DayStarter

Market snapshot

Equities and sectors

Indian equity markets ended almost unchanged after recovering from a weak opening.

The Nifty 50 closed at 24,211.00, up 0.02% from its previous close of 24,206.90. The Sensex closed at 77,616.40, up 0.06% from 77,569.39.

The Nifty opened 168 points lower at 24,039.40 after tensions between Iran and the US increased again. Higher oil prices also affected market sentiment. The index touched a low of 24,000.20 before recovering during the morning, mainly because of gains in IT stocks. It reached a high of 24,259.80 and closed at 24,211.00, recovering the entire opening loss.

Zerodha AfterMarket Report, 13 July 2026; Mint, 14 July 2026

Broader market indices

Small-cap and micro-cap stocks ended slightly higher. The Nifty Next 50 fell, while the mid-cap index was unchanged.

Zerodha AfterMarket Report, 13 July 2026

Sector performance

IT was the strongest sector, rising 3.59%. Media and Consumer Durables also performed well. FMCG was the weakest sector, falling 1.02%, followed by Metal.

Zerodha Markets, 13 July 2026

F&O stock movers

Top gainers

Top losers

Zerodha Markets; Zerodha Technicals, 13 July 2026

Commodities

Crude oil futures rose 3.40% on the MCX. Gold, silver, natural gas, and zinc ended lower.

Zerodha Markets, 13 July 2026

Currency, crude oil, and bond yields

Currency figures differed slightly across sources.

Zerodha reported USDINR at 95.79, up 0.27% from 95.52. Mint reported that the rupee weakened by 30 paise to close at ₹95.68 against the US dollar. It opened at ₹95.72 and traded between ₹95.58 and ₹95.86 during the session. Both figures are retained as reported.

Mint also reported the euro at ₹109.31, down ₹0.38, and the pound at ₹128.05, down ₹0.22.

Crude oil figures also differed across sources. Zerodha reported MCX crude oil futures at ₹7,046, up 3.40%, and international crude at around $74 per barrel after a rise of more than 3%. Mint’s front-page ticker reported oil at $78.5, up $3.28. Both figures are retained as reported.

The US 10-year government bond yield rose to 4.56 from 4.53. India’s 10-year yield rose to 6.74 from 6.72.

Zerodha AfterMarket Report, 13 July 2026; Mint, 14 July 2026

Institutional flows

Foreign institutional investors sold a net ₹3,062 crore of Indian equities on 13 July. Domestic institutional investors bought a net ₹2,172 crore.

Across the five sessions shown below, FIIs were net buyers of ₹1,365 crore, while DIIs were net buyers of ₹6,657 crore.

The sign before each number shows whether institutions were net buyers or net sellers.

Zerodha Markets; NSE

Thematic indices

The thematic index table in the source report was not available in a machine-readable format. No thematic index levels or changes are reproduced. The NSE and BSE portals and the Tijori App contain the relevant performance data.

The macro view

Inflation moved above the RBI’s target

Retail inflation, measured by the Consumer Price Index, rose to 4.38% in June from 3.93% in May. This was above the Reserve Bank of India’s medium-term target of 4%.

It was the first time inflation had crossed 4% since January 2025. It was also the first breach since the new CPI series was introduced in January 2026.

The June figure was higher than the median forecast of 4.2% in a Mint poll of 18 economists. Economists also expect inflation to remain high in July.

Food inflation rose to 5.32% from 4.78%. Rural inflation remained higher than urban inflation.

The five items highlighted for high year-on-year retail inflation in June 2026 were:

Mint, 14 July 2026; Zerodha AfterMarket Report, 13 July 2026

Monsoon and agriculture

The India Meteorological Department expects rainfall to remain uneven during the coming week. Northwest, central, and southern India may receive weaker rainfall, while parts of eastern and northeastern India may receive extremely heavy rain.

As of 10 July, farmers had planted kharif crops across 53.12 million hectares. This was lower than 63.25 million hectares at the same point last year.

The planted area was also 1.8 million hectares below normal acreage, which is based on the average for 2021 to 2025.

The RBI has reduced its GDP growth forecast for the current financial year to 6.6% from 6.9%, mainly because of rising risks from the conflict in West Asia. The World Bank and Asian Development Bank have also reduced their forecasts to 6.6%.

Mint, 14 July 2026

Trade deficit widened in June

India’s merchandise trade deficit widened to a five-month high of $30.43 billion in June. A merchandise trade deficit occurs when the value of goods imported is higher than the value of goods exported.

Merchandise exports rose 15.5% from a year earlier to $40.41 billion, compared with $34.98 billion. Imports rose 31% to $70.84 billion from $54.08 billion.

