Market Wrap: Equities Fell for Fourth-Session, Gsec Yield Rise as Oil Prices Surge

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

Amey Bane/iStockphoto.com

By Tresha Dias

July 23, 2026 at 12:56 PM IST

Indian equities benchmark extended their decline for a fourth consecutive session on Thursday, with the Nifty 50 falling below 23,900 as rising crude oil prices, weak global cues and continued profit booking weighed on sentiment. The Nifty 50 fell 126.65 points, or 0.53%, to 23,896.60, while the Sensex declined 363.66 points, or 0.47%, to 76,391.39. Over the four-session losing streak, the Sensex has shed 2.25% and the Nifty 1.90%.

The sell-off broadened beyond the benchmark indices, with the BSE 150 MidCap Index falling 1.01% and the BSE 250 SmallCap Index declining 1.20%. Market breadth was weak, with 2,579 BSE shares falling against 1,642 gainers, while the India VIX rose 1.37% to 13.48. On the NSE, auto and media stocks advanced, while all other sectoral indices ended lower.

Brent crude for September 2026 settlement rose $4.11, or 4.37%, to $98.18 a barrel, as escalating tensions in West Asia heightened concerns over potential supply disruptions. The rise in oil prices added to inflation concerns and weighed on risk appetite, while weakness in metal and pharma stocks and caution ahead of key earnings further pressured equities.

The Indian rupee ended nearly unchanged at 96.5725 per dollar on Thursday, hovering near a two-month low as likely intervention by the Reserve Bank of India helped offset pressure from a sharp rise in oil prices.

Among individual stocks, NTPC Green Energy rose 6.47% after its June-quarter consolidated profit increased 38.3% year-on-year to ₹304.84 crore, while Gandhar Oil Refinery surged 19.81% after its consolidated profit rose 689.2% year-on-year to ₹205.9 crore.

Government bond yields rose further today. The yield on the benchmark 10-year 6.94%, 2036 bond ended at 6.8413%, compared to 6.8012% at the previous close.

Top Movers of the Day
Eternal rose 0.95% to ₹287.10, supported by investor response to its June-quarter results. The company reported strong growth in its quick-commerce business, while Blinkit turned profitable, driving the stock higher.

Bajaj Auto gained 2.55% to ₹11,279.00, extending its recent rally after the company reported a strong June-quarter performance, including a 46% year-on-year rise in consolidated net profit to ₹3,226 crore.

Mahindra & Mahindra climbed 1.72% to ₹3,230, supported by continued buying interest in the automobile sector.

Eicher Motors rose 1.13% to ₹7,718, as auto stocks remained among the stronger performers. For the March 2026 quarter, revenue stood at ₹60.80 billion, while net profit was ₹11.97 billion and EPS rose to ₹55.41.

SBI Life Insurance rose 2.89% to ₹1,859, outperforming the broader market. The stock was supported by selective buying in the financial sector and a robust balance sheet, which showed significant year-on-year growth in assets and reserves as of March 2026.

Tata Consumer Products gained 1.39% to ₹1,110.10, with the stock among the stronger performers in early trading as investors continued to favour select consumer-facing stocks.

Power Grid Corporation of India rose 0.69% to ₹289.50, outperforming the broader market as investors sought relative strength in defensive and utility-linked counters.

Oil and Natural Gas Corporation gained 0.14% to ₹252.25, with the stock supported by the broader focus on energy companies as crude prices remained elevated.

TVS Motor Company rose 0.087% to ₹3,911, extending gains after the company reported a 51.4% year-on-year increase in quarterly profit to ₹11.74 billion, supported by strong demand for premium motorcycles and electric scooters.

Dr Reddy's Laboratories fell 1.10% to ₹1,169.80 after weak June-quarter results and semaglutide supply disruptions led to brokerage downgrades, including J.P. Morgan cutting its price target to ₹1,100.

Shriram Finance declined 3.06% to ₹1,026.40. Despite strong Q4 results, with net profit rising 41% and AUM growing 15%, asset-quality concerns remained a near-term overhang as gross NPA rose marginally to 4.58%.

