Markets recover in early deals from opening lows on value buying

Indian markets made gap-down start on Monday tracking weakness in Asian peers amid renewed geopolitical tensions after fresh United States military strikes on Iran over the weekend triggered risk aversion across global markets and pushed crude oil prices higher. U.S. and Iranian forces exchanged heavy missile and drone assaults, with Tehran targeting U.S. facilities in states across the Gulf on Sunday ?and saying it had again closed the vital Strait of Hormuz. Brent crude futures jumped over 4% to $79 per barrel. However, Sensex and Nifty soon trimmed most of their losses but continued their trade in red with cut of around 0.40% each in early deals. 

Markets managed to trimmed most of their losses on value buying in IT and TECK stocks provided some support. Foreign fund inflows also aided the domestic sentiments. Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 2,603.72 crore on Friday. Traders took note of report that India and Canada have concluded the third round of negotiations for the proposed Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) in Ottawa on July 10. Meanwhile, market participants were eyeing India's retail inflation data, scheduled to be released later in the day.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 77241.39, down by 328.00 points or 0.42% after trading in a range of 76857.43 and 77249.03. There were 8 stocks advancing against 22 stocks declining on the index.

The few gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were IT up by 0.85%, TECK up by 0.14% and Utilities up by 0.13%, while Auto down by 0.78%, Metal down by 0.78%, Telecom down by 0.67%, Basic Materials down by 0.61% and Capital Goods down by 0.57% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were TCS up by 2.70%, HCL Technologies up by 1.25%, Tech Mahindra up by 0.86%, NTPC up by 0.58% and Infosys up by 0.52%. On the flip side, Interglobe Aviation down by 1.99%, Tata Steel down by 1.86%, Maruti Suzuki India down by 1.75%, Asian Paints down by 1.30% and HDFC Bank down by 1.12% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, in a significant step toward strengthening bilateral relations, India and Canada have concluded the third round of negotiations for the proposed Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) in Ottawa from July 6-10, 2026. The two countries are aiming to conclude the negotiations by the end of this year. The five-day discussions covered a wide range of issues, including trade in goods and services, intellectual property rights, rules of origin, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, and technical barriers to trade, among others.

The Department of Commerce said the negotiations registered positive progress across multiple tracks, reaffirming the commitment of both sides to conclude the agreement in 2026, in line with the vision outlined by their leaders. The talks are significant as India and Canada have set a target to increase bilateral trade to $50 billion by 2030.

Key Indian exports to Canada include pharmaceuticals, iron and steel, seafood, cotton garments, electronic goods, and chemicals. The main imports include pulses, pearls and semi-precious stones, coal, fertilisers, paper, and crude petroleum. India's principal services exports to Canada include telecommunications, computer and information services, and other business services. Canada is also home to more than 425,000 Indian students and a strong Indian community.

Bilateral trade between the two countries declined 8.22 per cent to $7.95 billion in 2025-26, compared with $8.66 billion in 2024-25. India's exports to Canada rose to $4.67 billion from $4.22 billion, while imports fell to $3.28 billion from $4.44 billion during the period. Canada has a population of 41.65 million (2025) and a GDP of $2.34 trillion on a purchasing power parity basis.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 24116.00, down by 90.90 points or 0.38% after trading in a range of 24000.20 and 24119.90. There were 11 stocks advancing against 39 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were TCS up by 2.74%, HCL Technologies up by 0.98%, ONGC up by 0.88%, Tech Mahindra up by 0.69% and NTPC up by 0.64%. On the flip side, Tata Steel down by 1.83%, Interglobe Aviation down by 1.71%, Maruti Suzuki India down by 1.70%, Asian Paints down by 1.26% and HDFC Bank down by 1.19% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Nikkei 225 slipped 1532.73 points or 2.29% to 67,025.00, KOSPI dropped 574.07 points or 8.32% to 6,901.87, Shanghai Composite weakened 61.42 points or 1.56% to 3,934.74, Hang Seng declined 50.12 points or 0.21% to 24,125.00, Straits Times fell 14.67 points or 0.27% to 5,454.62 and Jakarta Composite was down by 0.27 points or 0% to 5,924.09, while Taiwan Weighted rose 194.1 points or 0.43% to 45,548.71.