Indian benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty traded lower on Monday, weighed down by losses in financial and IT stocks, as investor sentiment remained cautious amid lingering global trade tariff uncertainties and disappointing quarterly results from Tata Consultancy Services, Indias largest IT firm.The BSE Sensex dropped 337 points, or 0.40%, to trade at 82,182, while the NSE Nifty slipped 92 points, or 0.37%, to trade at 25,057.Among the 30 Sensex constituents, shares of Infosys, Tech Mahindra, Bajaj Finance, TCS, Bharti Airtel, and HCL Technologies were the top laggards, declining between 0.6% and 1.3%.Sector-wise, IT stocks slipped 1%, while financials edged lower by 0.1%.Investor focus today will remain on the earnings season, with results due from HCL Technologies, Ola Electric Mobility, Tata Technologies, and several other companies later in the day.Live EventsAmong individual stocks, shares of NCC Ltd rose 2.3% after the company announced it had secured a major work order worth around Rs 2,269 crore from the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA).In contrast, Avenue Supermarts, which operates the DMart retail chain, saw its shares decline 2.6% following the release of its first-quarter earnings.Expert ViewsThe Nifty has been exhibiting weak trend weighed mainly by the weakness in the IT stocks and this weakness may persist particularly since the FIIs were big sellers in the cash market last Friday, said Dr.
VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments, adding that it is important to note that banking and financials are outperforming even in this weak market.
"This trend may persist.
The market has already discounted the NIM compression for banking stocks expected in Q1 results.
Therefore, dips in banking stocks will provide opportunities to buy.
Market is expecting a US- India trade deal soon with a tariff rate of around 20% for India.
If this happens the market will get a sentimental boost.
Any disappointment on this front can drag the market further down," said Vijayakumar.Technically, on the weekly chart, the Nifty has formed a bearish candle, and on the daily chart, it has formed a lower top and after a long time, the index slipped below the 20-day SMA (Simple Moving Average) zone, indicating further weakness from the current levels, said Shrikant Chouhan, Head Equity Research, Kotak Securities, adding that "as long as the market remains below 25,350/83200, the sentiment will remain weak.
Below this level, the market may slip towards the 50-day SMA or around 25,050/82000.
Further downside may continue, taking the market down to 24,900-24800/81500-81200.""On the other hand, if the market trades above 25,350/83200, the sentiment may improve," said Chouhan, adding that "for the day, sell around 25300/25350 with a stop loss at 25500.
The weakness should increase below 25150, which may push the market to 25050 or 25000.
A sharp reversal after hitting 25050 or 24950 would be positive.
Buy select stocks between 25050 and 24950 with a short-term view."Global MarketsAsian markets slipped on Monday, dragged down by weak cues from Wall Street and Europe, as renewed tariff threats from U.S.
President Donald Trump kept investors on edge.
Trump on Saturday vowed to impose a 30% tariff on most imports from the EU and Mexico starting August 1, despite ongoing negotiations.MSCIs broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was flat, while Japans Nikkei dipped 0.3%.
Chinese blue chips edged up 0.3% after data showed June exports rose 5.8% year-on-year, beating forecasts, though shipments to the U.S.
fell nearly 10%.
Key data on retail sales, industrial output, and GDP are due Tuesday.European markets reacted more sharply, with EUROSTOXX 50 futures down 0.6%, DAX futures losing 0.7%, and FTSE futures easing 0.1%.
U.S.
futures also softened, S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures both slipped 0.4%, as the earnings season kicks off Tuesday, led by major banks.In commodities, gold inched up 0.1% to $3,359 an ounce on safe-haven demand.FII/DII TrackerThe Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) snapped their buying streak and sold equities worth Rs 5,104.22 crore on July 11, while Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) purchased equities worth Rs 3,558.63 on the same day.Crude ImpactOil prices edged higher on Monday, building on Fridays gains of over 2%, as markets weighed the potential impact of additional U.S.
sanctions on Russia that could tighten global supply.
However, a rise in Saudi output and persistent trade tariff uncertainty capped further upside.Brent crude futures were up 8 cents at $70.44 a barrel as of 0011 GMT, after a 2.51% jump on Friday.
U.S.
West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose 5 cents to $68.50, following a 2.82% gain in the previous session.Rupee vs Dollar The Indian rupee weakened by 22 paise to 86.02 against the U.S.
dollar in early trade on Monday, as renewed tariff threats from President Donald Trump heightened trade tension worries, fueling risk aversion and pressuring Asian currencies.Meanwhile, the dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of major currencies, edged up 0.1% to 97.882.(with inputs from agencies)