HOME > MARKETS > MARKET COMMENTARY
  MARKET COMMENTARY
EQUITY
Post Session: Quick Review
Aug-04-2026

Indian equity benchmarks snapped a four-day winning streak on Tuesday, dragged down by losses in banking, Oil & Gas, and IT stocks. Markets made mixed start but soon slipped below neutral lines. Trade remained lackluster during the afternoon session ahead of the RBI's interest rate decision tomorrow. Also, sentiment remained subdued due to persistent concerns over supply disruptions and uncertainty surrounding a diplomatic resolution between the US and Iran.

Some of the important factors in trade:

Govt hikes windfall tax on petrol, diesel, ATF exports: Sentiments remained subdued as government has increased the windfall tax on exports of petrol, diesel, and aviation turbine fuel (ATF) for the fortnight starting August 3, 2026. The rate of special additional excise duty (SAED) on export of diesel will be Rs 25.5 per litre, up from Rs 15.5 per litre. SAED on export of ATF will be Rs 22 per litre, as against Rs 14.5 per litre earlier.

India, Uzbekistan to deepen strategic partnership across key sectors: Traders overlooked report that India and Uzbekistan have agreed to deepen their strategic partnership by expanding cooperation in defence, trade, mining, energy, infrastructure, education, and culture.

Rajya Sabha passes MSME bill to fast-track payments, dispute resolution: Traders paid no heed to the reports that Rajya Sabha has passed a bill that seeks to tackle the issue of delayed payments to MSMEs by prescribing timelines to ensure faster adjudication of disputes, provide recovery of the settlement agreement, and address their liquidity issues.

On the global front: European markets were trading mostly in green, as investors reacted to upbeat U.S. manufacturing data and mixed signals regarding U.S.-Iran peace negotiations. Asian markets closed mostly higher following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight.

The BSE Sensex ended at 78428.95, down by 210.08 points or 0.27% after trading in a range of 78211.87 and 79143.15. There were 11 stocks advancing against 19 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Capital Goods up by 0.95%, Metal up by 0.85%, Industrials up by 0.46%, Basic Materials up by 0.26%, Consumer Disc up by 0.17% while, Realty down by 1.18%, Utilities down by 0.64%, FMCG down by 0.56%, Energy down by 0.39%, IT down by 0.33% were the losing indices on BSE. (Provisional)

The top gainers on the Sensex were Trent up by 1.32%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 0.85%, Bajaj Finserv up by 0.85%, Tata Steel up by 0.66% and Bharat Electronics up by 0.57%. On the flip side, Hindustan Unilever down by 2.13%, HDFC Bank down by 1.52%, Interglobe Aviation down by 1.22%, Reliance Industries down by 1.15% and NTPC down by 1.06% were the top losers. (Provisional)

Meanwhile, the Government has proposed significant relaxations to the eligibility criteria for Eligible Investment Funds (EIFs) managed from India, aiming to strengthen the country's position as a global fund management hub. Under the proposed Taxation and Other Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026, offshore funds seeking tax exemption on their global income would no longer be required to meet several existing conditions. These include maintaining a minimum of 25 investors, limiting a single investor's participation to 10%, restricting investments exceeding 25% of the fund corpus in a single entity, prohibiting investments in associate entities, and maintaining a minimum average monthly corpus of Rs 100 crore.

The Bill, which has been circulated among Members of Parliament, is expected to be introduced in the Lok Sabha by Nirmala Sitharaman soon. It also proposes to remove the separate exemption criteria applicable to funds operating from the International Financial Services Centre Authority (IFSC). This would eliminate the existing distinction between IFSC and non-IFSC offshore funds by introducing a uniform eligibility framework, ensuring that the same tax exemption conditions apply to all eligible investment funds managed from India.

Additionally, the Bill seeks to replace the Ordinance promulgated on June 5, which granted tax exemption on interest income and capital gains earned by Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) from investments in Government Securities (G-Secs). The Ordinance was introduced to attract foreign capital amid pressure on the depreciating rupee arising from the West Asia crisis. According to the Statement of Objects and Reasons, the measure was aimed at mitigating the impact of external economic shocks, preserving domestic economic stability, and supporting key sectors affected by prevailing global conditions through amendments to the relevant tax provisions.

In June, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman stated that the measures announced by the Government and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to boost foreign capital inflows were only the 'first step' toward attracting overseas investments, while indicating that additional initiatives could follow. She emphasized, 'We recognise, we need more foreign capital to come in.' To reduce the compliance burden for foreign investors in G-Secs, the Government expanded the list of securities eligible under the Fully Accessible Route (FAR) on June 5 to include all new issuances of G-Secs. On the same day, the RBI also permitted banks to access its swap facility for Foreign Currency Non-Resident (Bank) [FCNR(B)] deposits with maturities ranging from three to five years until September 30. The facility enables banks to swap U.S. dollar deposits with the RBI, helping them manage foreign exchange risks more effectively.

The CNX Nifty ended at 24614.90, down by 159.40 points or 0.64% after trading in a range of 24427.95 and 24703.90. There were 14 stocks advancing against 35 stocks declining on the index, while one stock remained unchanged. (Provisional)

The top gainers on Nifty were Apollo Hospital up by 2.61%, Hindalco Industries up by 2.52%, Trent up by 1.89%, JIO Financial Services up by 0.76% and ITC up by 0.70%. On the flip side, Grasim Industries down by 3.74%, HDFC Life Insurance down by 3.10%, Bajaj Auto down by 2.16%, Reliance Industries down by 2.13% and Max Healthcare Inst. down by 2.13% were the top losers. (Provisional)

European markets were trading mostly in green; UK’s FTSE 100 increased 23.46 points or 0.22% to 10,881.16 and Germany’s DAX gained 103.19 points or 0.4% to 26,104.50, while France’s CAC fell 4.32 points or 0.05% to 8,609.50.

Asian markets ended mixed on Tuesday as investors remained cautious ahead of US economic data such as JOLTS job opening, ADP employment, ISM Services PMI and the nonfarm payrolls report due this week, while crude oil bounced back as uncertainty grew over US-Iran peace negotiations. US President Donald Trump said Iran had one ‘last chance’ to accept a US nuclear deal before facing decapitation, claiming he had called off what would have been ‘the biggest attack since World War II’ to allow diplomacy one final opportunity. Chinese shares gained as AI and semiconductor stocks rebounded following a sharp selloff. South Korea’s Kospi rose tracking Wall Street’s gains overnight. Separately, South Korea's softer-than-expected inflation eased immediate price concerns, though firmer core inflation reinforced expectations for a cautious Bank of Korea policy stance. 

Asian Indices

Last Trade            

Change in Points

Change in %      

Shanghai Composite

3,822.29

12.62

0.33

Hang Seng

25,852.92

-156.48

-0.60

Jakarta Composite

6,319.61

85.11

1.35

KLSE Composite

1,732.66

6.93

0.40

Nikkei 225

63,957.53

202.63

0.32

Straits Times

5,612.25

-0.03

0.00

KOSPI Composite

6,358.95

101.50

1.62

Taiwan Weighted

43,360.66

-25.75

-0.06
  RELATED NEWS >>
Most Viewed >>
EXPLORE
© CITRUS INTERACTIVE
Designed & Developed Accord Fintech Pvt. Ltd.