Sensex, Nifty End In Red As Bank Nifty Slumps 0.98% On Mixed Q1 Earnings; Asian Markets Trade Mixed Amid Middle East Tensions

Indian equity benchmarks closed lower on Monday, weighed down by weak performances across IT, banking, and auto stocks, even as select defensive sectors managed to buck the trend.

The Nifty 50 settled at 24,238.50, down 95.80 points, or 0.39%, while the Sensex ended at 77,708.52, lower by 442.93 points, or 0.57%. The broad-based decline in sectoral indices dragged the headline indices into negative territory for the session.

Among the sectoral indices, IT, Banking, and Auto closed in the red, acting as the biggest drags on the market. On the other hand, Media, Pharma, and FMCG managed to trade in green, offering some cushion to the broader fall.

A key highlight of the session was Trent, which led the rally among gainers, with its shares closing 3% higher.

The Bank Nifty fell around 1.6% after several heavyweight private sector banks reported mixed results for the June quarter.

Axis Bank emerged as the worst-performing stock of the session, tumbling 5.37%. The sharp fall was attributed to a combination of factors:

• A sharp decline in Net Interest Margin (NIM) to 3.46%
• Slower retail loan growth
• Earnings that were supported partly by lower provisions rather than core operating strength
• Lack of specific guidance on margin recovery from management
• Elevated market expectations going into results, which led to profit booking once numbers were announced

Asian markets were mixed on Monday as investors turned cautious amid rising tensions in the Middle East and growing concerns over stretched valuations in AI-related technology stocks.

Japan's Nikkei 225 fell sharply, down 4.03%, South Korea's Kospi slipped 0.38%, Australia's ASX 200 was a relative outperformer, rising 0.30% in early trade, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index (HSI) and China's Shanghai Index bucked the regional trend, trading in green, HSI was up 2.36%, while the Shanghai Index gained 0.85%

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