Compared with May, exports fell from $45.2 billion, while imports eased from $73.41 billion. The merchandise trade deficit was 59% higher than a year earlier.

Crude oil and petroleum product imports rose by a little more than 40% to $19.33 billion from $13.79 billion. This was India’s largest imported category during the month.

Including services, total exports rose 9.5% to $73.45 billion. Total imports rose 26.8% to $88.76 billion. This created an overall trade deficit of $15.32 billion, compared with $2.89 billion in June 2025.

For the June quarter, merchandise exports rose 15.9% to $129.32 billion. Merchandise imports increased to $216.18 billion. The quarterly merchandise trade deficit widened to $86.86 billion from $68.75 billion.

Commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal said India and the US remain fully engaged in discussions for a trade agreement. The proposed agreement is intended to be balanced, commercially meaningful, and beneficial for businesses, farmers, workers, and consumers.

Mint, 14 July 2026; Zerodha AfterMarket Report, 13 July 2026

Policy, credit, and regulation

NRI deposits: Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman asked banks to increase outreach to non-resident Indians and introduce new deposit products. She also asked banks to maintain the pace of mobilisation under the RBI’s swap initiatives covering FCNR(B) deposits, external commercial borrowings, and overseas foreign currency borrowings.

Bank and NBFC lending: Between the end of March and the end of May, NBFCs provided housing loans worth ₹13,413 crore, compared with ₹13,072 crore provided by banks. NBFC vehicle loans increased by ₹13,840 crore, compared with ₹9,772 crore for banks. NBFC consumer durable loans rose by ₹9,991 crore, compared with only ₹944 crore for banks. Banks issued ₹52,908 crore in gold loans during the financial year up to May-end, while NBFCs issued ₹19,808 crore.

Mission Karmayogi: The Centre has started ranking all 88 Union ministries and departments on how effectively they are improving employee skills. The ministry of coal ranked first with a score of 50.46. The ministry of civil aviation ranked last with 0.42.

Digital education: The education ministry has been allocated ₹650 crore under the National Mission on Education through Information and Communication Technology for 2026-27. Targets include 390 Massive Open Online Courses and 2,840 courses during the year.

SEBI cooling-off period: SEBI has introduced a two-year cooling-off period for former officials. During this period, they cannot represent clients before SEBI in investigations, settlement proceedings, fundraising applications, or applications for regulatory approval.

Renewable energy transmission rights: Renewable energy companies that fail to generate power will have to surrender transmission rights or provide higher bank guarantees. The requirement comes from a Central Electricity Regulatory Commission order dated 11 July.

Obesity measurement: India plans to introduce waist-to-hip ratio tracking in public hospitals as part of a national strategy to reduce obesity. This marks a move away from relying mainly on Body Mass Index. A Lancet study projects that the number of overweight and obese adults in India could rise from 180 million in 2021 to 449 million by 2050.

RBI Ombudsman Scheme: The Reserve Bank has introduced the Reserve Bank Integrated Ombudsman Scheme 2026, effective from July. Maximum compensation for consequential financial loss has increased from ₹20 lakh to ₹30 lakh. Compensation for harassment, mental anguish, and loss of time has increased from ₹1 lakh to ₹3 lakh. The period for approaching the ombudsman has been reduced from one year to 90 days.

Mint, 14 July 2026

Corporate action and earnings

Domestic developments

HCLTech

HCL Technologies reported a 20% year-on-year increase in Q1FY27 net profit to ₹4,624 crore, beating estimates. Revenue rose 14% to ₹34,579 crore. Operating margin was 16.9%, despite a 62-basis-point effect from restructuring costs. The company maintained its FY27 guidance of 1% to 4% constant-currency revenue growth and an EBIT margin of 17.5% to 18.5%.

Mint separately reported revenue of $3.65 billion, down 0.9% sequentially but up 3% year-on-year. Net profit was $488 million, up 0.4% sequentially and 8.4% year-on-year. Margin increased by 40 basis points to 16.9%. Both sets of figures are retained as reported.

HCLTech data centres

HCLTech plans to invest about ₹3,500 crore, or $365 million, to build and operate data centres with capacity of up to 50 megawatts. It will become the second Indian IT services company after TCS to enter the capital-intensive data centre business.

Aditya Birla Group and Sprng Energy

Kumar Mangalam Birla is acquiring Sprng Energy from Shell at an enterprise value of $1.8 billion. Sprng has 3.3 GW of operating capacity and another 1.7 GW under construction. After the acquisition, Aditya Birla Renewables Ltd will have capacity of about 9.3 GW, making it India’s fifth-largest renewable energy company.

