Key gauges end lower amid rising crude oil prices

Indian equity benchmarks ended lower on Monday as elevated crude oil prices and persistent uncertainty surrounding the US-Iran conflict weighed on investor sentiment. Brent crude rose nearly 1% to around $89 a barrel, adding to concerns over inflation and corporate margins. 

Both the Sensex and Nifty experienced declines, weighed down by losses in IT, TECK and Telecom stocks, even as the Realty and Metal counters offered some support. Traders remained cautious despite supportive domestic factors, including resilient corporate earnings and renewed foreign buying. Provisional exchange data showed that Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) turned net buyers on Friday, purchasing equities worth Rs 508.12 crore.

Some of the important factors in trade: 

India’s current account deficit stands at $6.2 billion in June: 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. 

India's exports to FTA partner countries record robust growth in Q1FY27: The commerce ministry data has showed that India's exports to key free trade agreement (FTA) partner countries recorded robust growth in the first quarter of 2026-27 (Q1FY27), with shipments to Singapore and Sri Lanka more than doubling.

India’s manufacturing sector stands as pillar of self-reliance, progress: The government in its latest data report has showed that India’s manufacturing sector stands as a pillar of self-reliance and progress, now contributing about 16-17 percent of GDP and providing employment to over 27 million workers. 

Concessional swap facility mobilises $56.84 billion in forex inflows as of August 13: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said its concessional swap facility, introduced to encourage foreign currency inflows, has attracted $56.84 billion as of August 13, 2026. 

Global front: European markets were trading mostly in green even as a slew of Chinese data reinforced concerns about the health of the world's second-largest economy. Asian markets ended mostly higher amid easing concerns about the potential for an increase in interest rates after data from the US showed a significant deterioration in U.S. consumer sentiment in August and an unexpected decline in U.S. retail sales in July. 

Finally, the BSE Sensex fell 281.09 points or 0.36% to 77,728.16 and the CNX Nifty was down by 78.35 points or 0.32% to 24,287.65.

The BSE Sensex touched high and low of 77,928.68 and 77,453.75, respectively. There were 7 stocks advancing against 23 stocks declining on the index. 

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 1.38%, Metal up by 1.03%, Capital Goods up by 0.78%, Industrials up by 0.60% and Basic Materials up by 0.45%, while IT down by 1.74%, TECK down by 1.64%, Telecom down by 1.16%, FMCG down by 0.79% and Utilities down by 0.74% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tata Steel up by 1.47%, Axis Bank up by 1.03%, Reliance Industries up by 0.80%, Bharat Electronics up by 0.49% and HDFC Bank up by 0.36%. On the flip side, Infosys down by 2.66%, HCL Technologies down by 2.53%, Sun Pharma down by 2.20%, TCS down by 1.87% and Tech Mahindra down by 1.77% 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.

CNX Nifty touched high and low of 24,360.10 and 24,226.95, respectively. There were 18 stocks advancing against 31 stocks declining, while 1 stock remained unchanged on the index. 

The top gainers on Nifty were Hindalco Industries up by 1.98%, Tata Steel up by 1.36%, HDFC Life Insurance up by 1.33%, ONGC up by 0.88% and Axis Bank up by 0.81%. On the flip side, HCL Technologies down by 2.57%, Infosys down by 2.51%, Sun Pharma down by 2.49%, TCS down by 2.02% and Nestle India down by 1.94% were the top losers.

European markets were trading mostly in green; UK’s FTSE 100 increased 16.17 points or 0.15% to 10,766.28 and Germany’s DAX gained 39.69 points or 0.15% to 26,480.00, while France’s CAC fell 7.1 points or 0.08% to 8,629.70. 

Asian markets ended mostly higher on Monday, even as Wall Street stocks edged back from their all-time highs following a weaker-than-expected report on the US economy. Disappointing US retail sales and consumer sentiment data tempered expectations for a US interest rate hike. Japanese shares gained after the Japanese government reported that the economy grew slightly faster than forecast in the April-June quarter, expanding at a 1.1% annual pace even as private spending and investment stayed flat and export growth slowed. In quarterly terms, the economy grew 0.3% in the second quarter of the year. Meanwhile, the South Korean and Indonesian markets were closed for their respective national holidays.