Indian equity benchmarks made flat-to-positive start on Tuesday but failed to hold on the gains and slipped below neutral lines amid mixed cues from Asian counterparts as investors await the talks between the US and Iran. Sensex and Nifty were trading in red in early deals due to selling pressure in IT, TECK and Auto stocks. Traders were concerned amid foreign fund outflows as foreign institutional investors were net sellers of shares worth Rs 1,350.10 crore on Monday. Some cautiousness also came as the Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said that India's free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations with Israel and the six-nation GCC bloc are ‘temporarily stalled’ at present amid the West Asia crisis.
Traders overlooked the latest government data showing that India’s Index of Industrial Production (IIP) recorded a 5.1 percent (Quick Estimate) year-on-year growth in May 2026, which is higher than 4.9 percent growth in the month of April 2026, supported by expansion in manufacturing and electricity and gas supply.
On the global front, Asian markets were trading mixed as traders focused on the renewed tension between the US and Iran. meanwhile, Chinese markets buoyed by stronger-than-expected business activity data. China’s official manufacturing PMI unexpectedly returned to expansion territory in June at 50.3.
The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 76515.95, down by 212.42 points or 0.28% after trading in a range of 76496.90 and 77037.36. There were 13 stocks advancing against 17 stocks declining on the index.
The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Telecom up by 0.90%, Consumer Durables up by 0.39%, Industrials up by 0.28%, Healthcare up by 0.19% and Realty up by 0.11%, while IT down by 1.93%, TECK down by 0.86%, Auto down by 0.68%, FMCG down by 0.56% and Metal down by 0.51% were the top losing indices on BSE.
The top gainers on the Sensex were Maruti Suzuki India up by 1.42%, Titan Company up by 1.20%, Bharti Airtel up by 0.90%, Axis Bank up by 0.83% and Adani Ports &Special up by 0.68%. On the flip side, Infosys down by 2.70%, TCS down by 2.67%, HCL Technologies down by 1.83%, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 1.11% and Hindustan Unilever down by 1.02% were the top losers.
Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in its data on 'India's External Debt as at the end of March 2026' has stated that total external debt of India stood at $762.8 billion at the end of March 2026, registering an increase of $26.3 billion over the year-ago period. The data showed that valuation effect due to the appreciation of the US dollar vis-a-vis the Indian rupee and other major currencies amounted to $24.6 billion. The central bank said ‘Excluding the valuation effect, external debt would have increased by $51 billion instead of $26.3 billion at end-March 2026 over end-March 2025’.
The central bank also said that the external debt to GDP ratio increased to 20.8 per cent at end-March 2026 from 19.8 per cent during the corresponding period a year ago. At the end of March 2026, RBI said long-term debt (with original maturity of above one year) stood at $613.5 billion, recording an increase of $11.6 billion over its level at end-March 2025. The share of short-term debt (with original maturity of up to one year) in total external debt increased to 19.6 per cent at end-March 2026 from 18.3 per cent at end-March 2025. Similarly, the ratio of short-term debt (original maturity) to foreign exchange reserves increased to 21.6 per cent at end-March 2026 from 20.1 per cent at end-March 2025.
It said US dollar-denominated debt remained the largest component of India's external debt, with a share of 55.5 per cent at end-March 2026, followed by debt denominated in the Indian rupee (29.4 per cent), yen (6.4 per cent), SDR2 (4.3 per cent) and euro (3.7 per cent). RBI further said outstanding debt of the general government decreased, while non-government debt increased at end-March 2026 over the level a year ago. Loans remained the largest component of external debt, with a share of 34.7 per cent, followed by currency and deposits (22.3 per cent), trade credit and advances (19 per cent) and debt securities (16.1 per cent).
The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 23870.35, down by 75.90 points or 0.32% after trading in a range of 23861.50 and 24035.55. There were 23 stocks advancing against 27 stocks declining on the index.
The top gainers on Nifty were Maruti Suzuki India up by 1.57%, Titan Company up by 0.98%, Bharti Airtel up by 0.96%, Axis Bank up by 0.82% and Adani Ports & SEZ up by 0.81%. On the flip side, Eicher Motors down by 5.14%, Tata Consumer Products down by 3.96%, Infosys down by 2.80%, TCS down by 2.75% and Wipro down by 1.82% were the top losers.
Asian markets were trading mixed; Taiwan Weighted jumped 1459.71 points or 3.24% to 46,459.61, Nikkei 225 surged 1008.89 points or 1.45% to 70,477.00, KOSPI strengthened 149.81 points or 1.78% to 8,544.46 and Shanghai Composite added 8.23 points or 0.2% to 4,082.13. On the other hand, Hang Seng declined 293.68 points or 1.29% to 22,733.00, Jakarta Composite fell 154.9 points or 2.66% to 5,665.89 and Straits Times was down by 31.59 points or 0.61% to 5,177.16.