Mylan and Biocon

Mylan Inc, a Viatris company, has started a block deal to sell a minority stake in Biocon worth up to $363 million, or ₹3,481 crore. The deal covers 92 million shares, equal to 5.64% of Biocon’s existing equity. The floor price is ₹378.50 per share. The offer opened on 13 July and closes on 14 July.

SBI Funds IPO

The ₹9,813-crore SBI Funds Management IPO opens on 14 July. The issue is entirely an offer for sale. The price band is ₹545 to ₹574 per share. At the upper end, the company is valued at about 38 times FY26 earnings.

ICICI Prudential AMC

ICICI Prudential Asset Management Company reported a 25.5% year-on-year rise in Q1 net profit to ₹965 crore. Total income rose 20.2% to ₹1,745 crore from ₹1,452 crore.

LTM and Anthropic

LTM has partnered with Anthropic to offer the Claude family of AI models to enterprise clients. Claude, Claude Code, and Claude Cowork will be integrated into LTM’s BlueVerse AI platform. LTM’s Q1FY27 constant-currency revenue rose 0.3% sequentially. EBIT margin increased by 40 basis points to 15.5%. The total contract value of new deals was $1.68 billion.

United Breweries

United Breweries has signed a long-term manufacturing agreement with Adie Broswon Breweries. The agreement will use ABB’s brewery, which has annual capacity of 12 million cases and produced five million cases in FY26.

Avendus and PPFAS

Avendus Future Leaders Fund III has acquired a stake worth ₹140 crore in Parag Parikh Financial Advisory Services. The stake was purchased from promoter Neil Parag Parikh and president Khushboo Joshi. PPFAS managed about ₹1.43 trillion in assets as of June.

Tata Capital and TCS

Tata Capital’s board has approved an all-cash purchase of an 88.6% stake in Yogakshemam Loans Ltd. The deal values Yogloans at a pre-money equity value of up to ₹318 crore. Separately, TCS has secured a multimillion contract from ABB.

Deals and startups

Elevation Capital is launching its ninth fund, worth $500 million, to invest in early-stage companies. The founders of Oxane Partners are seeking a valuation of $200 million to $250 million in a majority stake sale. Epic Concessions 2 Pvt. Ltd has signed concession agreements with NHAI for two road stretches worth ₹2,259 crore.

DMart

Avenue Supermarts reported a 15.1% year-on-year rise in standalone revenue to ₹18,340 crore in Q1FY27. EBITDA rose 16.3% to ₹1,527 crore, while net profit increased 12.8% to ₹936 crore. Mint’s News in Numbers separately reported consolidated net profit of ₹860.6 crore, up 11.3%, and revenue of ₹18,794 crore, up 14.9%.

Ola Electric

Regulatory filings show that Ola Electric’s overdue payments to MSMEs increased sharply. Payments overdue by more than 45 days were 4.6% of ₹238 crore during April to September 2024. This increased to 80% of ₹102 crore during October 2025 to March 2026.

SpiceJet

SpiceJet told the Delhi High Court that it will deposit the outstanding ₹144.5 crore in its arbitration dispute with Kalanithi Maran and KAL Airways in phases. It will deposit ₹50 crore within 45 days and the remaining ₹95 crore within 90 days.

Lifecycle mutual funds

Zerodha Fund House became the first company to launch two lifecycle funds on 19 June, with maturity dates in 2036 and 2041. Mirae Asset Investment Managers has filed draft documents for a fund maturing in 2056. ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund has proposed funds maturing in 2031, 2036, and 2041. SEBI introduced the lifecycle fund category on 26 February.

Mint, 14 July 2026; Zerodha AfterMarket Report, 13 July 2026

Upcoming economic events

These are scheduled releases listed in the Zerodha Economic Calendar. They are not confirmed outcomes.

Zerodha Economic Calendar

Earnings calendar for 14 July 2026

Corporate actions and ex-dates

The dividend and ex-date table in the Zerodha AfterMarket Report was not available in a machine-readable format. No ex-dates are reproduced. The NSE and BSE corporate action portals and the Tijori App contain the relevant information.

Global pulse

Global market performance

US markets were mixed. The Dow Jones rose, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 ended lower. Asian markets were also mixed, with sharp falls in Japan and mainland China.

Zerodha AfterMarket Report, 13 July 2026

Iran-US tensions and the Strait of Hormuz

US President Donald Trump said the US is reinstating a blockade on Iran in the Strait of Hormuz and will charge other ships for safe passage. Iran continued to state that it controls the waterway.

The US said it attacked dozens of sites on Monday in response to an Iranian attack on a container ship the previous day.

