Persistent selling keeps Dalal Street under bearish trend

Persistent selling kept the Dalal Street under bearish trend during early afternoon deals, with both Sensex and Nifty trading in red, impacted by heavy selling at Realty and Auto counters, despite positive cues from other Asian markets. Sentiments got hit after India's wholesale price index (WPI) inflation surged to 9.87 per cent in the month of June 2026 from 9.68 per cent in May 2026, as a fresh spike in food, non-food articles and minerals outweighed a moderation in fuel inflation.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green, even after the U.S. reinstated a naval blockade on Iranian shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and proposed to charge a 20 percent transit fee on cargo passing through the strategic waterway, sending crude oil prices soaring.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 77129.16, down by 487.24 points or 0.63% after trading in a range of 77001.58 and 77402.79. There were 6 stocks advancing against 24 stocks declining on the index.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 0.75%, Utilities up by 0.73%, Healthcare up by 0.71%, Power up by 0.40% and Telecom up by 0.23%, while Realty down by 1.86%, Auto down by 1.28%, Bankex down by 1.22%, Consumer Disc down by 1.02% and Industrials down by 0.98% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Bharti Airtel up by 1.62%, Sun Pharma up by 1.12%, Tata Steel up by 0.88%, Adani Ports & SEZ up by 0.81% and TCS up by 0.30%. On the flip side, HCL Technologies down by 3.36%, Interglobe Aviation down by 2.72%, Bajaj Finserv down by 2.12%, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 1.96% and Larsen & Toubro down by 1.76% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, with India's engineering exports growing nearly 21% year-on-year to $11.48 billion in June, the EEPC India Chairman Pankaj Chadha has said that the strong export growth came despite a challenging external environment and persistent global uncertainty, underscoring the resilience of India's engineering industry. In June 2025, India’s engineering goods exports stood at $9.50 billion. 

During the first quarter of the 2026-27 fiscal (April-June), cumulative engineering exports were estimated at $34.14 billion compared with $28.91 billion in the corresponding period last year, registering an 18% growth. 

Chadha pointed that the strong performance of the sector reflects the collective efforts of industry and the government. He attributed the double-digit growth to factors including free trade agreements with key partner countries, exporters' strategy of diversifying products and markets, and the rising global competitiveness of 'Brand India' engineering products.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 24079.15, down by 131.85 points or 0.54% after trading in a range of 24038.10 and 24157.10. There were 14 stocks advancing against 36 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Cipla up by 1.75%, Bharti Airtel up by 1.72%, Hindalco Industries up by 1.71%, Apollo Hospital Ent. up by 1.28% and Sun Pharma up by 1.20%. On the flip side, HCL Technologies down by 3.44%, HDFC Life Insurance down by 2.82%, Interglobe Aviation down by 2.65%, Shriram Finance down by 2.24% and Tata Motors Passenger down by 2.21% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; Shanghai Composite strengthened 53.34 points or 1.34% to 3,967.13, Jakarta Composite gained 42.11 points or 0.69% to 6,079.95, KOSPI increased 49.90 points or 0.73% to 6,856.83, Nikkei 225 surged 427.27 points or 0.63% to 67,670.00, Hang Seng advanced 142.28 points or 0.58% to 24,356.00 and Straits Times rose 27.16 points or 0.49% to 5,497.50, while Taiwan Weighted lost 642.57 points or 1.44% to 44,737.95.