The Indian stock market closed in the deep red on Monday, with Sensex and Nifty falling up to 0.6% after recording sharp gains in the previous session as Iran-US war escalations and rising oil prices spooked investors.
Sensex fell nearly 443 points to close at 77,708, while Nifty 50 declined over around 96 points to close at 24,238 on Monday. This came even as India VIX, which measures market volatility, dropped around 2% to 12.90.
Here's how analysts read the market pulse
The collapse of the June ceasefire between the US and Iran has pushed crude prices to touch $90, and as a result, markets have started the week on a cautious note, reflecting rising pressure on the global economy, said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Investments.
He noted that these tensions are expected to persist in the near term as US military actions expand and global travel advisories for US citizens remain in place. This environment is likely to influence central bank policies in the second half of the ongoing 2026, with most central banks maintaining a hawkish stance, he added.
“The probability of future rate hikes is increasing as inflation and global bond yields continue to trend higher. At the same time, the initial set of Q1 earnings has been encouraging, driven largely by PSU banks, oil & gas and metals. While mid-cap and small-cap stocks outperformed their large-cap peers, supported by resilient earnings growth expectations and improving business momentum, further reinforcing opportunities for selective stock picking in the broader market, despite prevailing geopolitical headwinds,” the analyst said.
US stocks
Wall Street's main indexes rose on Monday, led by recovering chip stocks, while investors awaited a key slate of earnings from major technology companies that have powered the market's AI-driven rally.
The second-quarter earnings season will pick up pace later this week, with reports due from several major companies, including Alphabet, Tesla, Intel and IBM.
Investors will closely watch earnings from Intel and Texas Instruments for signals on whether the semiconductor sector can regain momentum after a sharp pullback.
A surge in AI capital spending by hyperscalers has been a major driver behind this year's market gains, lifting chip stocks and other companies that are seen as the beneficiaries of the buildout, and helping Wall Street climb to record levels.
European markets
In European trading, Britain's FTSE 100 fell 0.54% to 10,542.94. France's CAC 40 rose 0.17% to 8,353.37, and Germany's DAX gained 0.12% to 24,861.67. The Stoxx600 was down 0.23% at 640.05.
Tech view
Going ahead, SBI Securities sees Nifty finding immediate resistance in the 24,370-24,400 zone on the upside. Any sustainable move above this zone could result in Nifty extending its pullback towards 24,550, followed by 24,700 in the short term, it said.
On the downside, the brokerage expects the benchmark index to find immediate support in the 24,130-24,100 zone..
Most active stocks in terms of turnover
HDFC Bank (Rs 4,376 crore), ICICI Bank (Rs 3,241 crore), Axis Bank (Rs 3,193 crore), RIL (Rs 1,903 crore), SBI (Rs 1,738 crore), Himadri Speciality (Rs 1,387 crore) and PNB (Rs 1,317 crore) were among the most active stocks on NSE in value terms. Higher activity in a counter in value terms can help identify the counters with the highest trading turnovers in the day.
Most active stocks in volume terms
Vodafone Idea (Traded shares: 32.41 crore), Yes Bank (Traded shares: 13.34 crore), PNB (Traded shares: 11.9 crore), JP Power (Traded shares: 6.3 crore), HDFC Bank (Traded shares: 5.61 crore), Suzlon Energy (Traded shares: 5.16 crore) and Canara Bank (Traded shares: 4.45 crore) were among the most actively traded stocks in volume terms on NSE.
Stocks showing buying interest
PNB, Torrent Pharma, JSW Energy, Schneider, Gabriel India, Union Bank India and Emcure Pharma were among the stocks that witnessed strong buying interest from market participants.
52-week high
Among the ones which hit their 52-week highs on NSE included Gabriel India, Gujarat Fluorochem, Himadri Speciality, Navin Fluorine, Shyam Metalics, Solar Industries and Zydus Wellness.
Stocks seeing selling pressure
Stocks which witnessed significant selling pressure were CE Info Systems, Axis Bank, eClerx Services, HDFC Bank, Gallantt Metal, India Cements and CEAT.
52-week low
Among the ones which hit their 52-week lows on NSE included Vedanta and Go Digit General Insurance.
Sentiment meter favours bulls
Out of the 3,390 stocks that traded on the NSE on July 30, Monday, 1,779 stocks witnessed advances, 1,501 saw declines while 110 stocks remained unchanged.
(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)
