Stock Market Today, July 17, 2026: Sensex Rises 480 points, Nifty Up 130 points at Open on Strong Q1 Earnings Preview; Markets Discounts Geopolitical Risks

Mumbai, July 17: Indian benchmarks edged higher on Friday after opening significantly up following a healthy preview of earnings results for the June quarter even as investors digested escalating tensions in the Middle East and continued to discount geopolitical risks. Crude prices spiked on news that Tehran had broken a temporary ceasefire with Washington and threatened further attacks across the region. Geo-political worries briefly nudged indices into the red but they soon erased losses to trade in the green by 9.30 am. 

The BSE Sensex was trading up 482.04 points or 0.62% at 77,668.91 as of 9:26 am on Friday while the Nifty 50 traded higher by 129.10 points or 0.54% at 24,201.85. Sensex and Nifty continued their gains after most IT majors reported better than expected earnings results on Thursday, allowing investors to look past geopolitical fears even as crude oil prices rallied higher on expectations Iran conflict could widen. IT stocks were some of the biggest gainers on Thursday after reports increased tensions between the US and Iran. 

Gainers & Laggards 

Jio Financial Services (JIOFIN) was the top Nifty gainer up 4.99% to Rs 247.40 from Rs 235.65.HCL Technologies (HCLTECH) climbed 2.84% to Rs 1,208.80 from Rs 1,187.40, Infosys (INFY) was up 2.66% to Rs 1,111.20 from Rs 1,082.40, Tech Mahindra (TECHM) rose 2.60% to Rs 1,549.50 from Rs 1,510.30 and TCS advanced 2.14% to Rs 2,248.10 from Rs 2,201.  

In comparison, Wipro (WIPRO) declined 1.90% to Rs 174.37 from Rs 177.74, Hindalco (HINDALCO) dropped 0.92% to Rs 950.50 from Rs 959.30, Cipla (CIPLA) fell 0.87% to Rs 1,417.10 from Rs 1,429.50, Dr Reddy’s (DRREDDY) slipped 0.77% to Rs 1,215 from Rs 1,224.40 and Eternal (ETERNAL) dipped 0.59% to Rs 284.75 from Rs 286.45. 

Broad Markets & Sectoral Performance 

Among broad-market indices, frontliners led the gains with Nifty 50 up 0.42%, followed by Nifty 100 (up 0.29%) and Nifty Bank (up 0.23%).The losers were led by Nifty Smallcap 250 which dipped 0.38%, followed by Nifty Smallcap 50 and Nifty Midsmallcap 400 shedding about 0.3% each. Among sectoral indices, Nifty IT jumped 1.94%, followed by Nifty Auto gaining 0.49% and Nifty Private Bank index rising 0.32%. Sectoral loser was led by Nifty Pharma index down 0.77%, followed by Nifty Media index which fell 0.69% and Nifty Healthcare index dipping 0.66%. 

Iran War 

Escalating tensions between Washington and Tehran continued unabated on Friday with US President Donald Trump ordering fresh air strikes on Iran Thursday night in retaliation for the shooting down of an unmanned US drone earlier in the day while also threatening to target Iran’s power grid next if Tehran persists with attacks on American interests in the region. A sixth straight day of tit-for-tat attacks between Iran and the US entered Thursday after Iran threatened retaliation for US attacks on its military bases in Iraq that had come as Tehran responded to the US downing of an Iranian drone earlier in the week by targeting two oil pumping stations on the world’s biggest crude exporter’s mainland. 

Trump has reportedly authorised air strikes on Iranian energy facilities while also considering dispatching troops to seize Iran’s Kharg Island energy hub. The US leader has also reportedly discussed targeting Iranian cultural sites including a buried nuclear facility. Analysts said while it was unclear how Iran would respond, further escalation by Trump was unlikely to lead Tehran to back down while also only strengthening hardliners opposed to reaching a compromise with the US. 

Asian Markets on Friday Morning 

Asian markets reacted weak to the mixed news flow from Wall Street overnight and geopolitical developments with Japan’s Nikkei 225 plummeting over 4% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dipping 0.89% on Friday while Australia’s ASX All Ordinaries slumped 0.87% to its lowest level since February 28. Pakistan’s KSE 100 bucked the regional trend gaining 1.62% while Indonesia’s Jakarta Composite rose 1.10%. The regional weakness in Asia came as investors grappled with surging crude oil prices and rising geopolitical tensions after Iranian General Qassem Soleimani was killed during a US drone strike last week. 

US Markets as on Thursday 

US stocks ended sharply lower on Thursday as investors fretted over surging oil prices after the US and Iran failed to reach a deal to end hostilities between the two nations and renewed concerns of a wider war in the Middle East after Washington announced air strikes on Iran earlier in the day. The Nasdaq Composite plummeted 1.47% to close at 25,881.95 while the S&P 500 slipped 0.51%. Dow Jones eased 0.20%. The NYSE Composite bucked the trend closing 0.33% higher. Thursday’s weakness on Wall Street dragged Asian markets lower. 

Oil Prices 

Oil prices continued higher on Friday following reports Tehran broke a temporary ceasefire agreement with Washington overnight and threatened retaliation on Friday against American assets in the region while also urging its Houthi allies in Yemen to close off the Red Sea shipping route if Washington attacks Iran’s power grid. Brent crude oil futures gained 1.25% to $85.28 a barrel while US West Texas Intermediate crude futures climbed 1.3% to $79.98 a barrel. Both benchmarks are up by nearly 12% this week. Brent is on track to record its third weekly gain while WTI could clock its second consecutive weekly gain. International Energy Agency chief Fatih Birol said IEA continues to monitor the situation in the region closely and warned oil market security will deteriorate if tensions continue to escalate. 

Markets on Thursday 

Indian benchmarks ended marginally higher after a choppy trading session on Thursday. The Sensex added 1.44 points to end at 77,186.87 while the Nifty 50 shed 0.02% to settle at 24,072.75. Market breadth remained weak with more shares declining than those advancing on the NSE. A clutch of IT and consumer stocks rallied on their quarterly results led by Dixon Technologies which jumped 6.3% after the Cabinet approved additional incentives to boost electronics manufacturing. The gains offset weakness in banking, realty and select financial stocks. Investors stayed on the sidelines as they awaited more cues from overseas markets and looked forward to quarterly earnings. 

Sources

•  nseindia.com
• bseindia.com