Indian equity markets remained under pressure in late morning deals on account of selling in stocks of Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Maruti Suzuki India and Interglobe Aviation. Rising crude oil prices weighed on the domestic sentiment. Crude oil prices rose as the conflict between the United States and Iran heightened concerns over disruptions to energy shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, following another round of U.S. strikes and American military casualties. Further, depreciation in Indian rupee against dollar also weighed down sentiments. Rupee weakened by 21 paise to 96.51 against the dollar at the Inter-bank Foreign Exchange market. On the BSE sectoral front, traders were seen pilling up positions in Utilities, Metal, Power, Basic Materials and Healthcare, while selling was witnessed in Bankex, Realty and Auto.
On the global front, Asian markets were trading mixed, following negative cues from the U.S. markets on Friday. In the stock specific development, ICICI Bank surged as the bank, on a consolidated basis, reported a 13.88% rise in its net profit at Rs 15,440.06 crore for Q1FY27, as compared to Rs 13,557.60 crore for the same quarter in the previous year.
The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 77667.28, down by 484.17 points or 0.62% after trading in a range of 77444.79 and 78151.45. There were 16 stocks advancing against 14 stocks declining on the index.
The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Utilities up by 1.22%, Metal up by 1.11%, Power up by 1.03%, Basic Materials up by 0.85% and Healthcare up by 0.76%, while Bankex down by 1.19%, Realty down by 0.89%, Auto down by 0.58% were few losing indices on BSE.
The top gainers on the Sensex were Trent up by 2.93%, NTPC up by 1.92%, Power Grid up by 1.45%, Bharti Airtel up by 1.37% and ICICI Bank up by 1.26%. On the flip side, Axis Bank down by 4.91%, HDFC Bank down by 4.50%, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 2.06%, Maruti Suzuki India down by 1.27% and Interglobe Aviation down by 1.20% were the top losers.
Meanwhile, the commerce ministry in its latest data has showed that ASEAN and African regions emerged as the biggest drivers of India's export growth during the first two months of FY2026-27. During the period, India's merchandise exports rose 16.09 per cent year-on-year to $88.91 billion. Exports to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) surged 66.9 per cent to $10.5 billion from $6.3 billion in the corresponding period last year, while shipments to Africa climbed 53.1 per cent to $9.6 billion from $6.3 billion. Together, these two regions contributed more than $7.6 billion in additional exports, accounting for a substantial share of India's overall export growth.
Despite modest growth, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) region -- comprising the US, Canada and Mexico-- remained India's largest export destination, with exports increasing 2.6 per cent to $19.3 billion from $18.8 billion. Exports to Europe rose 4 per cent to $17 billion from $16.4 billion. Among other regions, exports to North East Asia grew 30.7 per cent to $8.3 billion, while shipments to South Asia increased 40.2 per cent to $6.1 billion during the period. Similarly, exports to Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) rose 12.5 per cent to $3 billion, while shipments to Oceania (Australia and New Zealand) increased 29 per cent to $2.1 billion. Exports to the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), which includes Russia, Armenia, Belarus and Kazakhstan, grew 7.7 per cent to $1.1 billion.
The data indicated that regions outside north America and Europe now account for more than half of India's exports, reflecting the country's strategy of diversifying export markets amid global economic uncertainty. India's total exports of goods and services during April-May FY27 were estimated at $162.69 billion, registering a 14.66 per cent increase over the corresponding period last year.
The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 24209.90, down by 124.40 points or 0.51% after trading in a range of 24149.90 and 24262.35. There were 32 stocks advancing against 18 stocks declining on the index.
The top gainers on Nifty were Trent up by 2.65%, JSW Steel up by 1.93%, Cipla up by 1.65%, NTPC up by 1.54% and Bharti Airtel up by 1.33%. On the flip side, Axis Bank down by 5.18%, HDFC Bank down by 4.83%, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 2.17%, Maruti Suzuki India down by 1.79% and JIO Financial down by 1.57% were the top losers.
Asian markets were trading mixed; Taiwan Weighted lost 221.57 points or 0.52% to 42,449.70, KOSPI dropped 305.73 points or 4.48% to 6,514.87 and Straits Times fell 8.92 points or 0.16% to 5,500.51. However, Jakarta Composite gained 53.38 points or 0.86% to 6,228.92, Shanghai Composite strengthened 8.52 points or 0.23% to 3,772.67 and Hang Seng advanced 492.76 points or 2.01% to 25,055.00.
