Indian equity markets traded lower with the S&P BSE Sensex declining 51.04 points or 0.07% to 77,506.95 and the Nifty 50 index falling 23.25 points or 0.10% to 24,181.85 as of 12:30 IST. According to reports from Business Standard, the broader market showed mixed performance with the BSE 150 MidCap Index falling 0.23% while the BSE 250 SmallCap Index rose 0.08%. Market breadth remained positive with 2,079 shares rising and 2,078 shares falling on the BSE, while 240 shares remained unchanged. The decline was attributed to investor sentiment turning risk-averse following the escalation of the US-Iran conflict, which heightened geopolitical uncertainties and stoked concerns over rising inflationary pressures.
The Nifty Metal index declined 0.71% to 12,598.45, marking a reversal from its strong performance over the previous two trading sessions where it had gained 1.77%. As reported by Business Standard, major metal stocks witnessed significant profit booking with Tata Steel down 1.77%, Jindal Steel declining 1.45%, Hindustan Zinc falling 1.15%, Jindal Stainless dropping 1.11%, and Vedanta declining 1.03%. Other notable losers included Steel Authority of India (down 1.02%), NMDC (down 0.92%), APL Apollo Tubes (down 0.8%), JSW Steel (down 0.64%), and Hindustan Copper (down 0.59%).
The Nifty Consumer Durables index added 1.01% to 38,594.85, marking its third consecutive day of gains with a 3.72% increase over the three trading sessions. According to Business Standard, major gainers included Kalyan Jewellers India surging 9.44%, Voltas up 3.6%, Kajaria Ceramics rising 1.8%, PG Electroplast gaining 1.6%, and Blue Star advancing 1.56%. Other notable performers were Titan Company up 0.42%, Dixon Technologies (India) rising 0.23%, Amber Enterprises India gaining 0.15%, and Crompton Greaves Consumer Electricals advancing 0.08%. On the downside, Whirlpool of India declined 0.8%, LG Electronics India fell 0.65%, and Havells India dropped 0.58%.
Several companies reported their Q1 FY27 results with mixed market reactions. Fino Payments Banks rallied 8.82% after the small finance banks average total deposits jumped 11% to ₹2,755 crore in June 2026 compared with ₹2,477 crore in June 2025. Gujarat Pipavav Port rose 0.84% after reporting a 2.4% increase in container volumes to 1.68 lakh twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in Q1 FY27, compared with 1.64 lakh TEUs in Q1 FY26. L&T Finance jumped 2.15% after reporting a 28.72% year-on-year increase in consolidated net profit to ₹902.47 crore for Q1 FY27, compared with ₹701.10 crore posted in Q1 FY26. Other companies that reported results included Avantel shares gaining 2% after reporting a 67.39% year-on-year increase in consolidated net profit to ₹5.39 crore, and Avenue Supermarts (Dmart) declining 2.42% despite reporting an 11.33% increase in consolidated net profit to ₹860.61 crore.
The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, jumped 9.10% to 13.37, indicating increased market uncertainty. As reported by Business Standard, the Nifty 28 July 2026 futures were trading at 24,199 at a premium of 17.15 points as compared with the spot at 24,181.85. The Nifty option chain for the 28 July 2026 expiry showed a maximum call OI of 66.3 lakh contracts at the 25,000 strike price and maximum put OI of 60.1 lakh contracts at a 24,000 strike price.
