Indian markets continue rangebound trade in early noon deals

Indian equity markets continued a rangebound trade in early noon deals, as uncertainty over the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz overshadowed growing expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve will not raise interest rates next month. Both indices were trading marginally green, with investors taking support from the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) latest report titled ‘Sectoral Deployment of Credit by NBFC - June 2026’ showing that non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) maintained a credit momentum in June 2026, with credit growth accelerating to 14.4%, well above the 11.1% recorded a year earlier. The Data for the month of June 2026 is collected from major NBFCs and housing finance companies (HFCs).

Both Sensex and Nifty have shown resilience after early losses, with selective buying in large-cap stocks providing support. IT, automobile, metals and realty stocks were contributing to the recovery, while weakness in select banking, financial and energy counters was restricting the upside. Market participants were also weighing better corporate earnings.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green, even after Japan posted a current account deficit of 92.3 billion yen in June. That missed expectations for a surplus of 1.512 trillion yen following the 3.968 trillion yen surplus in May.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 78609.14, up by 109.97 points or 0.14% after trading in a range of 78298.92 and 78676.98. There were 17 stocks advancing against 13 stocks declining on the index.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 1.57%, Consumer Durables up by 1.12%, Consumer Disc up by 0.62%, Auto up by 0.55% and Basic Materials up by 0.48%, while PSU down by 0.78%, Utilities down by 0.55%, Bankex down by 0.30%, Energy down by 0.15% and Healthcare down by 0.07% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Titan Company up by 2.62%, Tata Steel up by 1.70%, Bajaj Finserv up by 1.59%, Trent up by 1.09% and Infosys up by 1.01%. On the flip side, NTPC down by 1.55%, State Bank of India down by 1.45%, ITC down by 0.65%, Bharti Airtel down by 0.56% and Adani Ports & SEZ down by 0.38% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the rating agency ‘S&P Global Ratings’ has pointed out that the Asia-Pacific economies, like India, Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines, are experiencing price increases with households being highly vulnerable to further weather-related supply shocks, including those triggered by the El Nino. It added that the effects of the El Nino period starting in 2026 will reach Asia-Pacific mainly through weaker rainfall and climate disruption, and the macroeconomic impact is likely to be manageable. S&P Global Ratings pointed that the impact of El Nino will primarily transmit through reduced agricultural output, higher food inflation, diminished hydropower generation, and vegetation fires and haze.

Last month, the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) had said that strong El Nino conditions were developing and is expected to strengthen during August through October, bringing powerful weather events around the world. S&P noted that this could result in above-normal temperatures worldwide. Besides, South and Southeast Asia are among the more vulnerable regions globally to El Nino. Lower rainfall associated with the climate phenomenon will raise food prices and disrupt water-intensive industries.

Nevertheless, S&P said that proactive policies like shifting to water efficient crops, maintaining higher grain reserves, and improved water management, along with a declining role of agriculture, would limit damage caused by El Nino. It added that many economies have expanded food buffer stocks, improved import planning and strengthened market management mechanisms to cushion supply disruptions. At the same time, investments in reservoir management, irrigation infrastructure and water governance have strengthened resilience to periods of reduced rainfall.  On India, it noted that strong food and grain buffers for affected crops as of July 2026 are key to managing food shock. Further, authorities are enforcing district-level coordination with farmers to minimise crop losses.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 24598.25, up by 27.60 points or 0.11% after trading in a range of 24511.10 and 24620.95. There were 29 stocks advancing against 21 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Titan Company up by 2.67%, Grasim Industries up by 2.00%, Trent up by 1.60%, Tata Steel up by 1.60% and Tata Consumer Products up by 1.15%. On the flip side, State Bank of India down by 1.65%, Hindalco Industries down by 1.19%, ITC down by 1.08%, NTPC down by 0.98% and Wipro down by 0.88% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; KOSPI increased 40.89 points or 0.65% to 6,299.66, Taiwan Weighted added 702.85 points or 1.56% to 44,928.76, Hang Seng advanced 261.97 points or 1.02% to 25,930.00, Nikkei 225 surged 1283.29 points or 1.92% to 66,890.00 and Shanghai Composite strengthened 26.55 points or 0.67% to 3,966.59, while Jakarta Composite plunged 8.46 points or 0.13% to 6,401.19.