Market Wrap, July 27: SENSEX jumps 776 pts, NIFTY50 ends at 23,996 led by IT, bank stocks as crude oil prices decline; Eternal, IndiGo top gainers

The Indian stock market ended 1% higher on Monday, July 27, snapping a five-day losing streak, led by a strong rally in IT and banking stocks. The investor sentiment was further supported by a fall in Brent crude oil prices and a temporary pause in US military strikes in Iran.

Global benchmark Brent crude oil prices declined 7% to their intraday low of $85.32 per barrel (bbl) during the early market hours, India time, compared to $91.68 per bbl at the previous commodity market close.

Commodity market investors were reacting to reports of the United States temporarily pausing its military strikes on Iran after 13 consecutive rounds of night attacks against the West Asian country to diminish the threat it poses to commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz.

Back at home, IT stocks are buzzing on Monday as investors turn cautiously optimistic on the beaten-down sector after Q1 FY27 earnings show steady growth across the board.

Further, the banking stocks also traded with notable gains on positive global cues. Investor sentiment was further buoyed by a largely encouraging set of June-quarter earnings from financial companies, with lenders such as IDFC First Bank and AU Small Finance Bank leading the gains.

Globally, most of the Asian markets ended higher amid easing Middle East tensions. The markets are looking ahead to the Federal Reserve’s policy decision scheduled on Wednesday and earnings from several technology companies.

Japan's Nikkei rose 0.36%, China's Shanghai Composite advanced 1.14%, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index surged 1.06%.

Here are the key developments of Monday's session that you need to know

Market statistics

As many as 3,446 stocks traded on the NSE on Monday. Out of these, 2,259 advanced and 1,072 stocks declined, while 115 scrips remained unchanged.

This indicated that the market breadth was in favour of advances.

A total of 103 stocks hit their 52-week highs, while 46 stocks touched their one-year lows. Besides, 96 stocks hit their upper circuit limits, and 89 touched their lower circuit bands on Monday.

The market capitalisation of NSE-listed firms stood at ₹479.53 lakh crore at the close of the session.

India VIX, the volatility gauge, stood at 12.66 levels, declining 9.76%.

Broader market

The broader market also closed the session positive, with the Nifty Midcap 100 rising 1.11% to settle at 62,303.65, while the Nifty Smallcap 100 rose 1.31% to end at the 19,122.60 level.

Sectoral watch

All the sectoral indices ended in green, with NIFTY IT taking the lead, climbing 2.34%, followed by NIFTY Realty (2.28%), NIFTY Pharma (1.56%), NIFTY Auto (1.6%) and NIFTY FMCG (1.04%).

Top gainers and losers

On the NIFTY50 index, 43 stocks closed higher, while only 7 declined by the end of the session.

Eternal was the most contributing stock, surging 5.61%, followed by IndiGo operator InterGlobe Aviation (5.12%), Infosys (3.59%), Bajaj Finance (3.57%) and Max Healthcare (3.3%).

On the flip side, ONGC (-4.17%), HDFC Life Insurance (-0.44%), HDFC Bank (-0.34%), Coal India (-0.09%), Power Grid (-0.09%), Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories (-0.06%) and Adani Ports (-0.03%) were the only losers on the 50-share index.