The Indian benchmark indices ended Tuesday's session on a mixed note after a range-bound trading session, with the SENSEX falling 238.41 points or 0.31% to close at 77,470.11 and the NIFTY50 declining 50.80 points or 0.21% to settle at 24,187.70. According to The Hindu, the sell-off was primarily driven by selling in HDFC Bank for the second day, which emerged as the top loser alongside risk-off sentiment amid escalating West Asia crisis. During the day, the SENSEX dropped as much as 371.19 points or 0.47% to 77,337.33, while the NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility, fell 2.92% to 12.60, indicating reduced fear among investors. The BSE 150 MidCap Index outperformed, adding 0.20% and the BSE 250 SmallCap Index rose 0.16%, with market breadth staying positive as 2,194 shares rose and 2,015 shares fell on BSE.
Despite the broader market decline, several stocks emerged as standout performers. Bajaj Finserv emerged as the biggest gainer, rising by 2.07%, leading the NIFTY50 gainers. InterGlobe Aviation, UltraTech Cement, HCL Tech, Mahindra & Mahindra and Titan were also among the winners. Shriram Finance led the NIFTY50 gainers with a sharp 2.38% rise to ₹1,060, making it the standout performer of the session with over 46.73 lakh shares traded worth ₹49,449 crore. Central Mine Planning & Design Institute (CMPDI) shares surged as much as 7.9% to hit an intraday high of ₹273.50 per unit after the company posted a 54% year-on-year rise in net profits to ₹116.27 crore in Q1 FY27, compared to ₹75.56 crore in the same quarter of the previous year. From the SENSEX pack, HDFC Bank declined for the second day, down 2% after the lender's quarterly earnings disappointed on the margin front, with Reliance Industries dropping 1.48%, State Bank of India by 1.48%, Tata Consultancy Services by 1.32%, Infosys by 1.24% and Trent by 1.1%.
UltraTech Cement shares jumped as much as 1.87% to hit an intraday high of ₹12,126 after the company posted a 17% YoY surge in consolidated net profit to ₹2,599 crore during Q1 FY27, compared with ₹2,226 crore for Q1 FY26. The cement major's revenue from operations soared 16% YoY to ₹24,648 crore in the quarter ended June 30, 2026. Canara HSBC Life Insurance Company rallied 11.3% to hit a 52-week high after posting a 20.15% YoY increase in profit after tax to ₹28.14 crore in the June FY27 quarter, compared to ₹23.42 crore in Q1 FY26, with net premium income growing 23.83% YoY to ₹2,047.5 crore. Granules India surged as much as 3.24% to hit an intraday high of ₹904.50 after reporting strong Q1 FY27 results, with the pharmaceutical company earning a consolidated net profit of ₹180 crore, marking an increase of 59% from ₹113 crore in the same period last year.
Automobile stocks advanced after healthy first-quarter results from TVS Motor and Bajaj Auto, with Maruti Suzuki also rising 1% after the company announced a price increase of up to ₹30,000. Gold financing companies gained sharply, with Manappuram Finance and Muthoot Finance rising 3-4%, while Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services climbed more than 8% after reporting a strong set of first-quarter results. Non-banking financial company (NBFC) stocks also attracted buying interest, with Shriram Finance emerging as the top gainer on the Nifty and IndusInd Bank extending its winning streak, rising up to 3% ahead of its earnings announcement. Data Patterns gained 7% after securing a ₹1,300 crore project from Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), while MTAR Technologies staged a sharp recovery, rebounding from the lower circuit to end the session flat. Among sectors, PSU Bank declined by 0.82%, followed by Focused IT (0.68%), IT (0.66%), Top 10 Banks (0.52%), Energy (0.44%) and Financial Services (0.22%).
Sentiment remained weighed down by geopolitical developments, with escalating U.S.-Iran conflict and uptick in crude oil prices reinforcing risk-off sentiment in stock markets. Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, climbed 0.66% to $90.03 per barrel, as per The Hindu. Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth ₹1,121.04 crore on Monday (July 20, 2026), according to exchange data. The rupee, which had already weakened 16 paise on Monday to close at ₹96.44 against the dollar, was trading near a two-month low in the ₹96.3–₹96.4 range. From the SENSEX basket, Shriram Finance Ltd, Bajaj Finserv Ltd, Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd, Eicher Motors Ltd, UltraTech Cement Ltd and InterGlobe Aviation Ltd were the major gainers, while HDFC Bank Ltd, Dr Reddy's Laboratories Ltd, State Bank of India, Reliance Industries Ltd, Tata Consultancy Services Ltd and Infosys Ltd were the biggest laggards. Buying interest in heavyweight stocks such as UltraTech Cement, Shriram Finance, Tata Steel, Adani Enterprises, and Tech Mahindra supported the recovery, while HDFC Bank, Maruti Suzuki, Eternal, Sun Pharma, and Dr Reddy's Labs remained among the top laggards.
