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Key gauges end higher amid easing geopolitical tensions
Aug-03-2026

Indian equity benchmarks ended higher on Monday following reports that the US halted military action against Iran, causing oil prices to fall sharply as the Strait of Hormuz opened for swift movement of stranded ships. Foreign fund inflows also added to markets' optimism. Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 277.48 crore on Friday, according to exchange data.

However, the Nifty rose sharply in fag end of trade following introduction of Closing Auction Session (CAS). Effective August 3, 2026, the Securities and Exchange Board of India introduced CAS for F&O-eligible stocks, with regular cash market trading in these stocks ending at 3:15 PM, followed by an auction to determine the closing price. Trading in non-F&O stocks continues until 3:30 PM, while the Futures & Options (F&O) trading session has been extended by 10 minutes, now concluding at 3:40 PM. The changes aim to improve price discovery, enhance market transparency, and reduce the scope for end-of-day price manipulation.

Some of the important factors in trade:

Govt’s gross GST collections jump 15% to Rs 2,11,205 crore in July: The government data has showed that gross goods and services tax (GST) collections jumped 15.4 per cent to Rs 2,11,205 crore in July 2026 as compared to Rs 1,83,065 crore in July 2025 on higher mop-up from domestic transactions and imports. 

India’s manufacturing sector expansion slows to near five-year low in July: India’s manufacturing sector activity continued expansion but at its slowest pace in nearly five years in the month of July as growth in total sales, input purchasing and employment weakened. According to the survey report, the seasonally adjusted HSBC India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) eased from 54.2 in June to 53.5 in July. 

Bank credit to industry registers 19.2% growth in June: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in its latest data has showed that bank credit to industry grew 19.2 per cent y-o-y by the end of June 2026, a sharp acceleration from 6.3 per cent recorded in the corresponding period last year, as large companies as well as MSMEs displayed broad-based expansion. 

Power stocks remain in watch: India's power consumption witnessed a 10.93 per cent growth to 170.70 billion units (BU) in July 2026 as compared to 153.88 BU in the corresponding month last year, driven by high humidity levels that boosted demand for cooling appliances such as air conditioners across India.   

Global front: European markets were trading mostly in green after U.S. President Donald Trump cancelled planned military strikes on Iran. Easing geopolitical concerns and a sharp drop in crude oil prices also boosted investor appetite.  Asian stocks ended mostly lower on Monday, as heavyweight semiconductor and artificial intelligence-related shares faced selling pressure.

Finally, the BSE Sensex rose 544.39 points or 0.70% to 78,639.03 and the CNX Nifty was up by 390.70 points or 1.60% to 24,774.30.   

The BSE Sensex touched high and low of 78,895.10 and 78,497.34, respectively. There were 21 stocks advancing against 9 stocks declining on the index.      

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were IT up by 2.53%, TECK up by 1.27%, Industrials up by 1.23%, Basic Materials up by 1.20% and Metal up by 1.14%, while Healthcare down by 0.08% and Oil & Gas down by 0.01% were the few losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Interglobe Aviation up by 4.31%, Infosys up by 3.42%, TCS up by 3.20%, Bajaj Finserv up by 2.47% and Eternal up by 2.40%. On the flip side, Sun Pharma down by 2.22%, Bharti Airtel down by 0.77%, Maruti Suzuki India down by 0.72% and Tech Mahindra down by 0.45% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the government data has showed that gross goods and services tax (GST) collections jumped 15.4 per cent to Rs 2,11,205 crore in July 2026 as compared to Rs 1,83,065 crore in July 2025 on higher mop-up from domestic transactions and imports. Gross domestic GST revenue stood at Rs 1,44,695 crore, up 10.1% from a year ago. However, gross GST collections from imports surged 28.8% to Rs 66,511 crore.

Of the total gross GST collections, Gross Central GST (CGST) collection from domestic transactions during the reported month stood at Rs 39,835 crore, State GST (SGST) at Rs 47,881 crore and Integrated GST (IGST) at Rs 56,979 crore. On the other hand, IGST collection from import rose to Rs 66,511 crore in July 2026 from Rs 51,626 crore in the corresponding month of last year.

GST refunds grew 13.1 per cent to Rs 29,968 crore in July 2026 from Rs 26,495 crore in July 2025. After adjusting refunds, net GST revenues in July 2026 rose 15.8 per cent to Rs 1,81,237 crore from Rs 1,56,570 crore in July 2025. Meanwhile, net customs revenue rose 30.3% to Rs 54,223 crore in the reporting month over Rs 41,612 crore in the same month a year ago.

CNX Nifty touched high and low of 24,774.30 and 24,515.15, respectively. There were 44 stocks advancing against 6 stocks declining on the index. 

The top gainers on Nifty were Grasim Industries up by 5.13%, TCS up by 4.57%, Interglobe Aviation up by 4.43%, Infosys up by 4.42% and Shriram Finance up by 4.16%. On the flip side, Apollo Hospital down by 1.53%, Sun Pharma down by 1.36%, Maruti Suzuki India down by 0.59%, ONGC down by 0.22% and Tech Mahindra down by 0.14% were the top losers.

European markets were trading mostly in green; France’s CAC rose 111.66 points or 1.31% to 8,621.30 and Germany’s DAX gained 383.86 points or 1.5% to 26,013.10, while UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 29.22 points or 0.27% to 10,868.05. 

Asian stocks ended mostly lower on Monday, even though Brent crude oil prices fell about 5%, US Treasury bond yields dipped, and the US dollar index slipped below the 100-point threshold after Trump held off on a fresh attack on Iran. Trump stated that an agreement was close, signalling renewed diplomatic momentum ahead of the resumption of peace talks, and noted that a planned large-scale military strike on Iran was called off on the condition that efforts to quickly reach an agreement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and resolve the impasse over Tehran's nuclear capabilities move forward. Seoul shares plunged by more than 5%, driven by selling pressure on heavyweight semiconductor and artificial intelligence-related stocks following Friday's record gains. Japan’s Nikkie dropped as the yen surged against the dollar after Japan and the United States conducted coordinated yen-buying intervention and vowed that they will not hesitate to take further action. 

Asian Indices

Last Trade            

Change in Points

Change in %      

Shanghai Composite

3,809.66

-22.60

-0.59

Hang Seng

26,009.40

124.97

0.48

Jakarta Composite

6,234.50

-1.63

-0.03

KLSE Composite

1,725.73

0.83

0.05

Nikkei 225

63,754.90

-607.12

-0.94

Straits Times

5,612.28

-16.22

-0.29

KOSPI Composite

6,257.45

-338.00

-5.12

Taiwan Weighted

43,386.41

266.66

0.62
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