Indian markets made flat-to-negative start on Tuesday and were trading in a narrow range in early deals as tensions between US-Iran kept investors cautious. As per a report, Iran said it had hit US military targets in Bahrain and Kuwait. Traders were also concerned amid foreign fund outflows. Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) remain net sellers at Rs 1,121.04 crore on Monday. The FIIs have sold shares worth Rs 5,667.91 crore so far in July (till 20 July 2026). However, downside remained capped with the government data showing that production growth of nine core infrastructure sectors rose to a five-month high of 5 per cent in June due to an increase in output of cement, electricity and iron ore.
On the global front, Asian markets were trading higher as mediation efforts in the Middle East cooled a rally in oil prices, while investors turned their attention to a busy week of corporate earnings to gauge the momentum of an artificial intelligence-driven rally.
The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 77600.27, down by 108.25 points or 0.14% after trading in a range of 77541.68 and 77753.18. There were 16 stocks advancing against 14 stocks declining on the index.
The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Basic Materials up by 0.64%, Telecom up by 0.42%, Utilities up by 0.42%, Power up by 0.32% and Metal up by 0.27%, while Consumer Durables down by 0.22%, IT down by 0.18%, Realty down by 0.04% and Healthcare down by 0.04% were the few losing indices on BSE.
The top gainers on the Sensex were Ultratech Cement up by 1.46%, Bajaj Finserv up by 1.37%, Tech Mahindra up by 1.34%, Bajaj Finance up by 0.93% and Interglobe Aviation up by 0.82%. On the flip side, HDFC Bank down by 1.18%, Eternal down by 1.03%, Infosys down by 0.91%, TCS down by 0.64% and Reliance Industries down by 0.47% were the top losers.
Meanwhile, with an aim to deepen and broaden economic partnership, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar has said India looks forward to building 'closer ties' with Panama, describing that country as a strategically located and economically stable partner with significant potential for cooperation. Panama's Minister for Foreign Affairs, Javier Martínez-Acha Vasquez, is on an official visit to India from July 19 to 23, during which he is scheduled to participate in a series of engagements.
Jaishankar expressed confidence that the Panamanian foreign minister's visit would 'further strengthen our relationship across all domains.' Describing Panama as a 'natural bridge' for India to global trade routes and the wider Latin American region, he said the country's logistics infrastructure, anchored by the Panama Canal, 'certainly sets a global benchmark.'
The External Affairs Minister said Vasquez's visit builds on the 'strong momentum of high-level exchanges that we have had.' He added 'I believe that both our governments and our leaders are very keen on deepening and broadening our partnership. We certainly look forward to closer ties with Panama because you offer both a strategic location as well as enormous economic stability and potential for a partner like India.'
Jaishankar said India values Panama's interest in expanding cooperation across a wide range of sectors, including education, scholarships, pharmaceuticals, technology, and, most importantly, trade. Highlighting Panama's economic performance, he said 'We note that you have had a consistently high growth trajectory. As we ourselves accelerate development towards the goal of 'Viksit Bharat' (Developed India) by 2047, we believe our bilateral relationship will become even more important.'
The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 24222.15, down by 16.35 points or 0.07% after trading in a range of 24203.60 and 24262.20. There were 26 stocks advancing against 23 stocks declining, while 1 stock remain unchanged on the index.
The top gainers on Nifty were Ultratech Cement up by 1.46%, Tech Mahindra up by 1.36%, Shriram Finance up by 1.35%, Bajaj Finserv up by 1.10% and Nestle India up by 1.01%. On the flip side, HDFC Bank down by 1.07%, Eternal down by 0.98%, Infosys down by 0.94%, TCS down by 0.65% and Cipla down by 0.55% were the top losers.
All Asian markets were trading higher; Nikkei 225 surged 1648.88 points or 2.57% to 65,790.00, Taiwan Weighted jumped 1500.5 points or 3.53% to 43,950.20, KOSPI rose 316.06 points or 4.85% to 6,832.33, Jakarta Composite strengthened 70.17 points or 1.13% to 6,301.77, Straits Times gained 36.86 points or 0.67% to 5,535.81, Shanghai Composite increased 23.38 points or 0.62% to 3,819.66 and Hang Seng was up by 10.95 points or 0.04% to 25,154.00.
