Indian equity benchmarks continued to trade marginally lower in morning deals, amid uncertainty over the next round of US-Iran negotiations in Doha. Fresh foreign fund outflows and decline in blue-chip IT stock also weighed on the sentiments. Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 1,350.10 crore on Monday, according to exchange data. However, losses remain capped as some support came with the Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation (MoSPI) in its latest report showing that 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. Meanwhile, the commerce department said that India and the Maldives have began negotiations for a free trade agreement. The discussions are being conducted in virtual mode and are scheduled from June 29 to July 7. On the global front, Asian markets were trading mixed amid renewed uncertainty about the geopolitical situation in the Middle East after Iran reportedly said it will not meet the US team in Qatar for the peace talks later in the day to end the four-month war.
The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 76580.52, down by 147.85 points or 0.19% after trading in a range of 76455.49 and 77037.36. There were 14 stocks advancing against 16 stocks declining on the index.
The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Telecom up by 0.62%, Consumer Durables up by 0.58%, Realty up by 0.41%, Healthcare up by 0.25% and Consumer Discretionary up by 0.15%, while IT down by 1.65%, TECK down by 0.70%, Utilities down by 0.63%, Metal down by 0.55%, FMCG down by 0.54% were the losing indices on BSE.
The top gainers on the Sensex were Maruti Suzuki India up by 2.28%, Titan Company up by 1.42%, Bajaj Finance up by 1.11%, Bajaj Finserv up by 1.09% and Bharti Airtel up by 1.09%. On the flip side, Infosys down by 2.33%, TCS down by 2.04%, HCL Technologies down by 1.58%, Hindustan Unilever down by 1.22% and Tech Mahindra down by 1.12% were the top losers.
Meanwhile, the commerce department stated that India and the Maldives have started negotiations for a free trade agreement. It said the discussions are being held via virtual mode and are expected to conclude on July 7 after beginning on June 29. It stated ‘The Government of India has officially commenced the first round of negotiations for a bilateral Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the Republic of Maldives.’
Under a trade agreement, two countries either significantly reduce or eliminate import duties on the maximum number of goods traded between them. The Bilateral trade between India and the Maldives increased by 13.5 per cent to $771.76 million (exports $458.71 million and imports $313 million) in 2025-26 from $690 million in 2024-25. India is the major trading partner of the Maldives.
Indian imports from the Maldives primarily comprise scrap metals, while exports include a variety of engineering and industrial products like drugs and pharmaceuticals, radar apparatus, rock boulders, aggregates, cement, and agricultural products like rice, spices, fruits, vegetables and poultry produce. India and the Maldives signed a trade agreement in 1981, which provides for the export of essential commodities.
The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 23891.45, down by 54.80 points or 0.23% after trading in a range of 23851.95 and 24035.55. There were 21 stocks advancing against 29 stocks declining on the index.
The top gainers on Nifty were Maruti Suzuki India up by 2.50%, Titan Company up by 1.70%, Bajaj Finance up by 1.32%, Nestle India up by 1.29% and Bharti Airtel up by 1.23%. On the flip side, Eicher Motors down by 4.17%, Tata Consumer Products down by 3.41%, Infosys down by 2.32%, Wipro down by 2.10% and TCS down by 2.08% were the top losers.
Asian markets are trading mixed; Nikkei 225 surged 1156.89 points or 1.67% to 70,625.00, Taiwan Weighted added 1541.37 points or 3.43% to 46,541.27, Shanghai Composite strengthened 6.11 points or 0.15% to 4,080.01 and KOSPI increased 236.87 points or 2.82% to 8,631.52.
On the flip side, Hang Seng declined 321.68 points or 1.4% to 22,705.00, Straits Times fell 31.57 points or 0.61% to 5,177.18 and Jakarta Composite plunged 138.24 points or 2.37% to 5,682.55.
