Indian equity benchmarks made a flat-to-negative start on Tuesday ahead of the monthly expiry of Nifty July futures and options (F&O) contracts. Weakness in Asian markets also weighed on investor sentiment, with sharp losses in tech-heavy Japan and South Korea amid a selloff in technology and semiconductor stocks due to mounting doubts over artificial intelligence spending. Investors were also looking ahead to the policy decisions of the Federal Reserve, the Bank of Japan, and the Bank of England later this week. Sentiment in the domestic market also remained subdued as Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) continued to be net sellers on July 27, 2026, recording a net outflow of Rs 1,688.23 crore from Indian equities.
Sensex and Nifty were trading in a tight range with caution, slightly above the neutral lines, during early deals. Traders took some encouragement from the continued decline in international crude oil prices and the strengthening of the Indian rupee. Buying in IT, Teck, and Realty stocks supported sentiment, while selling pressure in Power, Capital Goods, and Utilities limited the upside.
The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 76891.54, up by 55.76 points or 0.07% after trading in a range of 76738.49 and 76988.48. There were 14 stocks advancing against 16 stocks declining on the index.
The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were IT up by 3.40%, TECK up by 2.08%, Realty up by 1.45%, FMCG up by 0.71% and Consumer Durables up by 0.27%, while Power down by 2.00%, Capital Goods down by 1.86%, Utilities down by 1.63%, PSU down by 1.20% and Industrials down by 1.08% were the top losing indices on BSE.
The top gainers on the Sensex were TCS up by 3.94%, Infosys up by 3.11%, Tech Mahindra up by 2.72%, HCL Technologies up by 2.38% and Asian Paints up by 1.29%. On the flip side, Bharat Electronics down by 3.37%, NTPC down by 1.84%, Power Grid down by 1.54%, State Bank of India down by 0.97% and HDFC Bank down by 0.72% were the top losers.
Meanwhile, US Assistant Secretary of State S Paul Kapur has said the United States and India are broadening cooperation in defence and civil nuclear energy, with a focus on trusted artificial intelligence (AI) and other emerging technologies that are driving economic growth. He made the remarks during a roundtable on India at the Hoover Institution, attended by former US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and former US Ambassador to India David C Mulford.
The two countries signed a framework last year to advance their major defence partnership, aimed at enhancing interoperability across land, sea, air, space, and cyberspace. Since 2002, India has inducted a range of US-origin defence platforms into its armed forces, including Apache and Chinook helicopters, C-17 and C-130J transport aircraft, P-8I maritime patrol aircraft, and M777 howitzers.
US nuclear power companies are also looking to expand their presence in India's civil nuclear sector. Earlier this year, a delegation of senior executives from the US nuclear industry visited India to explore collaboration opportunities with the private sector after New Delhi eased liability provisions through the enactment of the SHANTI Act.
The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 24012.40, up by 16.45 points or 0.07% after trading in a range of 23968.15 and 24040.90. There were 28 stocks advancing against 22 stocks declining on the index.
The top gainers on Nifty were TCS up by 4.39%, Infosys up by 3.26%, Tech Mahindra up by 2.97%, HCL Technologies up by 2.59% and Nestle India up by 2.39%. On the flip side, Bharat Electronics down by 3.30%, Coal India down by 3.06%, NTPC down by 2.08%, Power Grid down by 1.58% and Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles down by 1.13% were the top losers.
All Asian markets were trading lower; Nikkei 225 slipped 2636.19 points or 4.06% to 62,295.00, Taiwan Weighted lost 1643.54 points or 3.77% to 41,990.65, KOSPI dropped 671.25 points or 9.94% to 6,084.50, Shanghai Composite weakened 37.73 points or 0.98% to 3,820.52, Hang Seng declined 15.18 points or 0.06% to 25,192.00, Straits Times fell 11.76 points or 0.21% to 5,608.48 and Jakarta Composite was down by 6.63 points or 0.11% to 6,179.15.
