Indian equities ended another session in the red, dragged down by a sharp decline in Kotak Mahindra Bank along with weakness in other key heavyweights, including Bharti Airtel and TCS, leading to an almost 0.70% drop in the benchmark indices.
In addition, the delay in a potential India–US trade deal and continued selling by overseas investors also weighed on the Indian stock market, which extended its losing streak to a third consecutive session on Monday and fell to a 7-week low.
The Nifty 50 slipped below the 24,700 mark, settling at 24,680 with a 0.63% decline, while the S&P BSE Sensex dropped 0.72% to close at 80,874 points. While large-cap stocks continued to face selling pressure, mid- and small-cap stocks saw even sharper declines, with the Nifty Smallcap 100 ending today’s session down 1.26% and the Nifty Midcap 100 closing with a 0.84% drop.
According to market experts, Indian stock market is currently grappling with three simultaneous overhangs, uncertain US trade policy, relentless FII selling, and uninspiring Q1 earnings.
Negotiations between India and the United States remain deadlocked over tariff cuts on agriculture and dairy products, dimming hopes for an interim deal ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump’s August 1 deadline. However, the US and EU have reached a trade agreement, reducing tariffs on EU exports to the US to 15%, down from the 30% rate initially threatened by President Trump.
Additionally, US and Chinese officials are scheduled to meet today to discuss ongoing trade issues, with an extension of the current trade truce, set to expire on August 12, widely expected, easing global trade tensions.
Stocks that underperformed the Indian stock market today
Among the top losers, Home First Finance emerged as the biggest laggard, with the stock plunging 8.1% to ₹1,359 apiece following the release of its June quarter results. Kotak Mahindra Bank also saw its shares tumble 7.3% to ₹1,968 apiece, marking its sharpest intraday drop in recent times, after its Q1 FY26 earnings miss sparked concerns over worsening asset quality.
Like several Indian banks, Kotak Mahindra Bank has been grappling with rising bad loans in the unsecured loan segment. Its gross non-performing assets (NPA) ratio worsened to 1.48% of total loans at the end of June, up from 1.39% a year earlier.
The bank’s net interest margin (NIM)—a key measure of profitability—fell to 4.65% from 5.02% a year ago, reflecting the impact of the Reserve Bank of India’s interest rate cuts. Typically, when rates are lowered, banks pass on the benefit to borrowers faster than they adjust deposit rates, temporarily compressing margins.
Macrotech Developers shares also ended 6.3% lower at ₹1,198.7 apiece, after its Q1 net profit dropped 27% sequentially to ₹675 crore.
SBI Cards and Payment Services fell 6% to a 15-week low of ₹835 apiece after the company missed Q1 profit expectations due to higher write-offs.
