Key gauges remain in red in morning deals

Indian equity benchmarks continued to trade lower in morning deals, dragged by a sharp rally in crude oil prices due to the renewed flare-up in West Asia. Fresh foreign fund outflows and a weak trend in global peers also put pressure on the markets. Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 3,062.27 crore on Monday, according to exchange data. Traders remained cautious as government data showed India's exports to the US dipped 1.21 per cent to $8.17 billion in June, while imports grew 33.86 per cent year-on-year to $5.5 billion. Some concern also came as the Agriculture Ministry stated that the area sown to kharif crops like paddy remained 16 per cent lower at 531.25 lakh hectares so far in the ongoing season due to weak monsoon. On the global front, Asian markets are trading mostly in green despite broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight, as traders remain cautious amid the escalating tensions in the Middle East over the control of Strait of Hormuz.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 77170.04, down by 446.36 points or 0.58% after trading in a range of 77001.58 and 77402.79. There were 9 stocks advancing against 21 stocks declining on the index.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 1.21%, TECK up by 0.49%, Healthcare up by 0.32%, Utilities up by 0.30% and Basic Materials up by 0.09%, while Realty down by 1.78%, Auto down by 1.42%, Industrials down by 1.35%, Capital Goods down by 1.29% and Bankex down by 1.16% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Bharti Airtel up by 1.41%, Tata Steel up by 1.39%, TCS up by 0.91%, Tech Mahindra up by 0.53% and Sun Pharma up by 0.37%. On the flip side, Interglobe Aviation down by 2.53%, Bajaj Finance down by 2.30%, HCL Technologies down by 2.23%, Bajaj Finserv down by 1.90% and Mahindra & Mahindra down by 1.89% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal has said that India recorded exports worth $5 billion to West Asia in June 2026, up 7.29 per cent from a year ago, indicating that trade with the region has evened out. The shipments to the region had declined in March due to the US-Iran conflict, but improved in April and further in May.

The country's exports to the UAE rose 3.57 per cent to $2.7 billion, but shipments to Saudi Arabia declined by 4.42 per cent to $768.56 million. On the other hand, imports from the UAE and Oman have registered a positive growth. But it dipped by 29.75 per cent from Saudi Arabia.

Indian exporters are using three ports (Duqm, Sohar and Salalah) in Oman to push exports to the region.The US-Iran conflict has significantly disrupted the movement of cargo ships in international waters, particularly through the Strait of Hormuz. India normally exports goods worth about $6 billion every month to the region.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 24094.30, down by 116.70 points or 0.48% after trading in a range of 24038.10 and 24157.10. There were 19 stocks advancing against 31 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Hindalco Industries up by 2.71%, Bharti Airtel up by 1.49%, Tata Steel up by 1.37%, Cipla up by 1.35% and TCS up by 1.08%. On the flip side, Shriram Finance down by 3.35%, Interglobe Aviation down by 2.42%, Bajaj Finance down by 2.29%, HCL Technologies down by 2.18% and Mahindra & Mahindra down by 2.02% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mostly in green; Nikkei 225 surged 341.27 points or 0.51% to 67,584.00, Jakarta Composite gained 36.78 points or 0.61% to 6,074.62, Shanghai Composite strengthened 21.07 points or 0.54% to 3,934.86, KOSPI increased 49.06 points or 0.72% to 6,855.99 and Hang Seng advanced 53.28 points or 0.22% to 24,267.00.

On the flip side, Straits Times fell 6.26 points or 0.11% to 5,464.08 and Taiwan Weighted lost 857.62 points or 1.89% to 44,522.90.