Key gauges end lower amid escalating tensions in Middle East

Indian equity benchmarks ended lower on Monday dragged down by heavy selling in blue-chip bank stocks Axis Bank and HDFC Bank amid margin-related concerns. Investors turned cautious amid escalating tensions in the Middle East and a global technology-led sell-off. Besides, exchange data showed Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 376.41 crore on Friday.

Some of the important factors in trade: 

India’s exports surge 16.09% in April-May FY27 with ASEAN, Africa leading growth: 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.

India, EU working on proposed investment protection, GI agreements: After concluding a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the European Union (EU), Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has said that India and the EU are now working on a proposed Investment Protection Agreement and a Geographical Indications (GI) Agreement. 

India, Spain agree to accelerate UPI-Bizum interoperability talks: The Commerce Ministry has said that India and Spain have agreed to advance discussions quickly on enabling interoperability between India's Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and Spain's Bizum digital payments platform. 

Provisions under Semicon 2.0 to advance investment in chip-designing: Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) Secretary S Krishnan has said that provisions under Semicon 2.0 to provide incentives to Indian chip-making firms against equity are expected to drive largescale investment required for the development of advanced chips for technology such as artificial intelligence.

Global front: European markets were trading mostly in green as investors followed Middle East news and looked ahead to the European Central Bank's monetary policy meeting this week for directional clues. Asian markets ended mostly lower as U.S. forces struck Iran for a ninth consecutive day, and Iran retaliated by firing missiles toward Jordan that risked widening the conflict into neighboring Israel.

Finally, the BSE Sensex fell 442.93 points or 0.57% to 77,708.52 and the CNX Nifty was down by 95.80 points or 0.39% to 24,238.50.

The BSE Sensex touched high and low of 78,151.45 and 77,368.29, respectively. There were 19 stocks advancing against 11 stocks declining on the index.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Utilities up by 1.73%, Power up by 1.48%, PSU up by 1.17%, Healthcare up by 1.11% and Basic Materials up by 0.81%, while Bankex down by 0.77%, Auto down by 0.36%, IT down by 0.28%, Realty down by 0.19% and Telecom down by 0.02% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Trent up by 2.86%, Power Grid up by 1.90%, Bharti Airtel up by 1.69%, NTPC up by 1.48% and HCL Technologies up by 1.42%. On the flip side, Axis Bank down by 5.42%, HDFC Bank down by 5.12%, Maruti Suzuki India down by 2.16%, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 1.94% and TCS down by 1.03% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, after concluding a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the European Union (EU), Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has said that India and the EU are now working on a proposed Investment Protection Agreement and a Geographical Indications (GI) Agreement. He stated that these trade pacts would create significant opportunities for businesses on both sides. Highlighting India's recent trade agreements with the UK, the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) bloc, and the EU, Goyal noted that India is now effectively connected to the entire European market.

The minister also highlighted the vast opportunities for bilateral cooperation with Estonia across sectors such as education, defence, space, skill development, and tourism. Inviting greater investments from Estonia, he said India has undertaken a series of reforms to create a more investor-friendly business environment. Estonia, a Baltic nation in Northern Europe, is known for its advanced digital governance and innovation-driven economy. It is a member of the EU, the eurozone, and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

Emphasising the government's reform agenda, Goyal said 'We have undertaken a number of reforms over the past several years, with a focus on streamlining governance and making it easier to do business.' He added that India is also encouraging its industries to invest in technology and expand their global business footprint, enabling deeper integration with developed economies.

He further stated that the reforms implemented over the past decade have made India an attractive long-term investment destination. Over the last two decades, he noted that India has attracted more than $1 trillion in foreign direct investment, with annual inflows averaging around $100 billion, in addition to substantial investments in the stock market. He also said that India is pursuing social security agreements with several countries.

CNX Nifty touched high and low of 24,266.10 and 24,135.85, respectively. There were 36 stocks advancing against 14 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Trent up by 3.04%, Power Grid up by 2.01%, Nestle India up by 1.81%, NTPC up by 1.65% and Bharti Airtel up by 1.63%. On the flip side, Axis Bank down by 5.37%, HDFC Bank down by 5.08%, Maruti Suzuki India down by 2.06%, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 1.96% and JIO Financial Servies down by 1.66% were the top losers.

European markets were trading mostly in green; France’s CAC rose 7.69 points or 0.09% to 8,346.50, Germany’s DAX gained 6.92 points or 0.03% to 24,837.90 and UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 56.26 points or 0.53% to 10,544.11.

Asian markets ended mostly lower on Monday tracking Wall Street's fall last Friday and concerns about the escalating conflict in the Middle East. The US military carried out a wave of airstrikes in Iran over the weekend as it announced that a third US service member had been killed in military operations since Friday. Subsequently, Tehran declared that its ceasefire with the US had effectively collapsed and stated it intercepted 4 vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz over the weekend. Seoul shares slumped as investors aggressively offloaded artificial intelligence and memory chip stocks. Meanwhile, Japanese markets were closed for Marine Day holiday after the Japan's Nikkei slumped 6.4% last week in a tech-led rout.