Banks Weigh on Equities; Rupee Slides on Oil Rally, West Asia Risks

An end-of-day recap of all that transpired in the Indian markets, highlighting the major price movements and the factors driving them.

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By Dehuti Jani

July 20, 2026 at 12:30 PM IST

Indian equity benchmark indices, Sensex and Nifty ended lower on Monday as heavy selling in private-sector banks and weak global cues outweighed a late-session recovery. The Nifty50 fell 95.80 points, or 0.39%, to 24,238.50, while the Sensex declined 442.93 points, or 0.57%, to 77,708.52. Rising crude oil prices above $90 a barrel and escalating geopolitical tensions in West Asia weighed on sentiment, while the Nifty Private Bank index fell 2.2% and the Nifty Bank index declined 1%.

The broader market outperformed the benchmarks, with the Nifty Midcap index rising 0.6% and the small-cap index ending marginally higher. The Nifty PSU Bank index gained 2.8%, while pharma, media, energy and metal stocks also advanced. Among individual stocks, Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, Maruti Suzuki, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Jio Financial Services were the top losers, while Trent, Cipla, Power Grid Corporation, Bharti Airtel and JSW Steel were among the top gainers.

The rupee touched 96.5250 per dollar, its weakest level since mid-May as oil prices hovered near $90 a barrel amid the West Asia conflict, with markets closely watching for signs of diplomatic efforts to end the hostilities. The rupee recovered as dollar-selling intervention by the Reserve Bank of India through state-run banks and a retreat in oil prices helped limit losses.

India’s government bonds recovered most losses made in early trade, and remained in a narrow range as crude oil prices fell during the day. The yield on the 10-year benchmark 6.94%, 2036 gilt ended at 6.7770%. The yield rose to 6.8315% during the day, compared to the previous close of 6.7799%.

Top Movers of the Day

Punjab National Bank surged 5.61% to ₹111.70 after reporting a 214% year-on-year jump in first-quarter FY27 net profit to ₹5,253 crore, while improved asset quality further supported the rally.

Torrent Pharmaceuticals gained 4.86% to ₹4,980 as pharmaceutical stocks rallied broadly, with investors shifting towards the defensive sector amid market volatility.

JSW Energy rose 4.64% to ₹566.30 after the company reported quarterly results, with the earnings announcement supporting investor interest in the stock.

Schneider Electric Infrastructure advanced 4.57% to ₹1,336.90 amid strong buying interest in power equipment stocks.

Gabriel India climbed 4.44% to ₹1,396 after the auto-components maker reported quarterly results, with revenue rising 12.71% year on year to ₹1,209.59 crore and operating profit increasing 3.40%.

Union Bank of India gained 4.36% to ₹175.81 as investors bought into the banking sector, although I could not verify a fresh company-specific catalyst for the day's move.

Emcure Pharmaceuticals rose 4.42% to ₹1,862 as investors continued buying pharmaceutical stocks amid broader strength in the sector.

Oil India advanced 3.69% to ₹451.40 as gains in crude oil prices supported sentiment towards upstream oil producers.

Gujarat Fluorochemicals climbed 4.10% to ₹4,315, extending its recent rally as strong investor participation and positive momentum continued to support the stock.

C.E. Info Systems fell 6.48% to ₹1,097 as the stock extended a sell-off after the exchange sought clarification over significant price and volume movements, while concerns over high valuations and weak recent profit growth also weighed on sentiment.

Axis Bank declined 5.37% to ₹1,257 as investors reacted negatively to its first-quarter FY27 results, with concerns over a sharp contraction in net interest margins overshadowing a 22.5% year-on-year rise in standalone net profit to ₹7,114 crore.

eClerx Services fell 4.84% to ₹1,884 amid selling pressure in the stock.

HDFC Bank fell 5.08% to ₹777.95 as investors focused on margin pressure after the lender's June-quarter net interest margin fell to a record-low 3.26%, despite standalone net profit rising 5% year on year to ₹19,060 crore.

Futures & Options
Nifty July 2026 futures closed at 24,269.00, a 30.50-point premium to the Nifty 50 cash index, which fell 95.80 points, or 0.39%, to 24,238.50. The India VIX, the NSE's gauge of expected near-term market volatility, fell 1.29% to 12.98.

HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank and Axis Bank were the most actively traded individual stock futures contracts in the NSE's F&O segment. The July 2026 F&O contracts will expire on 28 July 2026.

Bonds
India’s government bonds recovered most losses made in early trade, and remained in a narrow range as crude oil prices fell during the day. The yield on the 10-year benchmark 6.94%, 2036 gilt ended at 6.7770%. The yield rose to 6.8315% during the day, compared to the previous close of 6.7799%.

Primary dealerships, foreign banks and some private sector banks likely picked up gilts maturing between 7- and 10-years as interest rate differentials looked lucrative to buy. Some traders who had paid fixed rates on overnight indexed swap rates earlier in the day due to rise in crude oil prices also picked up bonds to trade on the rate arbitrage as external pressures eased.

Forex
The rupee touched 96.5250 per dollar, its weakest level since mid-May as oil prices hovered near $90 a barrel amid the West Asia conflict, with markets closely watching for signs of diplomatic efforts to end the hostilities. The rupee recovered as dollar-selling intervention by the Reserve Bank of India through state-run banks and a retreat in oil prices helped limit losses.

The currency settled at 96.4450 per dollar, down nearly 0.2% from its previous close. Brent crude retreated from above $90 a barrel after Iran's foreign ministry said negotiations with the United States could be pursued based on national interests.

Crypto
The cryptocurrency market traded higher today. Bitcoin held above $64,000 today, extending last week's recovery from below $63,000. The cryptocurrency traded at $64,355.90, up 0.0054% over the past 24 hours, with a market capitalisation of $1.29 trillion and 24-hour trading volume of $16.4 billion. Renewed spot Bitcoin ETF inflows supported the recovery, while traders remained focused on Washington after the GENIUS Act missed its stablecoin rulemaking deadline.

Ethereum traded near $1,863.50 today, extending gains built through the past week. The cryptocurrency was up 0.002% over the past 24 hours, with a market capitalization of $224.89 billion and 24-hour trading volume of $7.86 billion.

US Stock Futures
US stock futures rose early Monday in choppy trading as investors assessed the latest US-Iran military exchanges, with oil prices fluctuating and Treasury yields climbing. S&P 500 futures gained 0.24%, while Nasdaq-100 futures rose 0.37% and Dow Jones Industrial Average futures added 75 points, or 0.14%.

Investor sentiment improved during the London morning after Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said intermediaries had continued exchanging messages with Tehran and that negotiations with the United States could be pursued based on national interests. The comments raised hopes for a diplomatic resolution after the US completed its ninth consecutive day of strikes against Iran overnight.

US Treasury Notes
US Treasury note yields traded mixed, with the benchmark 10-year yield around 4.55% and the two-year yield near 4.18%, as investors assessed Federal Reserve policy expectations, inflation data and the global economic outlook. The three-year note yield stood at around 4.22%, while the five-year and seven-year yields were near 4.20% and 4.25%, respectively.

Treasury yields remained sensitive to shifts in expectations for the Federal Reserve's interest-rate path, with investors also monitoring incoming economic data and broader global market sentiment.

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