Key gauges remain in red in morning deals

Indian equity benchmarks continued to trade lower in morning deals, as Brent crude prices climbed above $91 a barrel amid fading prospects of an extension to the US-Iran ceasefire, raising concerns over inflation and energy costs. Traders remained cautious as rating agency ICRA estimated India's GDP growth at a four-quarter low of 7 per cent in the April-June quarter of the current fiscal, sliding from 7.8 per cent in the March quarter of FY26, on a slower pace of expansion in the services sector. Traders overlooked Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) conducted by the National Statistics Office (NSO) report showed overall unemployment rate among persons aged 15 years and above declined to 5.1 per cent in July 2026 from 5.5 per cent in the previous month. 

Both the Sensex and Nifty remained under pressure in morning trade, with the Nifty falling below 24,250 mark and the Sensex declining more than 250 points weighed down by losses in Realty, TECK and IT stocks, even as the Utilities and Energy counters offered some support. Market sentiments was further weighed down by exchange data showing that Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) sold equities worth Rs 2,535.10 crore on a net basis on Monday. On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in red as oil prices continued to rise amid concerns over the prospects of a diplomatic resolution to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. 

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 77446.06, down by 282.10 points or 0.36% after trading in a range of 77362.19 and 77575.21. There were 9 stocks advancing against 21 stocks declining on the index.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Utilities up by 0.63%, Energy up by 0.51%, Oil & Gas up by 0.39%, Healthcare up by 0.37% and Auto up by 0.22%, while Realty down by 1.08%, TECK down by 1.06%, IT down by 0.93%, Consumer Durables down by 0.59% and FMCG down by 0.42% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Mahindra & Mahindra up by 0.48%, NTPC up by 0.42%, Sun Pharma up by 0.37%, Bajaj Finance up by 0.29% and Axis Bank up by 0.26%. On the flip side, Asian Paints down by 1.69%, Infosys down by 1.62%, Bharti Airtel down by 1.32%, Hindustan Unilever down by 1.25% and Interglobe Aviation down by 1.21% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the government of India has approved 31 new proposals under the Electronics Component Manufacturing Scheme (ECMS), involving investments worth Rs 7,877 crore. With these approvals, the total number of projects cleared across five tranches has reached 106, with cumulative investments exceeding Rs 69,000 crore. 

The approvals include projects focused on diverse areas such as capital goods, camera modules, display modules, connectors, anode material, enclosures, rare earth permanent magnets, speakers and microphones, antenna, metallised films for capacitors, and coils, among others. These approvals will result in a total output or production of goods worth Rs 82,243 crore and lead to the generation of close to 10,000 jobs. 

After awarding approval certificates to players, Union Electronics and IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the scheme has attracted private investments that have exceeded targets set originally. He said ‘When we made the Electronic Components Scheme, the manufacturing scheme, we kept a target of Rs 59,000 crore. I am so glad the scheme has already achieved Rs 69,000 crore investment. Private investment is happening now, and it is coming in very crucial sectors.’

The approvals come as India looks to deepen domestic value addition in electronics by strengthening local supply chains, reducing dependence on imports of critical components and building advanced manufacturing capabilities. It is in line with the government’s broader goal of positioning India as a global hub for electronics manufacturing. The Electronics Components Manufacturing Scheme, launched in April 2025, offers incentives for setting up domestic manufacturing facilities.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 24231.20, down by 56.45 points or 0.23% after trading in a range of 24208.00 and 24269.65. There were 22 stocks advancing against 28 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Grasim Industries up by 0.97%, Axis Bank up by 0.87%, Apollo Hospital up by 0.85%, Adani Enterprises up by 0.75% and Bajaj Finance up by 0.73%. On the flip side, Infosys down by 1.59%, Bharti Airtel down by 1.39%, JIO Financial Services down by 1.38%, Shriram Finance down by 1.35% and Asian Paints down by 1.32% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Nikkei 225 slipped 1394.25 points or 2.01% to 67,826.00, Taiwan Weighted lost 533.3 points or 1.16% to 45,323.97, Shanghai Composite weakened 16.2 points or 0.41% to 3,966.45, KOSPI dropped 41.04 points or 0.59% to 6,936.90, Hang Seng declined 194.23 points or 0.76% to 25,259.00 and Straits Times fell 69.5 points or 1.2% to 5,698.96.

On the flip side, Jakarta Composite gained 78.84 points or 1.23% to 6,480.73.