SENSEX and NIFTY50 open lower, dragged by Reliance Industries and Kotak Mahindra Bank

Today, Indian equity benchmark indices began the first trading session of the week on a negative note, with the NIFTY50 and SENSEX trading in the red. Similarly, the Nifty Midcap 100 and Smallcap 100 index also traded negatively in the broader markets. Additionally, Nifty FMCG was the only top gainer, while Nifty Realty was the top loser in the early trading session. The India VIX has surged by 4.23% above the 15 mark.

On Friday, July 19, 2024, foreign institutional investors (FII) bought shares worth ₹1,506.12 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DII) offloaded shares worth ₹461.56 crore.

At 09:25 am, the SENSEX was trading lower by 0.36% below the 80,300 level, while the NIFTY50 was also down by 0.39%, trading below the 24,500 level. Furthermore, Nifty Bank plunged by 0.58%, trading below the 52,000 mark.

Top triggers for Monday

Benchmark equity index extended their Friday’s fall amid a sharp decline in the shares of Reliance Industries and Kotak Mahindra Bank after they announced their first quarter results.

Apart from this, the big news is that Joe Biden drops out of the 2024 presidential race. Amidst this backdrop, expect volatility to be the hallmark. That’s because investors usually prefer stability, and such a significant political shift would result in a knee-jerk reaction in stock prices as investors seek to hedge against potential risks.

Another key development is that the People's Bank of China unexpectedly slashed key lending rates to new record lows at the July fixing to help a fragile economic recovery.

Broader indices

Looking at the broader indices, the Nifty Midcap 100 index was trading moderately lower by 0.53% below the 55,700 level, while the Nifty Smallcap 100 also plummeted by 0.81% and is trading below the 18,300 mark.

Sectoral Performance

Within the sectoral landscape, Nifty FMCG (+0.54%), is the the only major sector that is trading positively, while Nifty Realty (-1.25%), Nifty Energy (-0.96%) and Nifty Auto (-0.71%) are the sectors trading negatively.

Top Gainers and Losers

In the NIFTY50 space, Ultratech Cement (+1.68%), Nestle India (+1.08%) and HDFC Bank (+0.68%) are among the top gainers. On the other hand, Wipro (-6.86%), Kotak Bank (-3.01%) and Reliance (-2.55%) are among the top losers.

U.S. Markets

U.S. stocks extended their slump on Friday as lingering chaos from a global technical outage caused by a software glitch added uncertainty to an already anxious market.

The U.S. 10-year Treasury yields fell by 23 basis points to 4.22%, while the U.S. 2-year bond yield rose by 14 basis points to 4.51%.

Commodities

Oil prices climbed in early trade on Monday as investors monitored potential signs of an upcoming rate-cut cycle, expected to start as soon as September.

Brent crude prices increased by 48 cents, or 0.57%, to $83.10 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 42 cents, or 0.52%, to $80.55.

Stocks in F&O Ban

Stocks that are banned for trading in the F&O segment on July 22, 2024, are Balrampur Chini Mills, Bandhan Bank, GMR Airports Infrastructure, Hindustan Aeronautics, Hindustan Copper, India Cements, Piramal Enterprises, Steel Authority of India and Vedanta.