SENSEX, NIFTY50 open on a flat note; Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv among top gainers while IT stocks snap win streak

At 9:15 am, the benchmark NIFTY50 index opened 0.18% or 44 points higher at 24,361.45 points, compared to 24,317.15 points at the previous stock market close, according to NSE data.

Meanwhile, the BSE SENSEX index opened around 0.09% or 70.51 points higher at 77,998.66 points on Friday’s market, in comparison to 77,928.15 points at the previous equity market close, as per the exchange data.

After the stock market open, NIFTY50 declined to trade 0.03% lower at 24,309.40 points on July 31, while the BSE SENSEX was trading 0.14% lower at 77,820 points during the early market hours.

Before the opening bell, the GIFT NIFTY futures in Gandhinagar were trading 62 points higher at 24,420 points, indicating a higher open for the benchmark indices on Friday’s market.

With crude oil prices now trading range-bound around $85-87 per barrel, investors are now monitoring other global market cues like foreign investment flow, stock and sector-specific approach amid the ongoing earnings season, and the trading cues from the Asian markets.

Sectors like Nifty India Defence, Nifty Media, and Nifty Capital Markets were trading higher, while others like Nifty IT, Nifty FMCG, and Nifty Oil & Gas were trading lower on Friday’s morning market hours.

Top gainers & losers in early market

Stocks like Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv, Shriram Finance, Mahindra & Mahindra, Bharat Electronics (BEL), and SBI Life Insurance were among the top gainers in the early market hours on Friday, July 31.

Bajaj Finance was up 6.2%, Bajaj Finserv was up 4%, Shriram Finance was up 2.6%, Mahindra & Mahindra was up 2.5%, BEL was up 0.9%, and SBI Life Insurance was up 0.7% during the morning market hours.

While IT stocks like TCS, Infosys, Wipro, HCL Technologies, Tech Mahindra, and other stocks such as ONGC, Adani Enterprises and Nestle India were among the top laggards on Friday’s market.

TCS lost 3%, Infosys lost 3%, Wipro lost 2.1%, HCL Tech lost 1.7%, Tech Mahindra lost 0.9%, ONGC lost 1.2%, Adani Enterprises lost 0.4%, and Nestle India lost 0.3% on July 31.

NSE data showed that out of the 50 stocks listed on the benchmark NIFTY50 index, 28 stocks were trading in the green territory, while 22 stocks were down in the red as of the morning market hours.

Why did IT stocks decline today?

Although there was strong momentum from the Asian markets after global tech major Microsoft’s strong Q2 earnings performance, the Indian IT stocks were witnessing profit-booking cues after a 5-day rally on the Indian market.

NSE data showed that the sectoral benchmark, Nifty IT index, crashed 3.7% to its intraday low after the opening bell of 30,034 points on Friday’s market, compared to 31,194.55 points at the previous equity market close.

Asian markets today

Stocks in Asia rallied on Friday’s market after Microsoft recorded strong Q2 results, indicating that the company’s big spending on artificial intelligence (AI) is translating into profits, somewhat easing investor fears.

MarketWatch data showed that South Korea's KOSPI rallied over 14% on Friday, Japan's Nikkei 225 surged 4%, and China's Shanghai Composite index advanced 0.7%. While Hong Kong's Hang Seng declined 0.2%, and Singapore’s FTSE was down 0.8% on July 31.