Indian equity markets witnessed significant selling pressure during afternoon trading, with the Sensex closing down 1,699.55 points or 2.17% at 76,481.17 and the Nifty 50 index losing 499.70 points or 2.05% to 23,893.50. According to latest reports, Sensex and Nifty lost 2% each for the first time since after March 30, 2026. The benchmark indices extended their losses for a second straight session on July 8, weighed down by weak global cues, a sharp spike in crude oil prices of over 6 percent, and escalating geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. Market breadth remained weak with 3,121 shares falling against 1,054 rising on the BSE, while the BSE 150 MidCap Index shed 1.88% and BSE 250 SmallCap Index fell 2.02%. Market capitalisation of BSE-listed companies declined by nearly ₹8.41 lakh crore to around ₹471.78 lakh crore from ₹480.20 lakh crore in the previous session.
The Nifty PSU Bank index declined 2.72% to 8,072.35, marking its fifth consecutive trading session of decline with a total drop of 5.94% over this period. As reported by Business Standard, major PSU banks experienced significant losses including Bank of India down 5.12%, Union Bank of India down 4.15%, Bank of Maharashtra down 3.11%, Punjab National Bank down 2.69%, Bank of Baroda down 3.05%, Canara Bank down 2.58%, Central Bank of India down 2.27%, Punjab & Sind Bank down 2.26%, State Bank of India down 2.11%, and UCO Bank down 1.82%. The Nifty PSU Bank index is down 2.00% over the last one month and up 13.00% over the last one year compared to the benchmark Nifty 50's 6.43% decline over the same period. In other banking sectors, the Nifty Private Bank index declined 2.52% and the Nifty Bank index fell 2.51% on the day.
The market decline was significantly influenced by fresh US airstrikes on Iran following US President Donald Trump's declaration that the tentative ceasefire with Iran "over". As per latest reports, the Nifty extended its decline through the afternoon session, breaching the 24,000 mark amid broad-based selling across sectors. The benchmark touched an intraday low of 23,805.20 before recovering slightly to close at 23,893.50. The escalating geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, combined with weak global cues and rising crude oil prices, created a challenging environment for Indian equities.
The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal paper rose 0.34% to 6.715 compared with the previous session close of 6.692, according to Business Standard reports. In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged higher against the dollar, hovering at 95.1200 compared with its close of 95.9600 during the previous trading session. MCX Gold futures for 5 August 2026 settlement shed 0.37% to ₹1,44,897, while the US Dollar Index (DXY) was up 0.02% to 100.10 and the United States 10-year bond yield rose 0.55% to 4.554.
In the commodities market, Brent crude for September 2026 settlement rose $1.95 or 2.63% to $76.11 a barrel, as reported by Business Standard. Among individual stocks, Silver Touch Technologies rallied 2.82% after the company secured an order from RITES to develop an artificial intelligence (AI)-based detailed project report (DPR) appraisal & intelligence platform, PARAKH. Ceigall India fell 4.45% despite the company's joint venture with Sushee Infra & Mining emerging as the lowest (L1) bidder for a road construction project floated by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH), with an awarded cost of ₹704.70 crore.
