Indian stock markets opened lower on Friday, with the SENSEX falling 512.07 points to 75,869.38 and NIFTY50 declining 153 points to 23,713.60 during initial trade. This represents a significant deterioration from Thursday's close, where SENSEX had declined 363.66 points or 0.47% to settle at 76,391.39, while NIFTY50 dipped 126.65 points or 0.53% to end at 23,869.60. The latest data shows GIFT Nifty at 23,681 level as of Thursday morning, indicating a much steeper decline than the previous 104-point gap down. According to Sachin Gupta, VP - Technical Research at Choice Equity Broking, global sentiment stayed fragile with soft cues from Asian peers and broader risk-off positioning keeping domestic equities under pressure. The primary trigger for the fresh round of selling was continued weakness in banking, financials, and rate-sensitive sectors, compounded by persistent worries over elevated crude oil prices and a cautious build-up ahead of key quarterly earnings.
The sell-off was broad-based across sectors, with all sectoral indices trading in the red, with realty, metal and financial stocks witnessing the sharpest declines. Nifty Realty fell 0.95%, while Nifty Metal slipped 0.92%. Similarly, Nifty Consumer Durables dropped 0.76%, Nifty PSU Bank fell 0.75%, and Nifty Auto lost 0.74%. Nifty Private Bank, Nifty FMCG and Nifty IT also declined by up to 0.60%. Cipla emerged as the top gainer on the Nifty 50, rising 3.50% to ₹1,441.80, followed by HCL Technologies at ₹1,253.90, up 0.74%, and Adani Enterprises at ₹3,023.80, up 0.46%. However, Shriram Finance fell the most, declining 2.02% to ₹1,005.10, while Eternal dropped 1.85% to ₹281.80, and Infosys shed 1.76% to ₹1,029.00. From the Sensex pack, InterGlobe Aviation, Eternal, Bharti Airtel, Infosys, Bajaj Finance and Trent were among the major laggards. InterGlobe Aviation slipped over 2% after IndiGo reported a ₹238 crore net loss for the three months ended June, as higher fuel prices and the West Asia conflict resulted in turbulence for the country's largest airline.
Oil prices have reached critical levels, with Brent crude quoted 0.03% lower at $100.7 per barrel amid escalating geopolitical tensions in West Asia. This escalation comes after Brent crude futures moved above the psychologically important $100-a-barrel mark, raising fresh concerns over global growth and the outlook for major oil-importing economies such as India. Dr. VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Investments, said the spike in crude was the primary driver of the sell-off: "The attack on Saudi tankers by the Iran-backed Houthis in the Red Sea is the main reason for the recent sharp spike in Brent crude to about $100. Such high price is bound to revive India's Balance of Payments concerns. Rupee too has been impacted, though mildly, with the currency depreciating to 96.57 to the dollar." The rupee's weakness is compounding the impact of higher crude prices on Indian markets, as elevated oil costs directly affect the country's import bill and inflation outlook.
The weakness in Indian markets mirrored broad-based losses across global markets, with South Korea's KOSPI tanking 5.56%, Japan's Nikkei 225 index, Shanghai's SSE Composite index and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index also trading lower. Overnight, U.S. markets ended lower on Thursday (July 23, 2026). The Trump administration has announced fresh tariff measures that will significantly impact global trade flows. The US said it will collect duties of between 10% and 12.5% on imports from most major trading partners, marking a continuation of protectionist policies. This development is particularly significant as the 10% temporary tariff imposed by the US on imports from its trading partners, including India, was to expire at 9:31 am (IST) on July 24. The Trump administration had previously announced sweeping reciprocal tariffs on multiple countries, including India with 26% tariffs that were annulled by the US Supreme Court.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth ₹2,999.23 crore on Thursday (July 23, 2026), according to exchange data, adding to the selling pressure. Technically, the Nifty has slipped below all key moving averages and is now headed towards the 23,645-23,500 support zone, while the 24,000-24,100 range is expected to act as a strong resistance zone. Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Equity Research at Kotak Securities, noted: "a weak structure may remain in place as long as the market trades below the 24000/76600 mark." The Put Call Ratio declined to 0.80, India VIX rose 1.37% to 13.47, and the RSI fell to 45.36, with the MACD showing expanding bearish momentum. Devarsh Vakil, Head of Prime Research at HDFC Securities, summed up the outlook: "Deepening geopolitical tensions, persistent foreign outflows from domestic equities and strong dollar demand from importers continue to create structural pressure on the Indian rupee and equity markets."
