Sensex, Nifty at close: The domestic equity markets closed Tuesday’s trade on a lower note for the second consecutive day, and the heavyweight HDFC Bank remained the major drag.
The Nifty 50 settled the day 50.80 points or 0.21% lower at 24,187.70, while the 30-stock basket ended 238.41 points or 0.31% lower at 77,470.11.
HDFC Bank, Infosys, State Bank of India, Tata Consultancy Services, and Reliance Industries were the five major losers in the Nifty 50.
“Despite geopolitical challenges, midcaps are performing well in anticipation of strong corporate earnings, supported by demand-led business updates. While this segment’s elevated valuations compared to large caps warrant caution, underlying business conditions are expected to remain healthy at least through H1FY27. However, sustaining this momentum will require the ongoing spike in input costs to normalise as demand growth may tend to become flattish in H2FY27,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Investments.
Sensex, Nifty at 2:30 PM: Indian equity indices continued to trade in the red. The Nifty 50 was down 66 points or 0.27% to trade at 24,172.55, while the BSE Sensex was down 295.25 points or 0.38% to trade at 77,413.27.
HDFC Bank, Infosys, Reliance Industries, ITC, and Tata Consultancy Services were the five major laggards in the Nifty 50.
Sensex, Nifty at 1:00 PM: In the afternoon trade, the Indian benchmark indices remained under pressure. At this hour, the Sensex was trading 331.76 points, or 0.43%, lower at 77,376.76, while the Nifty 50 declined 89.85 points, or 0.37%, to 24,148.65.
Sensex, Nifty at 11:00 AM: In the intraday trading session, the Sensex was down 223.32 points or 0.29% at 77,485.20, while the Nifty 50 declined 54.75 points or 0.23% to 24,183.75. Among the gainers, Bajaj Finserv rose 1.56%, and Asian Paints gained 0.90%. On the losing side, Infosys fell 1.75%, while HDFC Bank declined 1.40%.
Sensex, Nifty at 10:15 AM: In early trade, the Sensex was down 143 points or 0.18% at 77,565.79, while the Nifty 50 slipped 29.75 points or 0.12% to 24,208.75. Among the top losers, HDFC Bank fell 1.17%, Eternal declined 0.84%, Maruti Suzuki slipped 0.80%, and Infosys was down 0.61%.
Sensex, Nifty at open: Indian benchmark indices opened on a muted note on Tuesday. At the opening bell, the Sensex was down 58.89 points or 0.08% at 77,649, while the Nifty 50 slipped 22.45 points or 0.09% to 24,216.
Top gainers
UltraTech Cement gained 0.95%, Tata Steel rose 0.83%, Tech Mahindra advanced 0.74%, ICICI Bank added 0.61%, and NTPC was up 0.52%.
Top losers
Maruti Suzuki declined 0.83%, Eternal fell 0.87%, and HDFC Bank slipped 1.25%.
“In the near-term, the market will be unduly influenced by the trends in crude prices. Even though the softening of Brent crude to about the $88 level is a positive sign, the uncertainty is so huge that there is an upside risk to crude prices. This will weigh on markets. The FPI selling is not large enough to impact the market. It is easily getting absorbed by DII buying,” said Dr VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments.
Sensex, Nifty at pre-open: The GIFT Nifty started Tuesday’s trading session on a cautious note. In early trade, GIFT Nifty was trading below the 24,200 mark, down more than 150 points or 0.7%, indicating a weak start for Indian benchmark indices.
Global market trends, crude oil prices, gold and silver rates, and the latest Q1FY27 earnings will remain in focus during today’s session.
Apart from these, investors will also closely watch the stock market debut of SBI Funds Management, the country’s largest asset management company (AMC), which is scheduled to list on the NSE and BSE at 10:00 am today.
In the last trading session, Indian benchmark indices ended lower. The Sensex fell 442.93 points (0.57%) to 77,708.52, while the Nifty declined 96 points (0.39%) to 24,239. Heavyweight banking stocks remained under pressure.
Key global and domestic cues for July 21, 2026
Asian Markets
Asian markets traded mixed on Tuesday as investors stayed cautious ahead of key US corporate earnings and amid ongoing geopolitical concerns. Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.4%, while South Korea’s Kospi slipped 1%. Australia’s ASX 200 declined 0.5% in early trade.
US stock futures
US stock futures were trading higher in early trade on Tuesday. Dow Jones futures were up 52 points, or around 0.10%.
US markets
US markets ended lower on Monday as investors remained cautious amid fresh tension between the United States and Iran, which pushed crude oil prices higher.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 307.16 points, or 0.59%, to close at 51,839.26. The S&P 500 slipped 0.19% to end at 7,443.28, while the Nasdaq Composite edged 0.05% lower to settle at 25,508.07.
Crude oil
Crude oil prices traded lower in early trade on Tuesday. Brent crude slipped 0.38% to $88.88 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude edged down 0.05% to $82.44 per barrel.
Gold rate today
In the international market, spot gold was trading at $4,006 per ounce.
Meanwhile, on the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX), gold futures for the August 5, 2026, contract were trading at Rs 1,41,398 per 10 grams in the latest session.
Gold rates in India today stood at Rs 1,43,470 per 10 grams (24 karat), Rs 1,31,510 per 10 grams (22 karat), and Rs 1,07,600 per 10 grams (18 karat).
Silver rate today
In the international market, spot silver traded at $56.85 per ounce.
Meanwhile, on the MCX, silver futures for the September 4, 2026, contract were trading at Rs 2,18,150 per kg in the latest session.
Silver rates in India today stood at Rs 2,351 per 10 grams and Rs 2,35,100 per kg.
FII, DII data
On July 20, domestic institutional investors (DIIs) remained net buyers, purchasing Indian equities worth Rs 1,312.03 crore. Meanwhile, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) continued to remain net sellers, offloading equities worth Rs 1,121.04 crore, according to provisional exchange data
US dollar
The US Dollar Index (DXY), which measures the dollar’s value against a basket of six foreign currencies, was trading at 100.89. The index evaluates the strength or weakness of the US dollar in comparison to major currencies. The basket contains currencies such as the British Pound, Euro, Swedish Krona, Japanese Yen, Swiss Franc, etc.
The Indian rupee weakened against the US dollar in the previous session, with the USD/INR pair settling at 96.45, up 0.17%.
Top sectors in Monday’s trade
In the last trading session, the Rubber sector gained 3.02%, followed by Aquaculture, which rose 2.25%. Public sector banks (PSU Banks) advanced 2.15%, while the Petrochemicals sector added 2.11%.