Crude oil rose by more than 3% to around $74 per barrel after renewed US strikes increased concerns about Middle Eastern supply. The market was also affected by conflicting claims about the Strait of Hormuz, new Iranian attacks on US allies, and reported damage to an offshore drilling platform in Kuwait.

All six commodity carriers that passed through the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday had their transponders switched off, based on preliminary Kpler data analysed by Bloomberg News.

Mint, AP, Bloomberg, 14 July 2026; Zerodha AfterMarket Report, 13 July 2026

India’s energy sourcing

Indian refiners are increasingly buying LPG and LNG in the spot market.

The US supplied 773,780 tonnes of LPG to India in June, an increase of 19.4% from May. India imports about 65% of its annual LPG requirement of 33 million tonnes. The annual import bill is nearly $11 billion.

Mint, 14 July 2026; Kpler

International corporate and policy developments

TSMC: TSMC’s second-quarter revenue rose 36% year-on-year to T$1.27 trillion, or $39.63 billion. June revenue rose nearly 68% to T$442.68 billion. Revenue for the first half of 2026 increased almost 36% to T$2.40 trillion.

SK Hynix: SK Hynix shares fell more than 15% in Seoul, their largest one-day decline in nearly two decades. Investors booked gains after the company’s Nasdaq debut. Its US-listed ADRs fell 9.2% in pre-market trading.

Volkswagen: Chief executive Oliver Blume told employees that Volkswagen may need to cut another 50,000 jobs to become as competitive as its rivals. Total job reductions could reach 100,000 positions.

Japan’s GPIF: Japan plans to increase the Government Pension Investment Fund’s allocation to alternative assets. The fund aims to move closer to its existing 5% allocation limit for unlisted equities, real estate, and other alternatives. Alternative assets represented 1.7% of holdings as of March.

US Federal Reserve: Fed chair Kevin Warsh will testify before Congress this week, ahead of the Federal Reserve’s 28 to 29 July meeting. The June US consumer inflation report is due on Tuesday. The Fed’s current policy rate target is 3.5% to 3.75%.

AI-related bond issuance: The investment-grade corporate bond market has struggled to absorb a combined $75 billion of bonds issued by Nvidia, SpaceX, and Amazon.com during the past several weeks. Six companies classified as hyperscalers have issued around $244 billion of bonds globally this year, compared with $108 billion during all of last year.

Apple and OpenAI: Apple filed a lawsuit on Friday alleging that a senior OpenAI executive took part in a monthslong campaign to steal Apple trade secrets.

European Union: European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said the EU plans to limit young children’s access to social media across its 27 member countries.

Akzo Nobel: Akzo Nobel’s board rejected an $8.6 billion offer from Nippon Paint Holdings for its decorative paints business. The board said the offer significantly undervalued the unit.

Zerodha AfterMarket Report, 13 July 2026; Mint, Dow Jones, Reuters, and Bloomberg, 14 July 2026

Management commentary

Zerodha AfterMarket Report, Management Chatter, 13 July 2026

Zerodha AfterMarket Report, Management Chatter, 13 July 2026

Mint, 14 July 2026

Mint, 14 July 2026

Feature: Which ITR form applies, and by when

The filing season for financial year 2025-26, which corresponds to Assessment Year 2026-27, is under way.

The government notified the Income Tax Return forms for AY 2026-27 on 30 March 2026. The notification covers ITR-1 to ITR-7, along with ITR-V and ITR-U.

The correct form depends on the taxpayer’s income sources, total income, and legal category. Using the wrong form can result in income not being disclosed correctly or in unnecessary additional disclosure.

ClearTax; Business Today, 31 March 2026

ITR-1, Sahaj

Who can file

Resident individuals with total income of up to ₹50 lakh may use ITR-1 when their income comes from:

• Salary or pension
• Up to two house properties
• Other sources
• Long-term capital gains under Section 112A of up to ₹1.25 lakh, provided there is no brought-forward or carry-forward capital loss
• Agricultural income of up to ₹5,000

Who cannot file

ITR-1 cannot be used by taxpayers with:

• Total income above ₹50 lakh
• Agricultural income above ₹5,000
• Taxable capital gains beyond the permitted amount
• Business or professional income
• More than two house properties
• A position as a company director
• Unlisted equity shares
• Foreign assets or foreign income
• Residential status as RNOR or non-resident
• Brought-forward losses

ITR-2

Who can file

ITR-2 is for individuals and Hindu Undivided Families with income from:

• Salary or pension
• House property
• Capital gains
• Foreign income or foreign assets
• Agricultural income above ₹5,000

It also applies to taxpayers who hold unlisted shares, have deferred tax on ESOPs, are company directors, or have RNOR or non-resident status. Total income may exceed ₹50 lakh.

