INDICES TRADE SIDEWAYS IN EARLY TRADE; BREADTH STRONG

Published on Jul 21, 2026 09:36

The key equity benchmarks traded sideways in early trade on Tuesday. The Nifty traded above the 24,250 mark. Media, IT and PSU Bank shares advanced while pharma and financial services shares declined.

At 09:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, fell 40.36 points or 0.05% to 77,669.91. The Nifty 50 index rose 15.95 points or 0.07% to 24,254.45.

In the broader market, the BSE 150 MidCap Index rose 0.25% and the BSE 250 SmallCap Index added 0.33%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 1,939 shares rose and 1,132 shares fell. A total of 172 shares were unchanged.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth Rs 1,121.04 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net buyers to the tune of Rs 1,312.03 crore in the Indian equity market on 20 July 2026, provisional data showed.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Sobha added 1.61% after the company reported 273.55% surge in consolidated net profit to Rs 50.84 crore in Q1 FY27 from Rs 13.61 crore posted in Q1 FY26. Revenue from operations jumped 50.03% YoY to Rs 1,278.15 crore in Q1 FY27.

SML Mahindra rose 0.86%. The company�s standalone net profit declined 4.99% to Rs 63.62 crore in Q1 FY27 compared with Rs 66.96 crore posted in Q1 FY27. Revenue from operations increased 13.2% YoY to Rs 957.54 crore in yhe quarter ended 30th June 2026.

Numbers to Track:

The yield on India`s 10-year benchmark federal paper was down 0.31% to 6.751 as compared with previous close 6.772.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged higher against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 96.3400 compared with its close of 96.3600 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 5 August 2026 settlement rose 0.64% to Rs 1,42,299.

The US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the greenback`s value against a basket of currencies, was up 0.02% to 100.98.

The United States 10-year bond yield fell 0.24% to 4.578.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for September 2026 settlement shed 59 cents or 0.66% to $88.63 a barrel.

Global Markets:

Asian stocks gained on Tuesday as mediation efforts in the Middle East pushed oil prices away from a one-month high.

Yemen`s Iran-aligned Houthis said they would impose a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia, a move that could further disrupt energy supplies, amid attacks between the U.S. and Iran, even as efforts were being made to revive a fragile ceasefire.

Brent crude futures eased 0.38% to $88.88 per barrel in early trading on Tuesday as investors latched on to hopes of a resolution. Brent hit its highest since mid-June at $91.42 a barrel in the previous session.

A senior Iranian official was quoted by the media stating that Tehran had received a proposal from mediators for a 10-day ceasefire, intended to pave the way for a lasting agreement to end the ⁠war that began on February 28 with U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran.

In other developments, investor focus this week will be on earnings from Alphabet and Intel, along with other firms, to gauge the impact of the war and whether the AI trade has more room to run given sky-high profit expectations for the second-quarter.

Strong earnings from Asian chip bellwethers Samsung Electronics and TSMC in recent weeks were not enough to satisfy investor expectations, underscoring the challenge facing the industry.

Overnight in the US, Wall Street`s three major indexes finished lower on Monday while investors looked for moves toward Middle East de-escalation and waited for earnings reports due from major technology companies later in the week.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 307.16 points, or 0.59%, to 51,839.26, the S&P 500 lost 14.41 points, or 0.19%, to 7,443.28 and the Nasdaq Composite lost ⁠12.17 points, or 0.05%, to 25,508.07.