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Informist, Monday, Jul. 20, 2026

By Arundathi A R

MUMBAI – With crude oil prices resuming its climb back to $90 a barrel, for the first time in over a month, as the hostilities between the US and Iran regained force, the headline equity indices closed Monday with significant losses. However, the Nifty 50 stood above the 24000 level at the closing for a seventh straight session. Analysts see the fall to continue in the market due to fears of higher crude oil prices leading to global supply disruptions.

According to news reports, the war between the US and Iran escalated after two US military personnel were killed Sunday and the US began sending more warplanes to West Asia. The US military said Sunday evening that it had begun a new wave of strikes against Iran, the ninth consecutive night of such strikes. With no new signs of a diplomatic end to the war, the ceasefire reached last month turned fragile. US President Donald Trump said the latest strikes by the US hit Iran "very hard", adding that the attacks were "in honour" of three US soldiers killed in recent days--two in Jordan and one in Iraq, BBC reported.

At 1449 IST, the September futures contract of Brent Crude oil was marginally higher at $88.35 a barrel on the Intercontinental Exchange. "The prices moved over 21% higher from their pre-war levels. A sustained return of crude prices toward the USD 90+($90) mark will put upward pressure on domestic fuel costs and broaden into headline inflation, which in turn narrows the Reserve Bank of India's room to cut interest rates further," Brickwork Ratings' said in a note. "Until there is credible and durable de-escalation, the downward price trend seen in late June should not be taken as a baseline."

Monday, the Nifty 50 settled 95.80 points, or 0.4%, lower from Friday at 24238.50. The BSE Sensex ended 442.93 points lower than Friday's close at 77708.52, down 0.6%. India VIX indicated the nervousness among investors was depleting as it settled over 1% lower at 12.9800 points.

Meanwhile, broader market indices outperformed their benchmark peers by settling in the green. Mid-cap indices closed nearly 1% higher each, while small-cap indices 0.1–0.4% higher. Sectoral indices were mixed during the session, with the indices tracking banking and financial services sectors shedding the most. However, the Nifty PSU Bank ended as the top gainer, up almost 3%.

Major banking stocks Axis Bank and HDFC Bank clocked a fall of over 5% each and were the biggest drags in the 50-stock index. Shares of Axis Bank declined after its net interest margin for the June quarter contracted. Hoever, on Saturday, the lender beat the Street's estimates for its bottom line as provisions fell sharply on year. The bank's net profit growth was the highest in three years, even as operating profit grew only marginally.

Index heavyweight HDFC Bank also dragged the index most with their over 5% fall. The stock plunged after the bank announced its Apr-Jun earnings Saturday. It missed analysts' estimate for the bottom line and the net interest margin contracted 12 basis points sequentially. The Nifty Private Bank, Nifty Financial Service, and Nifty Bank were down 1.0-2.2%.

With the significant rise in crude oil prices, select automobile stocks in the Nifty 50 index slipped into the red. Maruti Suzuki and Mahindra & Mahindra were down up to 2%. The Nifty Auto was down marginally among sectoral indices.

Index heavyweight Reliance Industries closed with marginal losses after a three-day rise. The index heavyweight also detailed its June quarter earnings Friday post market hours. The company's consolidated net profit for the quarter fell 22% on year with higher cost of crude oil, freight, insurance, and fuel owing to the military conflict in West Asia.

In the Nifty 200 index, AU Small Finance Bank and YES Bank were down around 3% each. Billionbrains Garage Ventures and Swiggy fell over 2% each in the Nifty 200. C.E. Info Systems was the key loser in the Nifty 500 index, down over 6%. Apart from banking stocks, Eclerx Services and Gallantt Ispat were the other major lsoers in the Nifty 500, down 4.8-5.2%.

Meanwhile, Trent was the top gainer in the 50-stock index, up almost 3%. The stock rose after falling for nine consecutive sessions of fall, during which it shed 15%. Power Grid Corp. of India, Bharti Airtel, and Cipla were down nearly 2% each in the index. JSW Steel ended 1.6% higher after the company's Apr-Jun results beat the Street's estimate for the quarter. The company's consolidated net profit was up 2.1 times on year at INR 46.51 billion, supported by strong revenue growth, higher other income and lower power and fuel expenses.

Punjab National Bank, Torrent Pharmaceuticals, and JSW Energy were the top three gainers in both the Nifty 200 and Nifty 500 indices, up around 5-6%. Punjab National Bank rose after it detailed June quarter results on Saturday. The bank's bottom line for the quarter sharply beat the Street's estimate and jumped 214% on year. Shyam Metalics and Energy ended over 3% higher after the company detailed its June quarter earnings. Both the key metrics of the company rose on year and surpassed the Street's estimates.

* Of the Nifty 50 stocks, 36 rose, 13 fell, 1 unchnaged

* Of the Sensex stocks, 19 rose, 11 fell

* On the NSE, 1,779 stocks rose, 1,501 fell, and 110 were unchanged

* On the BSE, 2,226 stocks rose, 2,039 fell, and 255 were unchanged
* Nifty Private Bank: down 2.3%; Nifty Financial Services: down 1.2%; Nifty PSU Bank: up 2.8%

BSE                                            NSE

Sensex: 77708.52, down 442.93 points or 0.6%   Nifty 50: 24238.50, down 95.80 points, or 0.4%

End

US$1 = INR 96.4450

IST, or Indian Standard Time, is five-and-a-half hours ahead of GMT

Edited by Akul Nishant Akhoury

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