Stock Market Outlook: Nifty 50 Opens 0.59% Lower, Sensex Falls 350 points Amid Rising Crude Oil Prices

The Indian stock market opened lower amid weakness in global markets as escalating US-Iran conflict and rising crude oil prices kept markets subdued. Nifty 50 opened 144.25 points or 0.59% lower, Sensex fell 350 points and Bank Nifty declined 783.15 points at the open.

On Friday, the Sensex gained 964.58 points, or 1.25%, to settle at 78,151.45, while the Nifty 50 rose 261.55 points, or 1.09%, to finish at 24,334.30.

The Indian rupee opened 13 paise lower at Rs. 96.41 per dollar on Monday versus previous close of Rs. 96.28.

Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) continued their buying on July 17, buying shares worth Rs. 1,017.89 crore, while foreign institutional investors (FIIs) remained net sellers, offloading equities worth Rs. 376.41 crore.

Sensex Outlook

Technically, the Sensex formed a bullish candle on the weekly chart, backing the possibility of a further uptrend from the current levels.

“The market found support near the 77,000 levels during the week. The 77,000 level and 77,600 will act as crucial trend-deciding levels for positional traders. As long as the market trades above these levels, the bullish sentiment is likely to continue. The rally could extend towards the 78,500-79,400 range. On the flip side, if the market falls below 77,000, the sentiment could turn negative. Below this level, traders may prefer to exit their long trading positions," said Amol Athawale, VP of Technical Research at Kotak Securities.

Nifty 50 Outlook

The Nifty 50 continues to display bullish momentum after ending Friday's session with a strong breakout candle, indicating that buyers remain in control and the recent upward trend is intact.

"Going ahead, bias remain positive and a follow through strength above last week high 24,367 will open upside towards the 24,480 and 24,600 levels being the trendline resistance and high of April 2026, respectively. Failure to move above last week high will signal extension of the recent consolidation in the range of 24,350-23,800," said Bajaj Broking Research.

Immediate support for the Nifty is placed in the 24,000-23,800 zone. This range also coincides with the 50-day Exponential Moving Average (EMA).

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Bank Nifty Outlook

The Bank Nifty ended Friday's session on a strong note, forming a bullish candle with a higher high and higher low, indicating improving momentum.

According to Bajaj Broking Research, Bank Nifty has been consolidating between 56,500 and 58,700 over the past five weeks. A sustained breakout above 58,700 would confirm a fresh upward move and could push the banking index towards 59,300 initially, followed by the psychologically important 60,000 mark.

"Going ahead a move above the June high of 58,700 would confirm a breakout from the ongoing consolidation and could trigger the next leg of the rally towards 59,300 and eventually 60,000 levels in the coming weeks," said the brokerage.

On the downside, the 56,500-57,000 zone remains a strong support area, where the 20-week and 50-week EMAs converge along with the previous week's low.