Sensex, Nifty Gain More at Midday; Investor Sentiment Improves from Caution

Mumbai, July 31: Indian equity benchmarks extended their gains into the midday session on Friday, tracking a strong overnight rally on Wall Street and a broad advance across most Asian markets, as crude oil prices eased.

At 12:09 pm, the BSE Sensex was up 133.58 points, or 0.17 per cent, at 78,061.73, while the Nifty 50 was up 52.00 points, or 0.21 per cent, at 24,369.15, building on the modest gains seen at the opening bell, when the Sensex had added 34.68 points to trade at 77,962.83 and the Nifty had risen 34 points to 24,351.15. The advance came a day after both indices closed higher on Thursday following a late-session recovery, with autos leading sectoral gains even as the broader market underperformed. 

Gainers & Losers 

Among the top gainers on the Nifty 50, Bajaj Finance (BAJFINANCE) surged 7.12 per cent to a last traded price of Rs 1,128.5 from Thursday’s close of Rs 1,053.5, the sharpest gain on the index. Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) climbed 4.38 per cent to Rs 3,427.6 against a previous close of Rs 3,283.7, while Bajaj Finserv (BAJAJFINSV) rose 4.04 per cent to Rs 1,986.6 from Rs 1,909.4. Jio Financial Services (JIOFIN) added 1.74 per cent to Rs 251.25 versus its prior close of Rs 246.95, and Hindalco Industries (HINDALCO) gained 1.25 per cent to Rs 982.5 from Rs 970.4.  

On the losing side, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) led declines, falling 2.48 per cent to Rs 2,371.6 from Thursday’s close of Rs 2,431.8, followed by Infosys (INFY), down 1.74 per cent to Rs 1,135 from Rs 1,155.1. Tech Mahindra (TECHM) slipped 1.44 per cent to Rs 1,645 against a previous close of Rs 1,669, Wipro (WIPRO) declined 1.43 per cent to Rs 183.67 from Rs 186.33, and Eternal (ETERNAL) fell 1.3 per cent to Rs 306.6 from Rs 310.65. 

Broad & Sectoral Markets 

Broad market indices stayed positive across the board through the morning, with the Nifty Next 50 up 1.16 per cent, the Nifty Smallcap 100 up 0.64 per cent and the Nifty 500 up 0.40 per cent among the better performers, while none of the segment’s key gauges slipped into the red. Sectoral indices were more mixed: the Nifty Auto index led gains, up 1.77 per cent, followed by the Nifty Media index, up 1.39 per cent, and the Nifty Pharma index, up 1.04 per cent, while the Nifty IT index was the biggest laggard, down 1.58 per cent, followed by the Nifty FMCG index, down 0.94 per cent, and the Nifty Private Bank index, down 0.07 per cent. 

Asian Markets at Late Friday Morning 

Asian markets were broadly higher in late morning trade on Friday, led by Japan’s Nikkei 225, which surged 3.93 per cent to 64,299.39, its sharpest gain among major regional gauges. Indonesia’s JSX Composite rose 1.56 per cent and Thailand’s SET index gained 1.52 per cent, while Vietnam’s HNX 30 climbed 2.28 per cent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng and Pakistan’s KSE 100 were the outliers, slipping 0.26 per cent and 0.28 per cent, respectively. 

US Markets on Thursday 

Wall Street closed sharply higher on Thursday, with the Nasdaq Composite jumping 2.78 per cent and the S&P 500 climbing 1.66 per cent to 7,437.63. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 613.92 points, or 1.19 per cent, to close at 52,208.06, while the broader NYSE Composite rose 0.81 per cent. The gains came even as investors continued to weigh uncertainty over the Federal Reserve’s interest-rate path alongside the ongoing Iran-US conflict. 

Oil Prices 

Oil prices settled lower on Thursday after a volatile session, as traders weighed proposed plans for a Saudi Arabia-led maritime coalition to boost defence cooperation around the Red Sea. Brent crude futures settled down $1.71, or 1.88 per cent, at $89.03 a barrel, after touching a session high of $93.31 when Washington and Tehran traded fresh strikes on each other’s military targets. US West Texas Intermediate crude settled 87 cents, or 1.03 per cent, lower at $83.59, having earlier hit $85.94. Analysts said the market remained caught between the immediate risk premium from the conflict and the prospect of a supply overhang once tensions ease, with Again Capital’s John Kilduff noting that ample supply is waiting to hit the market once the situation is resolved. 

Iran War 

The Suez Canal and the Sumed pipeline, Saudi Arabia’s key alternative export routes since the Iran war began, came into focus this week after a drone strike damaged two gas tankers in Egyptian waters near the port of Damietta, with no group claiming responsibility. Crude loadings through the Sumed pipeline, which links the Red Sea to the Mediterranean, have risen to 28.79 million barrels in July from 19.52 million in April, as Saudi cargoes increasingly bypass the Strait of Hormuz and, more recently, the Bab el-Mandeb strait following a Houthi naval blockade threat declared last week. Almost no tankers are currently transiting Hormuz, once the route for about a fifth of global oil and LNG supply, while Iran and Oman continued talks on managing the strait even after Tehran ruled out a joint-management proposal earlier in the week. Separately, Abu Dhabi’s ADNOC has bought five very large crude carriers for about $590 million from Frontline, as it moves to control more of its own supply chain amid the disruption to both the Red Sea and Hormuz routes. 

Indian stock market benchmarks had opened higher on Friday morning, tracking the strong rally in Asian markets led by Japan’s Nikkei and the broad-based advance on Wall Street overnight, even as oil prices eased on hopes of easing tension around the Strait of Hormuz. The positive global cues helped lift sentiment despite the Iran-US conflict remaining a live overhang on markets. Extending Thursday’s late recovery, the Sensex was up 34.68 points, or 0.04 per cent, at 77,962.83 at 9:28 am. The Nifty 50, meanwhile, was up 34.00 points, or 0.14 per cent, at 24,351.15 at 9:27 am. 

Sources

• BSE
• NSE
• https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/drone-strike-egypt-sparks-security-concerns-about-suez-oil-exports-2026-07-30/
• https://www.reuters.com/markets/stocks/asia-pacific/
• https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/oil-prices-slip-tankers-continue-ply-middle-east-conflict-zones-2026-07-30/