Markets open lower amid elevated crude prices, geopolitical concerns

Indian equity benchmarks made a negative start on Monday, as a lack of progress towards ending the Iran war kept crude oil prices elevated. Brent crude hovered around $89 a barrel, as progress towards a US-Iran peace deal remained stalled and tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz stayed disrupted, keeping supply risks and inflation concerns in focus.

Both the Sensex and Nifty were trading lower, with notable losses in early deals led by selling in IT and technology stocks. However, the downside remained capped as provisional data from the NSE showed that FPIs turned net buyers of domestic equities, purchasing stocks worth Rs 508.12 crore on Friday.

Meanwhile, the rupee weakened against the dollar to a two-week low after the Reserve Bank of India unexpectedly shortened the deadline for its discounted forex swap facility for non-resident deposits, raising concerns over future dollar inflows.

Most Asian markets traded higher as investors assessed the geopolitical situation and the outlook for interest rates. Markets are awaiting key economic indicators, including industrial production, retail sales and the unemployment rate, for fresh clues about the strength of China's economic recovery. Meanwhile, Japan's economy grew at an annualised rate of 1.1% in the April-June quarter, slowing from the previous quarter and falling short of market expectations of 2%.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 77687.31, down by 321.94 points or 0.41% after trading in a range of 77640.39 and 77928.68. There were 4 stocks advancing against 26 stocks declining on the index.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Capital Goods up by 0.39%, Oil & Gas up by 0.11%, Industrials up by 0.09%, Auto up by 0.04% and Energy up by 0.04%, while IT down by 1.17%, TECK down by 0.86%, Realty down by 0.62%, Utilities down by 0.54% and Bankex down by 0.50% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Axis Bank up by 0.51%, Bharat Electronics up by 0.22%, Maruti Suzuki India up by 0.13% and Power Grid up by 0.09%. On the flip side, Hindustan Unilever down by 1.22%, Infosys down by 1.20%, HCL Technologies down by 1.17%, Ultratech Cement down by 1.01% and Bajaj Finserv down by 1.00% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in its preliminary data has showed that India’s current account deficit stood at $6.2 billion in June from a surplus of $1.2 billion in the year-ago month. The current account deficit was primarily driven by a widening merchandise trade deficit, which rose to $30.2 billion in June 2026 from $19.2 billion a year earlier. Merchandise exports increased to $41.2 billion in June from $35.3 billion in the year-ago month, while imports rose at a faster pace to $71.4 billion from $54.5 billion.

The RBI data also showed that the surplus in services increased to $17.9 billion in June 2026 from $16.2 billion a year earlier. Services exports rose to $36.4 billion from $32.1 billion, while imports increased to $18.5 billion from $15.9 billion. Net transfers also rose to $11.9 billion in June from $10.9 billion, while net income deficit narrowed to $5.8 billion from $6.8 billion.

On the capital account front, net inflows stood at $9.1 billion in June 2026, compared with an outflow of $1.6 billion in the year-ago month. Net foreign direct investment stood at $1.3 billion in June, while foreign portfolio investment recorded a net inflow of $2.5 billion. The overall balance was positive at $2.9 billion in June 2026, against a deficit of $0.4 billion in June 2025.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 24305.15, down by 60.85 points or 0.25% after trading in a range of 24280.85 and 24357.60. There were 18 stocks advancing against 32 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were HDFC Life Insurance up by 1.39%, Max Healthcare up by 1.23%, Hindalco Industries up by 0.99%, ONGC up by 0.57% and Eicher Motors up by 0.43%. On the flip side, Infosys down by 1.34%, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles down by 1.29%, HCL Technologies down by 1.28%, TCS down by 1.24% and Wipro down by 1.14% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; Hang Seng jumped 409.15 points or 1.6% to 25,526.00, Nikkei 225 surged 204.2 points or 0.3% to 68,918.00, Taiwan Weighted rose 154.44 points or 0.34% to 45,965.45 and Shanghai Composite strengthened 33.01 points or 0.84% to 3,960.19. On the other hand, Straits Times fell 21.26 points or 0.37% to 5,722.33.