Indian stock markets extended losses for the fifth consecutive session on July 24, with BSE Sensex closing 331.62 points or 0.43% lower at 76,059.77 and NSE Nifty ending 102.15 points or 0.43% down at 23,767.45. According to The Hindu, the 30-share BSE Sensex declined 331.62 points, or 0.43%, to settle at 76,059.77, while the 50-share NSE Nifty dipped 102.15 points, or 0.43%, to end at 23,767.45. During the day, the Sensex tanked 916.96 points, or 1.20%, to 75,474.43, showing significant intraday volatility. This marks the longest stretch of declines since the first week of January, as investors remained cautious amid concerns over the inflation and growth outlook in the backdrop of elevated crude oil prices. Market breadth favoured declines, with out of the 30 Sensex constituents, only three stocks were trading in positive territory, while the remaining 27 were in the red, with Eternal, Mahindra & Mahindra, Bajaj Finance, Bharti Airtel, Asian Paints and Infosys emerging as the biggest losers. The broader market showed mixed trends, with the Nifty Midcap 100 index ending with a marginal gain of 0.10% and the Nifty Smallcap 100 index closing 0.3% lower. The total market capitalisation of BSE-listed firms declined by ₹3.3 trillion to ₹476.7 trillion. The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, added 1.37% to 13.48, indicating increased fear among investors. Despite the weakness, the Nifty50 rebounded from its intraday low of 23,606.30, while the Sensex recovered to close above the 76,000 mark, trimming a large part of the day's losses.
US President Donald Trump imposed fresh tariffs ranging from 10% to 12.5% on more than 80 countries including India, the United Kingdom, Australia, and several European Union countries, effective July 24, 2026. According to GoodReturns, trading partners that have made commitments to adopt, and effectively enforce, forced labor import prohibitions will have a 10% tariff, while trading partners that have failed to adopt a forced labor import prohibition will have a 12.5% tariff rate. Earlier this week, Trump announced he would hike tariffs on generic drugs to 100% with effect from August 1, 2026, which will rise to 200% on August 1, 2028. Following Trump's tariff announcement, the Nifty Pharma index dropped nearly 1%, while the Auto Index emerged among top losers ahead of July monthly sales data, which will be announced in the first week of August. The metal index also faced selling pressure due to selloffs in gold and silver. Strong buying in tech, banking, FMCG, and retail stocks offset some of the early losses on the benchmark, with HCL Tech zooming by 2%, followed by ITC, Trent, Axis Bank, and TCS gaining by 0.5% to 1%. These gains were overshadowed by steep profit-booking in heavyweight stocks like Infosys and Indigo, which fell by 2% each after their quarterly earnings results, while Bharti Airtel, Eternal, and M&M also declined by 2% to 2.5%. Infosys declined 1% after it tempered the upper end of its full-year revenue forecast to between 1.5% and 3% amid continued macroeconomic uncertainty.
All sectoral indices traded lower, with Nifty Realty falling the most at 1.81%, followed by PSU Bank and Bank sectors. According to CNBC TV18, financial stocks remained under pressure, with the Nifty Bank index falling 535 points to close at 56,592. According to NDTV Profit, barring Auto, Media, and Consumption, all sectors are in red. The Nifty Auto index was the worst-performing sector, falling 1.1%, while realty and pharma stocks also came under pressure during the session. In contrast, the Nifty Media and Nifty IT indices outperformed the broader market, providing some support amid the overall weakness. In the commodities market, Brent crude for September 2026 settlement rose $4.01 or 4.26% to $98.08 a barrel. Among the Nifty constituents, Nestle India and Shriram Finance were among the top laggards of the session. Among the Sensex constituents, Bajaj Finance, IndiGo, Axis Bank and Reliance Industries featured among the major losers, while Mahindra & Mahindra, TCS, Eternal, HCL Technologies and Bajaj Finserv were the top performers. In the realty sector, Anant Raj Ltd fell 4.74%, Sobha Ltd slipped 3.50% and Brigade Enterprises Ltd dropped 3.37%. The Nifty Realty index has decreased 9.00% over last one year compared to the 5.35% fall in benchmark Nifty 50 index, though it has added 10.00% over the last one month.
Brent crude futures dropped 3.66% to $96.98 per barrel on Friday (July 24, 2026), after surpassing $100 per barrel in the previous session. According to The Hindu, Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, dropped 3.66% to $96.98 per barrel on Friday (July 24, 2026), after surpassing $100 per barrel in the previous session. Investor sentiment remained subdued as the escalating Middle East conflict pushed Brent crude above $100 a barrel. High oil prices pose a key risk to India, the world's third-largest crude importer and consumer, by threatening to stoke inflation, widen the trade gap, squeeze growth and reduce companies' profit margins. The weaker strength of the Indian rupee further impacted investors' sentiment, as the domestic currency depreciated to 96.57 to the dollar, compared with the previous close of 96.5725, and by 11:40 am, the rupee had slipped further to 96.665, down around 0.1%. Rising oil prices have also renewed inflationary concerns, driving short-term U.S. Treasury yields to 17-week highs as traders increased bets that the Federal Reserve may have to tighten monetary policy sooner than expected. The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal paper was up 0.41% to 6.830 as compared with previous close 6.801. Hostilities in the Middle East entered their 13th consecutive day, with tensions escalating further after Yemeni Houthi fighters reportedly struck two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea, extending the conflict to a second major global shipping chokepoint. U.S. President Donald Trump vowed "major military punishment" for Iran and its Houthi allies over the attacks, with crude oil prices remaining under pressure to the upside and on track for another double-digit weekly gain, after surging nearly 15% last week.
Technical analysis reveals that the Nifty has broken down below the upward consolidation on the daily chart, suggesting a rise in bearishness in the market. According to The Economic Times, the index has fallen below the critical short-term moving average, with the RSI indicator in a bearish crossover and falling. Commenting on Nifty technical outlook, experts said that the 23,800–24,000 region now stands as the immediate resistance band, with a sustained move above this band needed to improve the near-term outlook. On the downside, the 23,700–23,600 zone has emerged as the immediate support, having cushioned today's decline. Market sentiment remained subdued as investors assessed the potential impact of persistently high oil prices on inflation and economic growth, prompting caution across equities. For the week, both the Nifty 50 and Sensex declined more than 2.5%, marking their worst weekly performance in four months. Analysts suggest Indian equities are likely to remain under pressure in the near term as elevated crude oil prices remain a key overhang. Continued geopolitical tensions in West Asia, Brent crude oil prices hovering near a six-week high above $98/bbl, weakness in the rupee at around ₹96.6/US$ and persistent foreign institutional investor selling are expected to keep investor sentiment cautious. Fresh foreign fund outflows and selling in HDFC Bank also dented market sentiment, with Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloading equities worth ₹2,999.23 crore on Thursday (July 23, 2026), as per exchange data. Weakness across Asian markets reinforced the risk-off mood, prompting broad-based selling despite signs of easing pressure in energy markets, according to Ponmudi R., CEO of Enrich Money.
