Closing Bell: Nifty 50 Extends 3-Day Winning Streak, Posts Biggest Weekly Gain Since April

The Nifty 50 and Sensex extended their winning streak to a third consecutive session on Friday, July 31, with strong buying in financial and automobile stocks outweighing weakness in information technology shares. Robust June quarter earnings from key companies supported investor sentiment, helping the benchmark indices register their biggest weekly gains since April despite rising crude oil prices.

The Nifty 50 opened at 24,361.45 and witnessed sharp volatility in early trade, slipping to an Intraday low of 24,299.70. However, buying interest strengthened during the afternoon session, lifting the index to an intraday high of 24,429.40. Although profit booking emerged at higher levels, late-session buying helped the index recover towards the 24,400 mark, indicating continued buying support at lower levels.

At the closing bell, the Nifty 50 settled at 24,383.60, up 66.45 points or 0.27 per cent, while the Sensex gained 166.49 points or 0.21 per cent to close at 78,094.64. The Bank Nifty also ended 0.21 per cent higher. With this, the benchmark indices recorded weekly gains of around 2.5 per cent, marking their strongest weekly performance since April. Meanwhile, India VIX declined 3.3 per cent to slip below the 12 mark, reflecting improving market sentiment.

For the month, both the Nifty 50 and Sensex advanced about 2.17 per cent. The gains were driven by resilient June quarter earnings, measures taken by the central bank to support the rupee and the return of foreign institutional inflows after four months. These factors helped offset concerns arising from elevated crude oil prices, which remain a key risk for India as a net energy importer.

Brent crude oil traded near USD 91 per barrel on Friday and was on track to post a monthly gain of nearly 25 per cent. The rally in oil prices followed renewed fighting between the U.S. and Iran, raising concerns over potential disruptions to energy supplies from the Middle East.

The broader market also ended higher. The Nifty Midcap 100 index rose 0.44 per cent after three sessions of losses, while the Nifty Smallcap 100 index also gained 0.44 per cent.

Sectorally, nine of the eleven major indices closed in positive territory. The Nifty Media index emerged as the top performer, rising 2.09 per cent for a third straight session. The Nifty Financial Services index gained 1.31 per cent, led by a 7 per cent rally in Bajaj Finance after the non-banking financial company reported quarterly earnings that exceeded market expectations. The Nifty Auto index climbed 1.64 per cent, supported by Mahindra & Mahindra, which surged 3.5 per cent following its Quarterly Results after gaining 2 per cent in the previous session.

In contrast, the Nifty IT index declined 1.56 per cent after a five-session rally. The weakness followed a pullback in artificial intelligence-related trades across Asian markets. Analysts believe India remains relatively insulated from the global AI investment cycle due to the limited presence of pure-play AI companies.

Among individual stocks, Hyundai Motor India jumped 8.05 per cent after several brokerages projected stronger earnings in the September quarter. Thermax recovered from its intraday low to end 1.28 per cent higher despite reporting an 83.4 per cent decline in June quarter profit, primarily due to cost overruns in an industrial infrastructure project and lower export sales.

Bajaj Finance made the largest positive contribution to the Nifty 50, adding 50.97 points to the index. Mahindra & Mahindra contributed 22.32 points, while Reliance Industries added 21.95 points. On the downside, HDFC Bank was the biggest drag, shaving 19.38 points off the index, followed by Infosys with 19.15 points and Tata Consultancy Services with 14.74 points.

Market breadth remained positive during the session. Out of 3,435 stocks traded on the NSE, 2,068 advanced, 1,255 declined and 112 remained unchanged. During the day, 93 stocks touched their 52-week highs, while 41 hit their 52-week lows. Additionally, 112 stocks were locked in their Upper Circuits, whereas 64 stocks hit their Lower Circuits.

Disclaimer: The article is for informational purposes only and not investment advice.