Indian stock markets closed in positive territory on Thursday, July 9, with benchmark indices recovering from Wednesday's significant decline. According to provisional closing data from Business Standard, BSE Sensex gained 238.22 points, or 0.31 per cent, to end at 76,741.82, while NSE Nifty gained 80.75 points, or 0.34 per cent, to end at 23,962.80. The recovery came after Wednesday's crash that had wiped out more than ₹8 lakh crore in investor wealth. As per Taking Stock, the market opened on a firm note and extended gains through the session, with the Nifty 50 climbing to an intraday high of 24,065 before profit booking in the latter half trimmed most of the day's gains. The latest data from The Hindu BusinessLine confirms the recovery with Sensex closing at 76,782.14, up 278.54 points (+0.36%) and Nifty 50 at 23,972.65, up 90.60 points (+0.38%). The day's high was around 77,055 and the low matched the opening level at 76,576.14, indicating strong intraday volatility before the final recovery.
The positive closing marked a recovery day for Indian equities as they attempted to regain lost ground, supported by multiple favorable factors. As reported by ET Now, the benchmark indices managed to recover some of the ground lost in Wednesday's significant market decline. The modest gains suggest cautious optimism among investors following the previous session's substantial losses, with the market demonstrating resilience despite some profit booking in the latter half of the trading session. The recovery was particularly notable given that in the past two trading sessions, the Nifty and Sensex declined 2.25% and 2.28% respectively, making Thursday's bounce a significant rebound from recent weakness. According to The Hindu BusinessLine, the recovery was supported by renewed FII buying in domestic shares, a steady rupee and optimism ahead of the Q1 earnings season, while escalating geopolitical tensions weighed on investor confidence after the US launched fresh strikes on Iran and Tehran retaliated with attacks targeting US-linked assets in Bahrain and Kuwait. However, investor sentiment was further boosted by US President Donald Trump's remarks that a full-scale conflict with Iran was unlikely to resume, easing concerns over a prolonged disruption to global energy supplies. The India VIX dropped 10.15% to 13.19, indicating reduced fear among investors, though it remains above the calm levels seen earlier this week.
Broader market indices significantly outperformed the benchmark indices, indicating strong participation across market segments. According to Business Standard, BSE 150 MidCap Index rose 1.41% and BSE 250 SmallCap Index added 1.69%, suggesting broad-based buying across different market capitalizations. The latest data shows even stronger performance with Nifty Midcap 100 jumping 1.30% and Nifty Smallcap 100 adding 1.70%, emerging as the top performers. Market breadth was particularly strong, with 2,876 stocks advancing, 1,092 declining, and 227 unchanged on the BSE, while 94 stocks hit fresh 52-week highs. As per The Hindu BusinessLine, of the 4,416 stocks traded on the BSE, 2,896 advanced, 1,342 declined and 190 remained unchanged, indicating broad-based participation across different market segments. The Nifty Midcap 100 outperformed the main Nifty 50, with smaller companies often bouncing harder after a crash, as retail investors in Hyderabad, Mumbai, and across India would have seen their midcap mutual fund NAVs recover faster than large-cap funds.
The market recovery was supported by selective stock movements across various sectors, with real estate emerging as a standout performer. As per Business Standard, Nifty Realty index rose 3.64% to 907.80, recovering from a 3.45% decline in the past two trading sessions. Top gainers in the realty sector included Lodha Developers (up 7.17%), Brigade Enterprises (up 6.07%), Anant Raj (up 4.45%), DLF (up 4.03%), Aditya Birla Real Estate (up 3.81%), Phoenix Mills (up 3.42%), Godrej Properties (up 2.55%), Prestige Estates Projects (up 2.31%), Sobha (up 1.43%) and Oberoi Realty (up 0.17%). Among the Nifty constituents, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries emerged as the top gainer, rising 2.78%, followed by Bharti Airtel (+2.49%) and HDFC Bank (+0.83%). On the downside, Dr Reddy's Laboratories was the biggest loser, plunging 5.77% after the company delayed commercial supplies of certain batches of its semaglutide product following quality-related issues with the active pharmaceutical ingredient. PSU banks, consumer durables and select pharmaceutical counters led the gains, while information technology and automobile stocks remained under pressure. Nifty Next 50 advanced 0.83% to 71,485.85 and Nifty Bank rose 0.90% to 57,252.45, while Nifty IT index slipped 0.30% to 27,471.25.
Market sentiment improved significantly as volatility expectations declined sharply. According to Business Standard, NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, tanked 8.97% to 13.36, indicating reduced fear among investors. This decline in volatility expectations suggests that the market is becoming more confident about its recovery trajectory, with the strong market breadth and broad-based participation across sectors further supporting this positive sentiment shift. As per The Hindu BusinessLine, Nifty and Sensex closed above key support levels, with analysts recommending a buy-on-dips strategy while support levels hold. The technical structure remains positive with Nifty 50 closing at 23,972.65, up 90.60 points (+0.38%) and BSE Sensex settling at 76,782.14, up 278.54 points (+0.36%). Traders are watching Nifty support near 23,910–23,930 and resistance at 24,160–24,180, while for the Sensex, support is around 76,700 and resistance near 77,500. Gift Nifty was trading around 24,104 level, a premium of nearly 105 points from the Nifty futures' previous close, indicating a positive start for Friday's trading session. In the broader financial markets, Brent crude rose 0.56% to $78.46 a barrel, while MCX Gold futures gained 0.51% to ₹1,44,449 per 10 grams. The rupee remained largely stable at 95.41 per US dollar, and the yield on the benchmark 10-year government bond eased to around 6.75%.
