The Indian stock market closed higher on Thursday, July 9, with both benchmark indices posting gains despite weak global cues and rising crude oil prices. According to NSE data, the NIFTY50 index closed 0.34% or 80.75 points higher at 23,962.80 points, compared to 23,882.05 points at the previous market close. The BSE SENSEX index ended 0.31% or 238.22 points higher at 76,741.82 points, compared to 776,503.60 points at the previous stock market close. As reported by market sources, investors focused on buying after a crash amid weak global cues, with 33 out of 50 NIFTY50 stocks closing in the green zone while the remaining 17 ended in negative territory. However, both indices surrendered a large part of their intraday gains before the close, marking a recovery after suffering their steepest single-day decline in more than three months in the previous session. According to latest reports, late profit booking capped gains during the closing hours, though sectoral participation remained broadly positive with realty, banking and pharma stocks leading the gains, while auto and IT counters traded on a subdued note.
Several major stocks led the gains on the NIFTY50 index as of the stock market close on Thursday. Sun Pharmaceuticals emerged as the top performer with a 2.53% gain, trading at ₹1,940.70, while SBI Life Insurance gained 2.49% to hit ₹1,935.10. Other notable performers included Bharti Airtel with a 2.49% advance to ₹1,935.10, Grasim Industries trading firmly in positive territory, Shriram Finance adding 2.01%, and Eternal adding 2.06%. Among the top contributors to Sensex's advance were Bharti Airtel Ltd, HDFC Bank Ltd, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd, Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd, Eternal, Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), InterGlobe Aviation Ltd (IndiGo's parent), Bajaj Finserv Ltd and UltraTech Cement Ltd. As per Ankur Punj, MD & Business Head at Equirus Wealth, markets ended higher after yesterday's slump, although gains were muted amid profit-taking towards the closing hours. According to Ajit Mishra, SVP, Research at Religare Broking, the recovery was primarily supported by easing concerns over the Middle East after indications that Iran was willing to resume negotiations, which helped cool crude oil prices from their recent highs.
Brent crude prices have surged past $78-$79 per barrel, marking a spike of roughly 5-6% following US Central Command retaliatory strikes in the Strait of Hormuz and Donald Trump's declaration ending the US-Iran ceasefire agreement. This sharp rise in crude oil prices, combined with ongoing geopolitical tensions, continued to weigh on market sentiment throughout the trading session. Despite yesterday's sharp market fall, Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) remained net buyers, investing ₹1,962 crore in Indian equities, suggesting that foreign investors still see value in the Indian market. Upstream energy stock Jindal Drilling clocked an impressive 8.5% gain, heavily tracking the global jump in crude oil prices. The Indian Rupee (INR) has slipped 4 paise to trade at a low of 95.52 against the US Dollar (USD), reflecting the structural impact of rising crude oil prices on the currency market. However, continued foreign institutional buying and a decline in the India VIX further supported sentiment, with traders watching the volatility in global crude oil prices and local currency movement, especially after the US decided to end the ceasefire with Iran.
Several blue-chip stocks faced significant selling pressure and were among the top laggards on the stock exchange on Thursday. Dr Reddy's Laboratories recorded the steepest decline among Nifty constituents, tumbling 5.55% to retreat sharply by over ₹1,271.20, facing severe downside pressure despite positive business updates. Eicher Motors and Maruti Suzuki also closed lower, while Infosys, ONGC, Axis Bank and Tata Consumer Products ended with modest losses. As reported by market sources, these stocks faced selling pressure from investors during the trading session, with Dr Reddy's Laboratories, Eicher Motors, Maruti Suzuki and Infosys being the biggest drags on the benchmark index. According to Ajit Mishra, SVP, Research at Religare Broking, lingering geopolitical uncertainty and caution ahead of the earnings season prevented participants from turning aggressively bullish, with the recovery being primarily supported by easing Middle East concerns.
The broader market indices outperformed the benchmark indices, with BSE midcap and smallcap indices advancing 1.38% and 1.80% respectively. In the Nifty Midcap 100, Kalyan Jewellers India jumped 19.08%, followed by Swiggy (+6.29%) and Dixon Technologies (+4.84%), while Phoenix Mills and Motilal Oswal Financial Services also finished among the top gainers. Among the losers, L&T Finance dropped 5.95%, while Jubilant FoodWorks, Mphasis, Bank of India and 360 ONE WAM also ended lower. In the Nifty Smallcap 100, Capri Global Capital, Kaynes Technology India and Brigade Enterprises were the leading gainers, while Aegis Logistics was the biggest loser, followed by Force Motors, JM Financial, Swan Corp and Bandhan Bank. According to Nagaraj Shetti, Senior Technical Research Analyst at HDFC Securities, the underlying short-term trend of Nifty50 remains choppy with a weak bias, but there is an indication of a bounce back from the 23,800 support level over the short term. Further sustainable upside above 24,200-24,300 levels is likely to bring more short covering in the market.
