Indian equity benchmark -- Nifty ended sharply lower on Tuesday. Index made a gap-down start as uncertainty persist over US-Iran talks. Further, market participants opted to book profits at higher level after the previous session's gains. Soon, the market extended its losses and remained under pressure throughout the session as government has increased the windfall tax on exports of petrol, diesel, and aviation turbine fuel (ATF) for the fortnight starting August 3, 2026. The rate of special additional excise duty (SAED) on export of diesel will be Rs 25.5 per litre, up from Rs 15.5 per litre. SAED on export of ATF will be Rs 22 per litre, as against Rs 14.5 per litre earlier. Besides, Investors remained cautious ahead of the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) monetary policy decision scheduled for August 5. Finally, Nifty ended lower with cut of 0.64%.
Most of the sectorial indices ended in the green except Media and Metal stocks. The top gainers from the F&O segment were KEI Industries, CG Power and Industrial Solutions and Steel Authority of India. On the other hand, the top losers were Life Insurance Corporation of India, UPL and Prestige Estates Projects. In the index option segment, maximum OI continues to be seen in the 23900 - 24100 calls and 23900 - 24100 puts indicating this is the trading range expectation.
