Indian equity benchmarks ended lower on Tuesday amid mixed global cues. Despite making a positive start, soon indices turned negative and hovered around the neutral line, as traders remained cautious ahead of the US-India trade talks. In the afternoon session, markets added some losses and remained lower throughout the day, as traders were cautious following US President Donald Trump’s announcement that Washington would impose a 25% tariff on countries trading with Iran. 

Some of the important factors in trade:

Continued foreign fund outflows: Sentiments turned subdued due to continued foreign fund outflows. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold equities worth Rs 3,638.40 crore on Monday.

Retail inflation rises to 1.33% in December: Traders took note of report that government data showed that retail inflation rose to a three-month high of 1.33 per cent in December 2025 mainly due to higher prices of kitchen essentials, including vegetables and protein-rich items.

India’s economy to grow at 7% in FY27: Traders overlooked BMI, a Fitch Group company, has forecasted a 7.4 per cent growth for the current fiscal and 7 per cent for FY27 saying a favourable policy environment bodes well for India's economic outlook.  

Global front: European markets were trading mostly in red amid a lack of economic or corporate updates. Asian equity markets ended mostly in green despite measure of the public assessment of the current situation of the Japanese economy weakened unexpectedly in December, though marginally. 

The BSE Sensex ended at 83627.69, down by 250.48 points or 0.30% after trading in a range of 83262.79 and 84258.03. There were 10 stocks advancing against 20 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The broader indices ended mixed; the BSE Mid cap index was down by 0.16%, while Small cap index up by 0.46%. (Provisional)

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were IT up by 0.55%, Metal up by 0.39%, Basic Materials up by 0.19%, PSU up by 0.16% and Oil & Gas up by 0.12%, while Telecom down by 1.18%, Industrials down by 1.09%, Capital Goods down by 0.67%, Consumer Durables down by 0.63% and Realty down by 0.56% were the top losing indices on BSE. (Provisional)

The top gainers on the Sensex were Eternal up by 3.24%, ICICI Bank up by 1.66%, Tech Mahindra up by 1.49%, SBI up by 1.27% and TCS up by 0.83%. On the flip side, Trent down by 3.39%, Larsen & Toubro down by 3.25%, Reliance Industries down by 2.14%, Interglobe Aviation down by 1.95% and Maruti Suzuki down by 1.13% were the top losers. (Provisional)

Meanwhile, the Income Tax Department has said that Net direct tax collection grew 8.82 per cent to over Rs 18.38 lakh crore between April 1, 2025 and January 11, 2026 period, as compared with Rs 16.89 lakh crore collected during the same period last year. During the periods, the corporate tax (CT) collection recorded a growth of 12.37% to around Rs 8.63 lakh crore as compared to around Rs 7.68 lakh crore in same period last year.  

Further, the data showed the non - corporate tax collection (NCT) grew 6.41% to around Rs 9.30 lakh crore in April to January period as compared to around Rs 8.74 lakh crore in same period last year. The collection of Securities Transaction Tax (STT) stood at Rs 44,867 crore between April 1 and January 11, registering a flat growth compared to the same period last year. Refunds dropped 17 per cent to Rs 3.12 lakh crore during the period.

Gross direct tax collection increased 4.14 per cent to about Rs 21.50 lakh crore till January 11 of this fiscal as compared to Rs 20.64 lakh crore in same period last year.  This includes gross corporate tax and non-corporate tax collection of Rs 10.47 lakh crore and Rs 10.58 lakh crore, respectively. In the current fiscal (FY26), the government has projected its direct tax collection at Rs 25.20 lakh crore, up 12.7 per cent year-on-year. The government aims to collect Rs 78,000 crore from STT in FY26.  

The CNX Nifty ended at 25732.30, down by 57.95 points or 0.22% after trading in a range of 25603.30 and 25899.80. There were 19 stocks advancing against 31 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The top gainers on Nifty were ONGC up by 3.42%, Eternal up by 3.26%, Tech Mahindra up by 1.81%, Hindalco up by 1.76% and ICICI Bank up by 1.69%. On the flip side, Trent down by 3.32%, Larsen & Toubro down by 3.27%, Reliance Industries down by 2.05%, Dr. Reddy's Lab down by 1.99% and Interglobe Aviation down by 1.87% were the top losers. (Provisional)

European markets were trading mostly in red; UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 8.25 points or 0.08% to 10,132.45, and France’s CAC fell 41.56 points or 0.5% to 8,317.20, while Germany’s DAX gained 10.36 points or 0.04% to 25,415.70.

Asian markets settled mostly higher on Tuesday after Wall Street hit another record high overnight, despite concerns about the US Justice Department's criminal investigation of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. Japan’s Nikkie Index ended at a record high on growing expectations that a potential general election next month could solidify Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s political standing, allowing her to take bolder steps to boost the economy. Seoul shares climbed at another record milestone after South Korean chip giant SK hynix said it would spend 19 trillion won ($12.9 billion) building an advanced chip packaging plant, as the firm rides the global AI boom. However, Chinese shares declined amid profit-taking in high-flying defense and technology shares.