Indian equity benchmarks declined on Monday amid renewed concern over US trade tariffs and a decline in index heavyweight HDFC Bank and IT majors. The Nifty hit a new record high during the day before giving up some of those gains and ended the session at 26,250, a decline of 78 points or 0.3 per cent.
And the Sensex fell to 85,440, a drop of 322 points or 0.4 per cent. The total market capitalisation fell by ₹43,955 crore to ₹481 trillion.
India’s trade tariff woes intensified after US President Donald Trump renewed his threat, saying tariffs on India could be raised if it did not curb purchases of Russian oil.
The US had imposed a 50 per cent trade tariff on India last year, which included a 25 per cent additional tariff to dissuade India from purchasing Russian oil. The US had accused India of fuelling the Russian war machine through its oil purchases. Uncertainty over trade tariffs was one of the biggest drags on Indian equities, alongside declining corporate profits, last year.
The share prices of tech majors Infosys, TCS and HCL Technologies declined ahead of their quarterly updates. IT firms continue to face an uncertain demand environment in the third quarter. According to Bloomberg estimates, the top six IT services players were expected to have revenue growth of 1 per cent to 4 per cent sequentially.
HDFC Bank, with a 2.4 per cent decline, was the biggest drag on the Sensex and the worst-performing Sensex stock.
“Domestic markets began the first full week of 2026 on a cautious footing. Globally, investors are awaiting key US economic data and Fed guidance, while the Bank of Japan (BoJ) reaffirmed its tightening stance. Looking ahead, Q3 earnings will dominate focus and guide near-term market trends, with sentiment remaining moderately positive,” said Vinod Nair, head of research at Geojit Investments.
Market breadth was weak, with 1,672 stocks advancing and 2,602 declining. Foreign portfolio investors were net sellers of ₹36 crore, while domestic institutions were buyers of ₹1,764 crore.
“The ongoing intermediate consolidation appears healthy following the recent up move, as long as the benchmark manages to hold its previous swing lows. The immediate support zone for the Nifty is placed around 26,000–26,200, while the upside potential towards the 26,500–26,700 zone remains intact in the near term. In the interim, participants are advised to focus on identifying quality stock-specific opportunities across sectors, keeping favourable risk–reward dynamics in mind,” said Ajit Mishra, senior vice president, research, Religare Broking.
