Market Open Report, July 24, 2026: Sensex Plunges 600 pts, Nifty Under 23,750; Iran War Jitters & Brent Crude Over $100 Dent D-Street

Mumbai, July 24: Mumbai, July 24: Indian benchmark indices continued the sell-off on Friday, plunging to fresh lows for the fifth consecutive session as a sharp escalation in Iran war and Brent crude soaring past $100 amid attacks on Saudi oil tankers worsened sentiment. The Sensex was trading 600.36 points or 0.79 per cent down at 75,791.03 at 9.33 am while the Nifty50 declined 168.75 points or 0.71 per cent to 23,700.85 after tumbling below the 23,900 mark on Thursday.

Oil price surged on fears of supplies disruption after Houthi rebels attacked two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea on Thursday. Brent crude futures crossed $100 per barrel for the first time since May on Thursday as two Saudi oil tankers were attacked by Yemen’s Houthi forces in the Red Sea in the biggest escalation of the war between Iran and Saudi Arabia yet. 

The US President Donald Trump has threatened “major military punishment” on Iran and its allies in Yemen over attacks on two oil tankers in the Red Sea on Thursday, saying Tehran “hasn’t received enough pain yet”. He also said he was “very close” to a decision on whether to restart major combat operations against Iran. 

On Thursday, the US military carried out its 13th straight night of strikes against Iran after the Tehran regime fired missiles at two Iraqi military bases housing American troops. Iran subsequently fired at US bases and interests in Jordan and Kuwait in retaliation. 

For Indian markets, higher oil means an immediate spike in the country’s import bill, a weaker rupee and higher inflation expectation, and that ugly triple-head is now rolling out live on the stock market’s opening tickers. 

Gainers & Losers 

Among Nifty50 gainers, Cipla jumped the most in early trade, surging 2.65 per cent to Rs 1,429.90 from the previous close of Rs 1,393 while HCL Technologies advanced 1.49 per cent to Rs 1,263.20 (Rs 1,244.70). 

Tech Mahindra climbed 0.71 per cent to Rs 1,566.90 (Rs 1,555.80), Nestle India gained 0.66 per cent to Rs 1,457.40 (Rs 1,447.90) and TCS rose 0.46 per cent to Rs 2,253.30 (Rs 2,242.90).  

Shriram Finance plunged 2.54 per cent to Rs 999.70 from Rs 1,025.80, Eternal declined 2.18 per cent to Rs 280.85 (Rs 287.10), IndiGo tumbled 2.06 per cent to Rs 4,920 (Rs 5,023.50), Dr Reddy’s Laboratories fell 1.73 per cent to Rs 1,146.10 (Rs 1,166.30) and Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles dipped 1.4 per cent to Rs 319.75 (Rs 324.30). 

Broad Markets & Sectoral Indices 

Broad markets traded in tandem with benchmark indices in early trade with the Nifty Midcap Select down 0.79 per cent, Nifty 500 declining 0.69 per cent and Nifty Midcap 100 down 0.70 per cent as selling spilled over into smallcaps too. The Nifty 50 declined 0.67 per cent with not a single broad market segment trading in the green. 

Among sectoral indices, only Nifty IT managed to turn green, gaining 0.44 per cent while Nifty Media ticked up 0.05 per cent. Nifty Realty led losses among sectoral indices, plummetting 1.24 per cent followed by Nifty Metal down 0.96 per cent and Nifty Auto declining 0.95 per cent. 

Oil Prices 

Oil prices held over $99 a barrel on Friday, receding only slightly after Thursday’s spike to above $100 for the first time since May. Brent crude futures were down 0.72 per cent at $99.97 a barrel, on track for a weekly gain of 13.5 per cent, while US West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) was down 0.76 per cent at $91.49 a barrel following a near 11 per cent rise this week. 

Crude prices jumped on Thursday after two Saudi oil tankers were attacked by Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi movement in the Red Sea on Thursday, raising concerns over supplies from the region. The Houthis also declared a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia on Thursday after attacks on the two oil tankers. That’s emerging as the second shipping chokepoint closed by the war in Saudi Arabia’s favour alongside the crucial Strait of Hormuz through which most supplies from Middle Eastern producers pass, through which little to no oil has been flowing since last week. Kazakhstan also said late on Thursday it will temporarily reduce oil production after its principal export route was forced to shut. It had originally suspended operations at one outlet and extended the closure earlier on Thursday. Kazakhstan exported about 1.7 million barrels of oil per day last year. 

Middle East Conflict 

The US military carried out its 13th consecutive night of strikes on Iran into Friday, prompting Tehran to retaliate against US bases and interests in Jordan and Kuwait. President Trump vowed “major military punishment” against Iran and its Houthi allies after the group struck two Saudi tankers in the Red Sea, and told Axios he was close to a decision on relaunching major combat operations, saying Iran had not “received enough pain yet.” The Houthis have separately declared a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia, threatening the Bab el-Mandeb Strait as a second chokepoint. Even as the US House passed a resolution directing Trump to halt military action against Iran, the Senate blocked a similar measure hours later, leaving the conflict without any near-term resolution in sight. 

Asian Markets 

Asian markets were lower on Friday following the overnight selloff in the US and opening declines on Wall Street. Japan’s Nikkei 225 plummeted over 2.7 per cent, while Pakistan’s KSE 100 fell over 1.5 per cent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dropped over 1 per cent and China’s Shanghai Composite slid 1.08 per cent. 

Australia’s ASX 200 fell 1 per cent while Taiwan’s Taiex and Korea’s Kospi declined 0.83 per cent and 0.62 per cent respectively. Vietnam’s HNX 30 bucked the regional trend to rise 0.99 per cent. 

US Markets 

Wall Street finished sharply lower on Thursday as escalating tensions in the Middle East kept investors nervous and drove oil prices sharply higher. The Nasdaq Composite tumbled 2.15 per cent to close at 25,137.69, while the S&P 500 fell 1.21 per cent to end Thursday’s session at 7,408.30. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 506.93 points or 0.97 per cent to 51,711.65. Mexico’s IPC index sank over 1.5 per cent and Canada’s TSX Composite lost over 0.8 per cent. 

With Friday’s slide, US equities clocked one of their sharpest single-day declines since tensions between Iran and the US escalated last week following the killing of Iranian general Qassem Soleimani by an American drone strike in Iraq on January 3. 

Sensex, Nifty Thursday’s close 

Indian benchmark indices dropped sharply for the fourth consecutive session on Thursday with the Sensex tumbling 363.66 points or 0.47 per cent to close at 76,391.39 while the Nifty declined 126.65 points or 0.53 per cent to settle the day’s trade at 23,869.60. 

Out of the total 2,348 stocks on the BSE, 1,569 shares advanced while 2,479 declined. Meanwhile, 155 equities were unchanged. 

The Nifty midcap and smallcap indices each lost roughly 1 per cent on Thursday amid weakness in financial stocks like banks and private lenders. 

Auto stocks and some blue-chip stocks ended higher supporting the market sentiment during the day. 

Sources

• BSE
• NSE