Indian Benchmarks Trade Flat Around Midday, Tracking Global Weakness as Oil Eases from Wednesday’s Spike

Mumbai, July 30: Indian stock market benchmarks Sensex and Nifty traded flat on Thursday morning and oscillated between gains and losses through the early session tracking a fresh escalation in the war between Iran and the US, and weak cues from Asian stocks today and US markets overnight, even as oil prices pared gains from Wednesday’s sharp jump. The broader markets traded in tandem with benchmark indices. 

After Wednesday’s sharp recovery of nearly 1 per cent, both the Sensex and Nifty opened flat on Thursday.  

Benchmark indices extended their choppy trade through the morning, with the Sensex at 77,722.07, up 67.47 points or 0.09 per cent, and the Nifty at 24,272.60, up 22.40 points or 0.09 per cent, as of 11:39 am. Volatility remained the dominant theme, with both gauges swinging between marginal gains and losses as investors weighed the fresh US strikes on Iran against a modest recovery in IT stocks. 

Gainers & Losers 

Among individual stocks, Wipro (WIPRO) led the gainers, trading at an LTP of 188.20 against a previous close of 183.61, up 2.50 per cent, while Tech Mahindra (TECHM) rose to 1,677.90 from 1,644.20, gaining 2.05 per cent. ONGC (ONGC) advanced to 242.88 from 238.31, higher by 1.92 per cent, Infosys (INFY) climbed to 1,174.10 from 1,155.60, up 1.60 per cent, and HCL Technologies (HCLTECH) gained to 1,360.70 from 1,344.30, up 1.22 per cent. 

On the losing side, Adani Ports (ADANIPORTS) fell sharply to 1,669.20 from a previous close of 1,719.70, down 2.94 per cent, while Asian Paints (ASIANPAINT) slipped to 2,707.70 from 2,758.40, off 1.84 per cent. Shriram Finance (SHRIRAMFIN) declined to 1,025.80 from 1,044.70, down 1.81 per cent, Hindustan Unilever (HINDUNILVR) eased to 2,094.50 from 2,117.80, lower by 1.10 per cent, and Jio Financial Services (JIOFIN) slipped to 246.86 from 249.48, down 1.05 per cent. 

Broad & Sectoral Markets 

Broad market indices were mixed through the morning session, with the Nifty Midcap Select up 0.16 per cent, the Nifty 50 gaining 0.08 per cent, and the Nifty 100 rising 0.08 per cent, even as the Nifty Bank fell 0.51 per cent, the Nifty Financial Services declined 0.47 per cent, and the Nifty Midcap 100 slipped 0.14 per cent, pointing to a divergence between large-cap gauges and rate-sensitive banking indices. 

On the sectoral front, the Nifty IT index led the gainers, rising 1.37 per cent on continued strength in technology counters, while the Nifty Auto index added 0.87 per cent and the Nifty CPSE index gained 0.69 per cent. In contrast, the Nifty Realty index tumbled 0.97 per cent, the Nifty Private Bank index fell 0.50 per cent, and the Nifty Media index declined 0.49 per cent, reflecting weakness across realty, financials and media stocks even as IT and select PSU-linked sectors outperformed. 

Iran War 

On the geopolitical front, the US carried out fresh strikes on Iran on Wednesday, describing the action as a powerful response to Tehran’s attempted attacks on American forces a day earlier. A drone strike hit a US-owned gas storage tanker at Egypt’s Damietta port, while US and Saudi forces launched strikes against Iran-aligned groups in Iraq and Iran fired missiles at US troops in Jordan, drawing more countries into the widening five-month-old war. Iraq’s Popular Mobilisation Forces said at least 20 of its members were killed in the US-Saudi strikes, exposing a dangerous rift in Baghdad’s already fragile balancing act between Washington and Tehran. Saudi Arabia’s defense minister subsequently met US Vice President JD Vance in Washington to urge against further escalation, even as officials warned of “major unknown risks” from any deeper involvement.  

Separately, the US Federal Reserve voted 9-3 on Wednesday to hold its benchmark interest rate steady in a range of 3.5 to 3.75 per cent, marking the fifth consecutive meeting without a change even as three regional bank presidents dissented in favour of a hike. Fed Chairman Kevin Warsh said the decision followed vigorous internal debate, even as elevated inflation linked partly to the Iran conflict continued to divide policymakers. 

Asian Markets  

Asian markets were mostly weaker on Thursday morning, with Hong Kong’s Hang Seng down 0.22 per cent and Australia’s All Ordinaries falling 0.57 per cent as investors reacted to the overnight US strikes on Iran. Pakistan’s KSE 100 dropped 0.89 per cent and Indonesia’s Jakarta Composite eased 0.64 per cent, extending the region’s cautious mood. Japan’s Nikkei 225 was the notable exception, climbing 1.28 per cent even as most regional peers traded lower. 

US Markets on Wednesday 

US markets ended sharply lower on Wednesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbling 1,153.18 points, or 2.19 per cent, one of its steepest single-day declines in weeks. The Nasdaq Composite slid 1.74 per cent and the S&P 500 fell 1.52 per cent, as investors reacted to the widening conflict in the Middle East alongside the Fed’s decision. The NYSE Composite and Canada’s S&P/TSX Composite both dropped more than 1 per cent, underscoring the broad-based nature of Wednesday’s sell-off. 

Oil Prices 

Oil prices eased on Thursday, paring some of Wednesday’s sharp gains even as tankers continued navigating their way out of Middle East conflict zones despite the escalating war. Brent futures fell $1.29, or 1.42 per cent, to $89.45 a barrel, while WTI crude slipped 56 cents, or 0.66 per cent, to $83.90 a barrel. The pullback came a day after Brent had settled up 7.91 per cent and WTI 6.56 per cent, among the sharpest single-day spikes of the five-month conflict.  

Sources:

• NSE
• BSE