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Indian equity markets staged a strong start on Thursday (July 16, 2026) but surrendered most of their gains by the close as Iran's renewed blockade of the Strait of Hormuz rattled afternoon sentiment. The BSE Sensex closed at approximately 77,380, gaining around 325 points or 0.42% from Wednesday's close of 77,185.43, while the NSE Nifty 50 settled near 24,160, up roughly 82 points or 0.34%.
Both indices had touched much higher intraday peaks; the Sensex briefly scaled 77,646 and the Nifty tagged 24,220 before pulling back sharply as news of the Hormuz closure circulated through trading desks. India VIX, the market's fear gauge, edged slightly higher during the afternoon reversal but remained broadly contained, reflecting measured rather than panicked selling.
The positivity in the morning was driven by lower-than-expected US inflation figures overnight and stellar quarterly numbers of US banks, leading to a positive close on Wall Street and an upbeat start to Asian markets. This was echoed in India, where Nifty IT emerged as the best-performing sector in the session, up 1.98% in the morning as investors moved into tech stocks.
Q1 FY27 numbers from TCS, which helped sustain the rally post-earnings numbers for another session, provided additional legs to the sector. The broader indices too got into the action in the morning as Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 were up 0.45% each in the first half. However, the announcement that Iran has shut down the Strait of Hormuz turned things around in the afternoon as crude oil prices continued their ascent for the fourth day straight and led to profit booking. The gains in Nifty IT were pared in the afternoon, and the Nifty Metal Index fell 1.11% to be among the laggards of the session.
With the Sensex weekly options contracts set to expire on Thursday and Iran-Hormuz developments remaining uncertain, the market is likely to tread with caution. The testimony by Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh before the Senate Banking Committee, Q1FY27 results announcements, and developments from the Middle East region are going to be the major triggers for the rest of the week.
Note: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice.
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