Stock Market Today, July 23: The domestic equity market opened lower on Thursday, extending its weak start as rising crude oil prices and escalating tensions in the Middle East dampened investor sentiment.
Selling pressure was visible across banking, financial and oil & gas stocks, while a handful of FMCG and technology shares provided some support.
At around 9:17 am, the BSE Sensex was trading 364.74 points, or 0.48%, lower at 76,390.31, while the NSE Nifty declined 109 points, or 0.45%, to 23,887.25.
The broader market also remained under pressure. Nifty Bank slipped 0.80% to 56,671.55, Nifty Financial Services fell 0.61%, Nifty Midcap Select declined 0.52%, while India VIX, the market’s fear gauge, rose 1.46% to 13.49, indicating an increase in volatility.
Sensex Top Gainers And Losers
Among the 30 Sensex stocks, Eternal emerged as the biggest gainer, rising 1.87%, followed by M&M (up 0.14%), HCLTech (0.06%), while ITC traded flat.
On the losing side, IndusInd Bank fell 1.56%, emerging as the worst performer, following its Q1 results. Bajaj Finance declined 0.96%, UltraTech Cement slipped 0.87%, Tata Steel lost 0.86%, and Infosys dropped 0.85%.
Other losers were SBI (-0.83%), Axis Bank (-0.81%), Bajaj Finserv (-0.81%), NTPC (-0.73%), Reliance Industries (-0.68%), Asian Paints (-0.66%), HDFC Bank (-0.64%), L&T (-0.64%), Adani Ports (-0.49%) and Power Grid (-0.48%).
Why Is The Market Falling?
V K Vijayakumar, chief investment strategist at Geojit Investments, rising geopolitical tensions in West Asia and surging crude oil prices are once again becoming a major concern for Indian markets.
“The Houthi’s aggressive entry into the Iran-U.S. conflict by attacking Saudi Arabian tankers in the Red Sea is aggravating the West Asia crisis and pushing Brent crude higher. When Brent crude trades above $95, which is the price now, it is bound to have sentimental impact on the Indian market. India’s vulnerability to high oil price is once again becoming a macro concern,” he added.
He believes the current weakness could create buying opportunities for long-term investors.
“This negative sentiments will weigh on stock markets and keep stock prices largely subdued. This will give opportunities to long-term investors to slowly accumulate high quality stocks in growth segments, now available at attractive valuations. Banking stocks appear attractively valued, particularly in the context of high credit growth and very low NPAs. Q1 results of consumer-facing digital companies reflect robust growth, indicating bright prospects,” Vijayakumar said.
Asian Markets Mixed
Asian equities traded mostly higher on Thursday after strong earnings from major U.S. technology companies reinforced optimism around artificial intelligence spending. Alphabet and Tesla maintained robust investment plans for AI infrastructure, boosting sentiment for semiconductor companies across Asia.
South Korea’s Kospi climbed more than 3%, led by gains in chipmakers, while Japan’s Nikkei rose around 1%. MSCI’s broad Asia-Pacific index outside Japan also advanced about 1%.
However, geopolitical tensions continued to keep investors cautious. Brent crude climbed about 2% to around $96 per barrel after fresh US strikes on Iran and Yemen’s Houthis, raising fears of further disruptions to global energy supplies. Higher oil prices have also revived inflation concerns, increasing expectations that the US Federal Reserve may keep interest rates higher for longer.
Analysts said markets are likely to remain volatile as optimism surrounding AI-driven earnings competes with concerns over the widening conflict in the Middle East and its impact on global growth.
