Sensex jumps 588 points, Nifty crosses 24,000 in Morning Trade as US, Iran Pause Attacks Over Weekend; Oil Plunges

Mumbai, July 27: Indian markets opened sharply higher on Monday, recovering from their previous five-session losing streak. At 9.34 am, the BSE Sensex was up 588.51 points or 0.77 per cent at 76,648.28, while the Nifty 50 rose 166.70 points or 0.70 per cent at 23,934.15. Iran said it will not launch fresh attacks while US bombing pause remains in place, having ended 13 nights of strikes on Sunday. Oil prices crashed more than 5 per cent overnight as traders fretted less about supply disruptions, a major upside to inflation fears. US markets finished strong overnight while Asian markets are mixed this morning. All eyes on the Middle East stand-off.  

Gainers & Losers 

IndiGo (INDIGO) was the top gainer on Sensex Monday morning, rallying 3.4 per cent to Rs 5,154.50 from Rs 4,985. Infosys (INFY) climbed 2.87 per cent to Rs 1,070.80 from Rs 1,040.90, while Asian Paints (ASIANPAINT) rose 2.77 per cent to Rs 2,711 from Rs 2,637.90. Bajaj Finance (BAJFINANCE) was up 2.38 per cent at Rs 1,036.90 from Rs 1,012.80 and Eternal (ETERNAL) rounded off the top-5 Sensex gainers Monday morning, rising 2.14 per cent to Rs 286 from Rs 280.  

ONGC (ONGC) dropped the most among Sensex stocks on Monday morning, sliding 2.39 per cent to Rs 242.82 from Rs 248.76. SBI Life (SBILIFE) declined 0.46 per cent to Rs 1,850.10 from Rs 1,858.60, while ICICI Bank (ICICIBANK) slipped 0.17 per cent to Rs 1,430.50 from Rs 1,432.90. Coal India (COALINDIA) eased 0.09 per cent to Rs 427 from Rs 427.40 and Dr Reddy’s (DRREDDY) dropped 0.06 per cent to Rs 1,151 from Rs 1,151.70, rounding out Monday’s Sensex losing stocks.  

Broad Markets & Sectoral Indices 

This morning’s bounce was broad-based, with nearly every index trading in the green. Leading the charge among broader market indices was Nifty Midcap 50, up 1.23 per cent. Gains were slightly more muted among Nifty Microcap 250 and Nifty Midcap 100, each up 1.15 per cent and 1.09 per cent respectively. Small gainers were headline Nifty 50 (up 0.71 per cent), Nifty 100 (up 0.73 per cent) and Nifty 200 (up 0.81 per cent). Sectoral indices pointed broadly higher too, with Nifty IT jumping over 1.86 per cent, Nifty Media rallying 1.58 per cent and Nifty Realty rising 1.21 per cent. Lagging were Nifty Oil & Gas (up just 0.22 per cent), Nifty Metal (up 0.64 per cent) and Nifty Financial Services (up 0.65 per cent).  

Iran War 

The Iran-US conflict in the Middle East took a tentative step back from the brink over the weekend. A senior Iranian official told Reuters on Sunday that Tehran would hold off attacks as long as the US bombing pause continued. On Friday evening, the Pentagon announced a pause to its own bombing campaign, which lasted through 13 straight nights. Iran too has held fire for two days now. Mike Waltz, a US envoy, said US President Donald Trump ordered the pause “to allow diplomacy to have a chance”. Iranian officials also said the halt was tactical rather than an outright surrender. Tehran maintains that its policy is ‘attack for attack’, and warned they could resume operations at any time if the US restarts attacks. A Reuters report on Friday said that Trump’s top military advisers cautioned him he risked running down US munitions stockpiles. 

Asian Markets on Monday Morning  

Asian markets were mixed to higher Monday morning, tracking overnight moves on Wall Street. Australia’s ASX All Ordinaries was up 1.03 per cent in early trade, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 0.96 per cent and China’s Shanghai Composite advanced 0.61 per cent on hopes for further de-escalation. Vietnam’s HNX 30 fell 1.43 per cent, Indonesia’s JSX Composite tumbled 1.88 per cent and Malaysia’s FTSE Bursa KLCI dipped 0.43 per cent. Japan’s Nikkei 225 eked out a small gain of 0.24 per cent.  

US Markets 

US markets ended mostly higher on Friday, lifted by positive cues from Wall Street. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.46 per cent to close at 51,947.25, while the S&P 500 ticked up 0.05 per cent to 7,411.98. The NYSE Composite climbed 0.49 per cent, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq ended in the red, tumbling 0.64 per cent to 24,975.82. Despite pockets of weakness, the overall tone remained constructive as markets cheered a temporary de-escalation of tensions in the Middle East.  

Oil Prices 

Oil prices plunged more than 5 per cent Monday after Iran and the US agreed to pause attacks over the weekend, possibly clearing the way for free shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. Brent crude sank $4.89, or 5.05 per cent, to $91.89 a barrel in early trade, dipping below key support at $90. West Texas Intermediate fell $4.67, or 5.23 per cent to $84.64. Both benchmarks are at their lowest in nearly a week, having rallied for three straight weeks. Brent traded above $100 earlier last week as the crisis escalated into the Red Sea, raising concerns over Saudi Arabia’s exports through Bab el-Mandeb Strait.  

Sensex & Nifty on Friday 

Indian benchmarks bounced back sharply from sharp declines in the previous session to close Friday’s session with losses. The Sensex fell 331.62 points or 0.43 per cent to 76,059.77, while the Nifty 50 shed 102.15 points or 0.43 per cent to 23,767.45, breaking below key support at 23,800. Selling was broad-based across auto, metal and energy stocks while IT and media provided some cushion. Breadth was mixed with about 2,050 stocks advancing compared to 1,961 declines. Nifty Auto was the worst performing sectoral index on Friday, tumbling 1.10 per cent, while Nifty Media jumped 1.8 per cent.  

Sources

• NSE
• BSE