Although the West Asian war remains intense, peace efforts are reportedly taking place behind the scenes. This pulled oil prices lower and brought some relief to Asian equity markets.
In derivative trading at GIFT City, GIFT Nifty closed at 24,125.00 on Monday night. After falling to 24,107 this morning, it moved back above 24,150. This indicates that the domestic market may open lower.
Growth in the nine core sector industries stood at five per cent in June, the highest rate recorded in five months. Iron ore has also been included in the new index series, which uses 2022-23 as its base year.
The government told Parliament yesterday, in response to a question, that it was not considering the removal of long-term capital gains tax on equities.
The India Meteorological Department said the deficit in southwest monsoon rainfall had narrowed to 23.07 per cent as of July 20. In Kerala, however, the deficit widened to 33.83 per cent.
Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Punjab, Jharkhand, Gujarat, Karnataka, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh have recorded rainfall deficits of more than 20 per cent. The rainfall deficit exceeds 20 per cent across 65 per cent of the country’s geographical area.
According to data available up to July 19, rainfall is six per cent lower than in the corresponding period last year. Crops have been sown across nearly 60 per cent of the total area cultivated during the kharif season. Rainfall is expected to improve this week.
The widening conflict in West Asia and rising crude oil prices dragged US markets lower yesterday.
Markets initially rose following reports that behind-the-scenes efforts were under way to facilitate US-Iran talks. However, they subsequently declined after Trump said attacks on Iran would be intensified. The Dow fell nearly 600 points from its intraday high.
Shares of Elon Musk’s SpaceX declined again, falling below $120. Tesla, also led by Musk, fell three per cent yesterday ahead of the company’s results later this week.
On Monday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 307.16 points, or 0.59 per cent, lower at 51,839.26. The S&P 500 ended 14.41 points, or 0.19 per cent, lower at 7,443.28. The Nasdaq Composite declined 12.17 points, or 0.05 per cent, to close at 25,508.07.
US futures are trading with modest gains today. Dow Jones futures are up 48 points, or 0.09 per cent, while S&P 500 futures have risen 13 points, or 0.16 per cent. Nasdaq futures are higher by 117 points, or 0.40 per cent.
In New York’s American Depositary Receipt market on Monday, HDFC Bank fell 10.54 per cent during regular trading before gaining 1.06 per cent in after-hours trade to close at $23.85.
ICICI Bank remained unchanged during regular trading and subsequently rose 0.24 per cent in after-hours trade to close at $29.83.
Infosys fell 1.57 per cent during regular trading before rising 0.44 per cent in after-hours trade to close at $11.36.
Wipro declined 0.54 per cent during regular trading and then gained 1.39 per cent in after-hours trade to close at $1.8758.
European markets moved in different directions. The UK’s FTSE index fell 0.71 per cent following the assumption of office by the new prime minister.
While the broader European market declined, the German and French indices posted marginal gains.
Asian markets are trading with modest gains today. South Korea’s Kospi rose one per cent, while Japan’s Nikkei gained two per cent.
The Australian index declined 0.30 per cent. The Hong Kong and Shanghai indices recorded modest gains.
The Indian market declined yesterday following the release of first-quarter results by leading private sector banks.
HDFC Bank fell more than five per cent, while its ADR plunged 10 per cent in New York. The primary reasons were lower-than-expected profit and margins, along with deterioration in asset quality.
Axis Bank, Yes Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank also declined. The private bank index fell 2.27 per cent. Brokerages had assigned higher target prices to these banks and issued buy recommendations.
Federal Bank and ICICI Bank, however, gained. Public sector banks posted healthy gains, led by Punjab National Bank and Union Bank of India. Financial services companies declined.
Healthcare, pharmaceutical, media and FMCG stocks advanced. Although the benchmark indices ended lower, the mid-cap and small-cap indices closed with gains.
Foreign portfolio investors continued to sell. They recorded net sales of ₹1,121.04 crore in the cash market. Domestic institutional investors were net buyers of shares worth ₹1,312.03 crore.
On Monday, the Sensex closed 442.93 points, or 0.57 per cent, lower at 77,708.52. The Nifty ended 95.80 points, or 0.39 per cent, lower at 24,238.50.
The Bank Nifty fell 576.40 points, or 0.98 per cent, to close at 57,945.00. The Midcap 100 index gained 373.70 points, or 0.60 per cent, to end at 62,801.75. The Smallcap 100 index rose 30.15 points, or 0.16 per cent, to close at 19,326.45.
Although the benchmark indices declined, more stocks advanced than fell in the broader market. On the BSE, 2,164 stocks gained while 2,120 declined. On the NSE, 1,757 stocks advanced and 1,491 declined.
Kalyan Jewellers, which had gained on Friday, fell 0.77 per cent yesterday.
