Indian Stock Market Closes Higher Amid Rising Tensions in West Asia

Mumbai, July 15: The Indian stock market closed on a positive note today, despite rising tensions in West Asia and increasing crude oil prices. Mixed signals from global markets influenced the trading session, which marked the third day of the week. Major benchmarks, including Nifty and Sensex, saw gains of up to 0.17 percent.

At the close, the Sensex rose by 130.49 points, or 0.17 percent, reaching 77,185.43. Meanwhile, Nifty50 increased by 26.45 points, or 0.11 percent, to settle at 24,078.50.

During the trading day, the Sensex opened at 77,192.76, showing a 0.17 percent gain from its previous close of 77,054.94. It peaked at 77,646.27, reflecting a rise of 591.33 points or 0.76 percent at one point.

Nifty 50 also opened positively at 24,085.85, up 0.14 percent from its last close of 24,052.05. It reached an intraday high of 24,220.35, marking a jump of 168.3 points or 0.69 percent.

In broader markets, the Nifty Midcap 100 index rose by 0.28 percent, while the Nifty Smallcap 100 index saw an increase of 0.67 percent.

Sector-wise, the Nifty PSU Bank index gained nearly 1 percent. Additionally, sectors such as Nifty Consumer Durables, Nifty Oil and Gas, and Nifty Financial Services recorded increases of 0.73 percent, 0.69 percent, and 0.63 percent, respectively. Gains were also noted in Nifty Pharma, Nifty Healthcare, and Nifty Auto.

Conversely, the Nifty Metal index experienced a decline of over 1 percent. Weakness was also observed in Nifty IT, Nifty FMCG, Nifty Media, and Nifty Realty.

Among the top gainers in the Nifty 50 index were shares of Ultratech Cement, Eternal, HDFC Life, Shriram Finance, Eicher Motors, and SBI. In contrast, Hindalco Industries, Power Grid, Tata Steel, L&T, JSW Steel, and Infosys saw the most significant declines.

Market expert Sunil Shah commented, “Yesterday, we observed a drop of over 500 points in the Sensex due to rising oil prices. Today, it opened with a gap up, and as I speak, it is up 400 points in the first hour of trading. This is positive, but it appears to be more of a technical bounce-back since crude oil prices remain around the 85-86 level. Certainly, this is better than when prices exceeded 112 dollars. If crude oil prices fall below 70 and tensions in West Asia ease, the domestic market could receive further support and recover.”