SENSEX, NIFTY50 gain for third straight session led by gains in HDFC Bank, Bharti Airtel

The Indian equity benchmarks gained for a third straight session on Friday, July 3, as sentiment investor sentiment remained bullish tracking weakness in crude prices. The SENSEX rose as much as 655 points and NIFTY50 index touched an intraday high of 24,378 led by gains in index heavyweights like HDFC Bank, Bharti Airtel, ICICI Bank, HCL Technologies, Sun Pharma, Bajaj Finance and Tata Steel.

The benchmarks, however, came off intraday highs as investors booked profits a higher levels ahead of the weekend.

The SENSEX ended 287 points higher at 77,789 and NIFTY50 index advanced 95 points to close at 24,271.

Brent crude stayed below $72 per barrel as optimism over US-Iran talks allayed supply concerns after US President Donald ‌Trump said talks in Qatar had gone well.

10 of 15 sector gauges compiled by the National Stock Exchange (NSE) ended higher led by the NIFTY Realty index's 2.2% gain. NIFTY IT, Pharma, Metal and Healthcare indices rose between 0.76% and 1.8%.

On the flip side, PSU bank, auto and banking indices ended lower.

Broader markets ended on a subdued note as NIFTY Midcap 100 index declined 0.2% and NIFTY Smallcap 100 index ended on a flat note.

Among the individual shares, Sumitomo Chemical rose as much as much as 11% to hit an intraday high of ₹488.50 after the company in its annual report said that Sumitomo Chemical India delivered stable performance despite a year marked by climatic challenges, including prolonged and excess rainfall across several regions, which impacted crop productivity and agrochemical consumption during critical application periods.

Union Bank of India shares slipped as much as 7.3% to an intraday low of ₹161.6 apiece after the lender shared its June quarter business updates for the fiscal year (Q1 FY27).

In a regulatory filing, the PSU bank said its total gross advances grew 12.5% from last year to ₹10.96 lakh crore, while total deposits increased 3.5% to ₹12.83 lakh crore on a year-on-year (YoY) basis.

Union Bank of India’s domestic deposits rose 3.5% YoY to ₹12.82 lakh crore, while CASA deposits advanced 11.7% to ₹4.5 lakh crore. Sequentially, both were down 1.8% and 2.1%, respectively.

HCL Tech was top gainer in the NIFTY50 index, the stock rose 5.74% to close at ₹1,140 after the IT major announced a strategic partnership worth an estimated $1.14 billion with a Europe-headquartered Fortune Global 50 company.

Max Healthcare, Sun Pharma, Dr Reddy's Labs, Bajaj Finserv, Apollo Hospitals, Bharti Airtel, Ultratech Cement and tech Mahindra also rose between 1.6% and 2.2%.

On the other hand, Axis Bank, State Bank of India, Larsen & Toubro, Bajaj Auto, Adani Ports, Kotak Mahindra Bank and HDFC Life were top losers in the NIFTY50 index.

The overall market breadth was neutral as 1,823 shares ended higher while 1,513 closed lower on the NSE.