Futures & Options
The Nifty July 2026 futures contract closed at 23,886, a premium of 16.40 points to the Nifty 50's cash-market close of 23,869.60. The Nifty 50 fell 126.65 points, or 0.53%, on the day. The NSE's India VIX rose 1.37% to 13.48. HDFC Bank, Infosys and Tata Consultancy Services were the most-traded individual stock futures contracts in the NSE's F&O segment. The July 2026 F&O contracts expire on Jul 28, 2026.

Bonds
Government bond yields rose further today. The yield on the benchmark 10-year 6.94%, 2036 bond ended at 6.8413%, compared to 6.8012% at the previous close. Brent crude oil surged to $98.18, which raised fears of imported inflation, along with the possibility of monetary policy tightening by the Reserve Bank of India earlier than expected.

Some traders cut their long positions in 10-15-year bonds and instead picked up bonds maturing in 5-7 years to limit their exposure to market volatility. Meanwhile, state-owned banks continued to pick up the 10-year bond at 6.82-6.83% yield, lending some support to the gilts.

Forex
The Indian rupee ended nearly unchanged at 96.5725 per dollar on Thursday, hovering near a two-month low as likely intervention by the Reserve Bank of India helped offset pressure from a sharp rise in oil prices. Brent crude jumped above $98 a barrel after Yemen's Houthis said they had struck two Saudi oil tankers, heightening concerns that supply disruptions could spread beyond the Strait of Hormuz and pushing oil closer to the psychologically important $100 threshold.

Higher oil prices pose a key risk to India by threatening to stoke inflation, slow growth and widen the current account deficit. Brent had fallen to around $70 a barrel last month, but renewed hostilities in the Middle East have since triggered a sharp rebound and encouraged investors to rebuild bearish positions on the rupee, with short positions on the currency rising to a more than one-month high.

Crypto
The cryptocurrency market traded lower today, with Bitcoin and Ethereum declining as the broader market pulled back despite continued focus on ETF inflows and upcoming US policy developments. Bitcoin traded near $65,586.15 today, down 0.98%, after a six-session streak of net inflows into US spot Bitcoin ETFs helped extend its recent rally. The cryptocurrency's market capitalisation stood at $1.31 trillion, while 24-hour trading volume reached $27.74 billion. Despite the pullback, ETF flows remained a key focus for investors, with the market now turning its attention to the Federal Reserve's July 28-29 policy meeting and the Senate deadline for the CLARITY Act for potential catalysts.

Ethereum traded near $1,918.75 today, down 0.69%, with a market capitalisation of $231.56 billion and 24-hour trading volume of $10.2 billion. The second-largest cryptocurrency tracked the broader market's decline after recent gains, while investors continued to monitor ETF flows, upcoming Federal Reserve policy decisions and developments around US cryptocurrency legislation for fresh direction.

US Stock Futures
US equity futures slipped today as investors weighed fresh earnings, rising oil prices and concerns over increased artificial intelligence spending. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures fell 43 points, or 0.1%, while S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq-100 futures each declined 0.2%.

Oil prices rose after a tanker was struck by an unknown projectile off Saudi Arabia and US President Donald Trumpthreatened to bomb Iranian infrastructure. Alphabet shares fell 3% in extended trading after the Google parent raised its 2026 capital expenditure forecast to as much as $205 billion, highlighting strong demand for artificial intelligence infrastructure but also intensifying investor concerns over the scale of spending by hyperscalers.

US Treasury Notes
US Treasury note yields climbed, with the benchmark 10-year yield trading around 4.69% and the two-year yield at approximately 433%, as markets adjusted to renewed geopolitical tensions, rebounding oil prices and the upcoming Federal Reserve interest-rate meeting. The five-year note yield was also around 4.44%, while the seven-year yield hovered near 4.56%, keeping investor focus on the potential impact of energy prices and global risks on the inflation outlook.

Investors continued to assess the implications of geopolitical developments and firmer oil prices for inflation, while positioning ahead of the Federal Reserve's upcoming policy meeting.