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Informist, Thursday, Jul. 23, 2026

By Gopika Balasubramanium

MUMBAI – Bearish bets continued to dominate Indian stock market for second straight session as crude oil prices rose as high as $98 a barrel after the US launched fresh strikes on Iran and Yemen's Houthis attacked ships in Red Sea. The Nifty 50 index dipped dangerously close to its near-term support of 23800 points during the day. If the index were to breach the level, there would have been a more steeper fall, analsysts said.

"With crude oil prices approaching the USD 100/bbl ($100 a barrel) amid concerns over further disruptions to global energy supplies, investor sentiment remained subdued as markets reassessed inflation risks and corporate margins," said Vinod Nair, head of research at Geojit Investments Ltd. "Recent macroeconomic indicators suggest that prolonged geopolitical tensions are increasingly filtering into the domestic economy, reflected in rising WPI and a moderation in business activity," he added. 

Analysts also said there has not been major negative surprises from the June quarter earnings so far, however, traders reacted to the weaker-than-expected net interest margin of HDFC Bank as well as the earnings growth concerns of Dr. Reddy's Laboratories post supply constraints to semaglutide drug. 

On Thursday, the Nifty 50 index fell as low as 23807.20 points, so close to the support, but came off lows to settle 0.5% lower at 23869.60 points. The BSE Sensex closed at 76391.39 points, down 363.66 points or 0.5%. Broader market indices were hit harder than the benchmark indices, with all of them closing around a percent lower. Barring sectoral indices tracking automobile and media sectors, all others ended in the red. The steepest fall was seen in Nifty Realty with the index closing around 2% lower, followed by Nifty PSU Bank and Nifty Oil & Gas that ended 1% lower.  

The risk appetite of traders was hit due to a spike in crude oil prices, as Indian economy is highy susceptible to such events, as it a net importer of the commmodity. Market participants are also concerned about the further weakening of rupee against dollar. The Indian unit had fallen to a lifetime low of 96.96 in May. It has depreciated over 7% so far in the calendar year. There are also worries about widening of current account deficit due to impact of West Asia war. 

Some analysts said the Indian market can abosrb 2-3% depreciation in rupee, but the real worry is the intensity and pace of weakening compared with the previous years. Such severe depreciation in rupee would squeeze the returns from the Indian market, turning it unattractive for foreign investors. They have started to sell Indian stocks after briefly buying stocks in early July, mainly after the US revoked the interim peace deal with Iran. 

Since 2008, years of steep depreciation in rupee led to compression of returns from Nifty by a median of 16%, Elara Capital had said in a report earlier this week. "If the pace moderates hereafter, dollar return risk for FII (foreign investors) should reduce and support a beta-led recovery in the next 12–18 months," the broking firm had said.

Adani Enterprises ended over 4% lower and was the worst-hit Nifty 50 stock for the day. There are reports that Adani Group, which operates eight airports in the country, is considering to launch an airline. This move by the ports-to-cement group can throw off the duopoly by InterGlobe Aviation-owned IndiGo and Tata Group-owned Air India.

InterGlobe Aviation ended around 2% lower. The company announced its results within few minutes of the market close. The company reported a net loss of INR 3.82 billion against a net profit of INR 21.61 billion. The company's aircraft fuel expenses during Apr-Jun ballooned to INR 108.33 billion from INR 58.33 billion in the year-ago quarter, pushing the company to post a loss. This was also defying the expectations of the company posting a net profit of INR 12.30 billion for the quarter under review.

Dr. Reddy's Laboratories reported a weak set of earnings for the June quarter, primarily due to lower Lenalidomide and generic Revlimid sales, price erosion in the US and Europe, and issues related to the supply of Semaglutide. The stock had fallen 6% in pre-open but came off lows and ended over 1% lower. Brokerages turned cautious on Dr. Reddy's after disruption in semaglutide production and said the near-term growth depended on the drug's supply resumption. Approval of Abatacept approval in Oct-Dec is also key, they said. Several brokerages cut the earnings estimates of the company for the current financial year and 2027-28 (Apr-Mar).

* Of the Nifty 50 stocks, 19 rose, 31 fell

* Of the Sensex stocks, 11 rose, 19 fell

* On the NSE, 1,155 stocks rose, 2,101 fell, and 131 were unchanged

* On the BSE, 1,637 stocks rose, 2,585 fell, and 181 were unchanged
* Nifty Realty: down 2.7%; Nifty Oil & Gas: down 1%; Nifty Auto: up 0.7%

BSE                                            NSE

Sensex: 76391.39, down 363.66 points or 0.5%   Nifty 50: 23869.60, down 126.55 points, or 0.5%

End

US$1 = INR 96.57

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

Edited by Akul Nishant Akhoury

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