Markets continue to trade below neutral lines in late afternoon deals

Benchmarks continued to trade below the neutral lines in late afternoon session as Brent crude oil prices surged over 2.5% to trade near $86 a barrel amid persistent concerns over supply disruptions and uncertainty over diplomatic solution between the US and Iran. Further, traders opted to cash-in profits following the recent gains made by the markets. Besides, markets took a cautious stance ahead of Reserve Bank of India's Monetary Policy Committee meeting outcome scheduled for tomorrow. Nonetheless, losses were remained capped as continued foreign capital inflows in Indian markets kept investor sentiments upbeat. Foreign institutional investors were the net buyers of securities worth Rs 922.26 crore on Monday’s session.

On the global front, Asian equity markets were trading mixed as traders weighed upbeat US manufacturing data against uncertainty surrounding US-Iran talks. European equity markets were trading higher after July data showed manufacturing activity in Eurozone improved at the fastest pace since April.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 78335.55, down by 303.48 points or 0.39% after trading in a range of 78211.87 and 79143.15. There were 15 stocks advancing against 15 stocks declining on the index.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Capital Goods up by 1.02%, Metal up by 0.89%, Industrials up by 0.58%, Basic Materials up by 0.39% and Power up by 0.29%, while FMCG down by 0.82%, Realty down by 0.75%, IT down by 0.51%, Energy down by 0.40% and TECK down by 0.34% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Trent up by 1.42%, Bajaj Finserv up by 1.26%, Tata Steel up by 0.61%, Bharat Electronics up by 0.44% and Mahindra & Mahindra up by 0.39%. On the flip side, Hindustan Unilever down by 1.93%, HDFC Bank down by 1.66%, Reliance Industries down by 1.25%, HCL Technologies down by 0.95% and Infosys down by 0.93% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Ministry of Finance has said that India has nearly achieved universal banking coverage, with 99.92% of inhabited villages having access to a banking outlet within a 5-km radius.  It said banking services now reach 6,00,868 (99.92%) of the country's 6,01,328 inhabited villages through a network of bank branches, Business Correspondents and India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) outlets. 

The outreach is enabled by a nationwide network of over 1.81 lakh bank branches, 17.36 lakh Business Correspondents and 1.65 lakh India Post Payments Bank centres as of July 17, 2026. Ministry of Finance also noted that to ensure accessibility of banking services in rural and remote areas, the endeavor of the Government is to provide a banking outlet (Bank branch / Business Correspondent / India Post Payments Bank) within 5 kilometers radius of all inhabited villages in the country.

Highlighting another initiative to strengthen financial inclusion across the country, it said the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has permitted Commercial Banks, Small Finance Banks, Payments Banks, Local Area Banks and Regional Rural Banks, to open bank branches anywhere in India without prior approval, provided 25% are in unbanked rural areas.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 24463.15, down by 311.15 points or 1.26% after trading in a range of 24427.95 and 24703.90. There were 4 stocks advancing against 46 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Hindalco Industries up by 1.79%, JIO Financial Services up by 1.06%, Trent up by 0.82% and Apollo Hospitals Enterprise up by 0.49%. On the flip side, Grasim Industries down by 4.03%, Nestle India down by 3.75%, HDFC Life Insurance down by 3.65%, Hindustan Unilever down by 2.93% and SBI Life Insurance down by 2.68% were the top losers.

Asian equity markets were trading mixed; Nikkei 225 surged 225.1 points or 0.35% to 63,980.00, KOSPI increased 101.50 points or 1.6% to 6,358.95, Shanghai Composite strengthened 12.62 points or 0.33% to 3,822.28 and Jakarta Composite gained 43.3 points or 0.69% to 6,277.80, while Taiwan Weighted lost 25.75 points or 0.06% to 43,360.66, Hang Seng declined 155.4 points or 0.6% to 25,854.00 and Straits Times fell 1.05 points or 0.02% to 5,611.23.

European equity markets were trading higher; UK’s FTSE 100 increased 28.7 points or 0.26% to 10,886.40, France’s CAC rose 1.18 points or 0.01% to 8,615.00 and Germany’s DAX gained 148.29 points or 0.57% to 26,149.60.