Sensex, Nifty Close in Red as Banking, IT Stocks Drag Dalal Street

Indian benchmark indices ended another volatile trading session in the red on Thursday (July 23, 2026), extending their losing streak to a fourth consecutive day as surging crude oil prices, geopolitical uncertainty in the Middle East, and disappointing corporate earnings kept investors cautious. Persistent selling across banking, pharmaceutical, and financial stocks offset gains in select auto and consumer counters, reflecting a stock-specific market amid weak global cues.

The BSE Sensex fell below the 76,600 mark during the trading session, whereas the NSE Nifty 50 stayed weak under the psychologically important mark of 24,000. At 14:55 hrs IST, the Sensex was down 517.34 points or 0.67 percent at 76,237.71, and the Nifty was down 167.35 points or 0.70 percent at 23,828.90. About 1440 shares advanced, 2361 shares declined, and 148 shares unchanged.

The increasing crude oil prices on account of rising tensions between the US, Iran, and Red Sea region stayed the main driving factor for the investor mood amid worries about inflation, cost of imports, and company profitability in India.

Top Gainers

Investor interests were confined to automobiles and the industry, where companies with stronger income prospects and higher domestic demand prevailed. Auto shares continued to lead the stock market despite negative sentiments prevailing in the market.

Top Losers

Pharmaceutical shares felt the heat due to poor quarterly results reported by Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories, and banks and financial services companies too faced selling off. Defensives like Nestlé India were amongst the major laggards for the day.

Market Trends

Thursday's session reinforced the cautious mood prevailing across Dalal Street. The increasing prices of Brent crude oil at close to $96-97 per barrel was a cause for concern, with the rising cost of energy potentially leading to inflation, increased deficit in the current account of India and margin compression for corporations. However, despite this negativity, the attention of the market participants continued to be geared towards the earnings season, with poor results by some of the blue-chips.

Also Read: FTSE 100 Live: Markets Defy Inflation Data, Brent Jumps to $94.22

What Investors Can Take Away

The market continues to be influenced by macroeconomic events more than any specific firm news. Heightened geopolitical tension and rising oil prices have forced the investors to take a risk-off stance, which has led to selectivity rather than participation in buying. However, the fact that automobile and industrials shares have been resilient indicates that the investor is ready to back industries that have good domestic fundamentals. 

In the coming days, company results, movements in oil prices, and geopolitical events on the global stage are going to influence the market.

Note: Percentage gains for some stocks were not officially disclosed in end-of-day summaries, but they featured among the session's strongest performers.