The Indian stock market opened lower on Monday, 20 July 2026, with Sensex dropping over 500 points and Nifty 50 trading below 24,200 during early trading. At around 9:21 AM, Sensex was down by 543 points (0.69%) to trade at 77,608.82, while Nifty 50 was trading lower by 140 points (0.57%) at 24,194.40. This decline came after Friday's strong performance when Sensex closed at 78,151.45, up 1.25% and Nifty 50 stood at 24,334.30, up 1.09%. The market weakness was attributed to Middle East uncertainty and escalating oil prices, with Brent crude trading around $90 per barrel amid fresh tensions.
According to Shrikant Chouhan, head of equity research at Kotak Securities, the brokerage has assigned a Buy rating to ONGC with a current market price of ₹250 and face value of ₹365. The Maharatna company contributes around 71% to Indian domestic production and maintains unique in-house service capabilities across all exploration and production areas of oil and gas. ONGC Videsh Limited, the wholly owned subsidiary, owns participating interests in 35 oil and gas assets across 15 countries and produced about 30.3% of oil and 23.7% of oil and natural gas of India's domestic production. The brokerage values the standalone business at a PE of 7x on June 2028 earnings and expects moderate FY27E earnings with a constructive outlook. As per Univest Research, ONGC stands to benefit from the sharp rise in crude oil prices, with Brent crude trading above $90 per barrel after a weekend escalation around the Strait of Hormuz, since upstream producers typically see improved realisations when crude prices rise.
As reported by Kotak Securities, the brokerage has assigned a Buy rating to Tech Mahindra with a current market price of ₹1,577 and face value of ₹1,750. The company has successfully transitioned from a turnaround candidate to a growth opportunity within the Indian IT services sector, consistently executing strategic priorities and delivering improved growth. Tech Mahindra reported Total Contract Value (TCV) of US$1.08 billion, marking the third consecutive quarter with bookings exceeding US$1 billion. The company has added seven new US$50 million-plus clients over the past year, strengthening future revenue visibility across manufacturing, healthcare, BFSI and other verticals. According to Univest Research, Tech Mahindra's multi-year margin recovery programme continues to show results, with the company's most recent quarterly numbers showing a sharp improvement in gross profit alongside steady revenue growth.
According to the brokerage analysis, ONGC's resistance levels are positioned at ₹252-259 with support at ₹246-242. The sharp correction in stock price offers a compelling entry opportunity, with the brokerage reverting to a crude oil price assumption of $85/bbl for FY27E (from $95/bbl). For Tech Mahindra, resistance is identified at ₹1,640-1,680 with support at ₹1,545-1,505. The company is expected to grow comfortably ahead of large-cap peers in FY2027E with further acceleration in FY2028E as recently won deals contribute to revenue.
During early trading on Monday, about 1,480 shares advanced, 1,331 shares declined, and 185 shares remained unchanged. The top gainers on Nifty included ICICI Bank, Tech Mahindra, ONGC, JSW Steel and Cipla, while the top losers were Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Interglobe Aviation, and Bajaj Finance. Among sectoral indices, Nifty Metal (up 0.66%), Nifty Pharma (up 0.73%), Nifty IT (up 0.40%), and Nifty PSU Bank (1.65%) were all in the green, while Bank Nifty was down by 726 points (1.24%) to trade at 57,795.30 and Nifty Financial Services index was down by around 444 points (1.65%) to trade at 26,459.15. The Indian National Rupee (INR) opened 0.1% lower at 96.40 per US dollar on Monday, compared to the previous close of 96.28.