Federal Bank shares touched a record high of ₹352.20 before closing 0.72 per cent higher at ₹351.50. CSB Bank declined two per cent, while South Indian Bank surged 3.61 per cent.
Manappuram Finance gained 3.7 per cent, while Muthoot Finance closed marginally lower.
One97 Communications, the parent company of Paytm, has abandoned its plan to undertake a bonus issue. The company has not indicated when the issue may be reconsidered and has not provided any specific reason for the decision.
The company’s net profit surged 79 per cent to ₹220 crore in the June quarter. Revenue grew 22 per cent.
Sobha Developers reported a 50 per cent increase in revenue, while net profit surged 250 per cent to ₹51 crore. Its profit margin rose from 2.8 per cent to 6.1 per cent.
UltraTech Cement recorded a 16 per cent increase in revenue and a 17 per cent rise in net profit during the first quarter.
InterGlobe Aviation, which operates IndiGo Airlines, has signed an agreement for 1,000 engines for Airbus A320neo aircraft. The company aims to double the size of its aircraft fleet by 2030.
Concerns that the West Asian war could spread to the Red Sea pulled gold marginally lower on Monday. Prices, however, recovered this morning.
Gold fell $10.30 yesterday to close at $4,009.00 an ounce. It rose to as high as $4,030 this morning.
In Kerala, the price of 22-carat gold rose by ₹120 on Monday to ₹1,05,200 per sovereign.
Silver closed at $56.54 an ounce. It rose to $56.74 this morning.
Platinum is trading at $1,594, palladium at $1,242 and rhodium at $7,825.
Industrial metals, with the exception of aluminium, gained on Monday.
Copper surged 1.91 per cent to $13,628.50 a tonne. Storms and heavy rainfall in Chile, a leading copper-producing country, disrupted operations at several mines.
Aluminium closed 0.53 per cent lower at $3,135.32. Zinc, tin, nickel and lead moved higher.
International rubber prices declined on Monday, while prices remained elevated in Kerala.
In Bangkok, RSS-1 was quoted at $295.35 per quintal, while RSS-3 stood at $291.90. In Kerala, RSS-4 remained at ₹28,200 per quintal.
The easing of rainfall in Thailand and the return of production to full capacity have increased availability.
Cocoa prices declined 0.47 per cent on Monday to $5,507 a tonne. Expectations persist that the El Niño phenomenon will reduce production in West Africa.
Arabica coffee prices rose one per cent to $3.235 a pound. Coffee production in Brazil has declined considerably. Coffee stocks are now at their lowest level since March 2024.
The US Dollar Index rose on Monday and closed at 100.95. It climbed to 101 this morning before easing slightly.
The euro declined to $1.1414, while the pound fell to $1.3432. The Japanese yen weakened to 162.49 against the dollar. The Chinese yuan remained at 6.77 to the dollar.
The yield on the US 10-year Treasury note rose to 4.596 per cent this morning.
The Indian rupee weakened on Monday. The dollar gained 17 paise to close at ₹96.45.
The dollar strengthened following reports that the measures announced by the Reserve Bank of India to mobilise foreign currency were not producing the expected results.
A press release issued by the Reserve Bank after market hours said foreign currency mobilisation had crossed $21 billion. The programme will remain open until September 30.
The central bank also indicated that as much as $85 billion could be mobilised, higher than initially expected. The press release did not disclose the countries from which the funds had been received or the banks in which they had been deposited.
In the overseas non-deliverable forward market, the dollar is trading at ₹96.49 this morning. The Chinese yuan is at ₹14.24, while the euro is trading at ₹110.10.
Despite the intensification of the West Asian conflict, crude oil prices declined yesterday and continued to fall this morning.
Brent crude fell 1.35 per cent yesterday to close at $89.22 a barrel. It declined further to $88.53 this morning. WTI crude fell to $82.14 a barrel.
Cryptocurrencies continued to gain on Monday. Bitcoin rose above $65,500 this morning. Ether moved above $1,910, while Solana crossed $78.
Monday, July 20, 2026
| Indicator | Closing level | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Sensex | 77,708.52 | -0.57% |
| Nifty 50 | 24,238.50 | -0.39% |
| Bank Nifty | 57,945.00 | -0.98% |
| Midcap 100 | 62,801.75 | 0.60% |
| Smallcap 100 | 19,326.45 | 0.16% |
| Dow Jones | 51,839.26 | -0.59% |
| S&P 500 | 7,443.28 | -0.19% |
| Nasdaq | 25,508.07 | -0.05% |
| Dollar | ₹96.45 | ₹0.17 |
| Gold, per ounce | $4,009.00 | -$10.30 |
| Gold, per sovereign | ₹1,05,200 | ₹120 |
| Brent crude oil | $89.22 | +$1.12 |