its nuclear sites. 

Finally, the BSE Sensex fell 511.38 points or 0.62% to 81,896.79 and the CNX Nifty was down by 140.50 points or 0.56% to 24,971.90.  

The BSE Sensex touched high and low of 82,169.67 and 81,476.76 respectively. There were 9 stocks advancing against 21 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices ended in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.20%, while Small cap index was up by 0.57%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Capital Goods up by 0.94%, Metal up by 0.71%, PSU up by 0.54%, Basic Materials up by 0.46% and Consumer Durables up by 0.38%, while IT down by 1.46%, TECK down by 1.10%, Auto down by 0.88%, FMCG down by 0.62% and Telecom down by 0.50% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Trent up by 3.61%, Bharat Electronics up by 3.15%, Bajaj Finance up by 1.20%, Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 0.71% and Bajaj Finserv up by 0.58%. On the flip side, Infosys down by 2.29%, Larsen & Toubro down by 2.11%, HCL Technologies down by 2.10%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 1.59% and Hindustan Unilever down by 1.29% 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 compared 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 traded in a range of 25,057.00 and 24,824.85. There were 15 stocks advancing against 35 stocks declining on the index.   

The top gainers on Nifty were Trent up by 3.57%, Bharat Electronics up by 3.22%, Hindalco up by 1.98%, Tata Consumer Products up by 0.96% and Bajaj Finance up by 0.88%. On the flip side, Infosys down by 2.35%, HCL Technologies down by 2.30%, Larsen & Toubro down by 2.27%, Hero MotoCorp down by 2.10% and Mahindra & Mahindra down by 1.52% were the top losers.

European markets were trading lower; UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 1.17 points or 0.01% to 8,773.48, France’s CAC fell 35.9 points or 0.47% to 7,553.76 and Germany’s DAX lost 83.94 points or 0.36% to 23,266.61.

Asian markets ended mostly down on Monday as investors reacted to escalation in the Middle East crisis after the United States joined Israel in attacking Iran’s nuclear facilities, with markets closely watching for Iran's response. Meanwhile, markets are still pricing a slim chance the Fed will cut at its next meeting on July 30, even after Fed Governor Christopher Waller broke ranks and argued for a July easing. Japanese shares ended slightly lower despite a weaker yen.