The bears tightened their grip on Dalal Street as the headline indices closed lower for the fourth consecutive session on Thursday, 23 July, slipping to one-week lows. Market sentiment remained fragile as hostilities in the Middle East continued to escalate, pushing crude oil prices back to multi-month highs.
Domestic factors also remained unfavourable, with sustained weakness in private sector banks and limited support from index heavyweights, causing the market to erase all of its recent gains.
After declining 0.79% in the previous session, the Nifty 50 extended its losses by another 0.53%, slipping below the 24,000 mark to close at 23,869. The S&P BSE Sensex also ended 0.45% lower at 76,408, following a nearly 1% decline on Wednesday.
The broader market witnessed even sharper selling pressure, with both the Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 indices closing more than 1% lower.
Barring the Nifty Auto index, all sectoral indices ended in the red, led by the Nifty Chemicals, Nifty Realty, Nifty Oil & Gas, and Nifty PSU Bank indices, each of which declined more than 1%.
For the 12th night, the US launched missile strikes on Iran, while President Donald Trump warned that Washington would target Iranian infrastructure, including bridges and power plants, every time Tehran attacked ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz.
There were few signs of either side backing down, while diplomatic efforts remained uncertain after Trump said Washington had “no interest in meeting” with Iran.
Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, speaking at a regional summit in the Philippines, said Iran wants to talk but has yet to demonstrate that it is serious about reaching a deal.
SRF, Adani stocks and HFCL lead market losers
SRF emerged as the top laggard among the Nifty 500 stocks, plunging 8.5% to ₹2,622 apiece after the company’s June quarter performance failed to impress the Street.
Adani Green Energy and IndusInd Bank also came under pressure following their Q1 results, falling 6.3% and 6%, respectively.
Meanwhile, other Adani Group stocks, including Adani Enterprises, Adani Total Gas, Adani Energy Solutions, Adani Ports & SEZ, and Adani Power, also ended lower, declining between 2.2% and 4.4%.
Selling pressure in HFCL intensified further, with the stock tumbling 5% to ₹207 apiece. Anant Raj, Newgen Software, JSW Dulux, Tejas Networks, Bandhan Bank, and Transformers & Rectifiers (India) were among the other notable losers, closing down by up to 5%.
CarTrade Tech witnessed profit booking, shedding 4% to ₹2,692 apiece. Other stocks, including Petronet LNG, Aarti Industries, Sobha, Latent View Analytics, Aptus Value Housing Finance, Gabriel India, Shriram Finance, Firstsource Solutions, Nestlé India, Reliance Power, and KPR Mill, also ended lower, with losses of more than 3%.
NTPC Green Energy, Graphite India lead market gainers
NTPC Green Energy emerged among the top gainers, climbing 6.5% to ₹97.20 apiece after the company reported better-than-expected performance for the June quarter. Aditya Infotech witnessed renewed buying, rising 5% after snapping a two-day losing streak. Graphite India also rebounded from recent volatility, surging 4.5% to ₹657 apiece.
Other gainers included HEG, Hero MotoCorp, C.E. Info Systems, Nuvama Wealth Management, Bajaj Auto, Tata Communications, Piramal Pharma, Cochin Shipyard, and Global Health, all of which ended the session with gains of more than 2%.
Disclaimer: We advise investors to check with certified experts before making any investment decisions.