Who cannot file

Taxpayers with income from a business or profession cannot use ITR-2.

ITR-3

Who can file

ITR-3 is for individuals and HUFs with business or professional income. It covers both presumptive and audit cases.

It also applies to partners in firms and people holding unlisted equity shares. The return may also include income from salary, house property, and other sources.

Who cannot file

ITR-3 is not for:

• Companies
• Business or charitable trusts
• Partnership firms
• Associations of Persons
• Bodies of Individuals

ITR-4, Sugam

Who can file

ITR-4 can be used by resident individuals, HUFs, and firms other than LLPs that choose the presumptive taxation scheme under Sections 44AD, 44ADA, or 44AE.

Total income must not exceed ₹50 lakh. The return may also include salary income, income from up to two house properties, and long-term capital gains under Section 112A of up to ₹1.25 lakh.

Who cannot file

ITR-4 cannot be used by taxpayers with:

• Income above ₹50 lakh
• More than two house properties
• Foreign assets, foreign income, or signing authority outside India
• A position as a company director
• Unlisted equity shares
• RNOR or non-resident status
• Brought-forward losses

ITR-5

Who can file

ITR-5 is for:

• Partnership firms
• Limited Liability Partnerships
• Associations of Persons
• Bodies of Individuals
• Similar entities

Who cannot file

It cannot be used by individuals, HUFs, companies, or taxpayers who are eligible to file ITR-7.

ITR-6

Who can file

ITR-6 is for companies.

Who cannot file

It cannot be used by companies claiming an exemption under Section 11 for income from property held for charitable or religious purposes.

ITR-7

Who can file

ITR-7 is for persons, including companies, required to file returns under Sections 139(4A), 139(4B), 139(4C), 139(4D), 139(4E), or 139(4F).

This includes:

• Charitable and religious trusts
• Political parties and electoral trusts
• Research associations
• News agencies
• Universities
• Hospitals
• Business trusts
• Investment funds

Who cannot file

It cannot be used by individuals, HUFs, firms, or companies that are not covered by these categories.

ClearTax, “Which ITR to File in FY 2025-26 (AY 2026-27)? Types of ITR Forms and Applicability”, cleartax.in

ITR filing deadlines

ClearTax states that these dates apply unless the Income Tax Department announces an extension. At the time of its report, the due date had not been extended.

Business Today separately reported that the due date for individuals and non-audit cases for AY 2026-27 remains 31 July 2026.

ClearTax, “ITR Filing Last Date FY 2025-26 (AY 2026-27)”, cleartax.in; Business Today

Cost of missing the deadline

ClearTax lists the following consequences of filing late:

• Interest under Section 234A at 1% per month or part of a month on unpaid tax.
• A late fee under Section 234F of ₹1,000 when income is up to ₹5 lakh and ₹5,000 when income is above ₹5 lakh.
• Loss of the ability to carry forward current-year losses, including capital losses and business losses, to future years.
• A belated return may still be filed up to 31 December of the assessment year.
• An updated return may be filed within 48 months from the end of the relevant assessment year. However, an updated return cannot be used to claim additional benefits that were not included in the original or revised return.

ClearTax

Changes for AY 2026-27

Two changes are highlighted for the current filing cycle:

• ITR-1 now allows income from up to two house properties. Earlier, a taxpayer with more than one house property had to move to ITR-2 or ITR-3.
• The Income Tax Act 2025 took effect on 1 April 2026. However, the Income Tax Act 1961 continues to apply to AY 2026-27 because the relevant income was earned up to 31 March 2026.

Business Today; ClearTax

Sources and disclaimer

This feature is compiled from:

1. ClearTax, “Which ITR to File in FY 2025-26 (AY 2026-27)? Types of ITR Forms and Applicability”, cleartax.in.
2. ClearTax, “ITR Filing Last Date FY 2025-26 (AY 2026-27)”, cleartax.in.
3. Business Today, “CBDT releases ITR forms for AY 2026-27; check key changes for return filing”, 31 March 2026.

Official forms, filing utilities, and the authoritative position on due dates are published by the Income Tax Department at incometax.gov.in. Eligibility conditions are based on the sources listed above. They are not a substitute for professional advice, and individual tax positions should be checked against the notified forms or with a qualified tax professional.

Day at a glance

Closing

Primary sources: Mint, Mumbai edition, 14 July 2026; Zerodha AfterMarket Report, 13 July 2026 close; ClearTax; Business Today. This briefing is a factual news aggregation and is not investment or tax advice.