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Indices snap 2-day losing streak, Nifty settles above 25,050; VIX slumps 1.66%

21-Jul-25 15:49 Hrs IST

The domestic equity benchmarks ended with minor gains today, snapping a two-day losing streak, buoyed by strong Q1 earnings from heavyweights HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, and Reliance Industries, which helped counter global trade headwinds.

The Nifty settled above 25,050 mark. Financial Services, private bank and Bank shares advanced while Oil & Gas, PSU bank, and FMCG shares declined.

As per provisional closing data, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, advanced 442.61 points or 0.54% to 82,200.34. The Nifty 50 index added 122.30 points or 0.49% to 25,090.70.

In the broader market The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rallied 0.55% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index shed 0.01%.

The market breadth was negative. On the BSE, 1,961 shares rose and 2,186 shares fell. A total of 180 shares were unchanged.

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, fell 1.66% to 11.20.

Economy:

India's forex reserves fell $3.04 billion to $699.74 billion for the week ending July 4, data by the Reserve Bank of India showed on Friday.

For the week ending on July 4, foreign currency assets, a major component of the reserves, decreased $3.53 billion to $591.29 billion.

Gold reserves were up by $342 million to stand at $84.5 billion during the week, the RBI said.

The special drawing rights (SDR) were up $39 million to $18.86 billion.

As per the data, India's reserve position with the IMF was also down $107 million at $4.73 billion in the reporting week.

New Listing:

Shares of Anthem Biosciences were settled at Rs 730.35 on the BSE, representing a premium of 28.13% compared with the issue price of Rs 570.

The scrip was listed at Rs 723.10, exhibiting a premium of 26.86% to the issue price.

The stock has hit a high of Rs 746.70 and a low of Rs 723.05. On the BSE, over 39.86 lakh shares of the company were traded in the counter.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Financial Services index added 1.62% to 26,986.95. The index shed 0.26% in the previous three trading session.

ICICI Bank (up 2.82%), HDFC Bank (up 2.20%), ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company (up 2.1%), HDFC Life Insurance Company (up 1.72%) and Shriram Finance (up 1.7%) were the top gainers. Among the other gainers were Cholamandalam Investment & Finance Company (up 1.25%), Bajaj Finserv (up 1.2%), Kotak Mahindra Bank (up 1.19%), SBI Life Insurance Company (up 0.92%) and Muthoot Finance (up 0.79%) added.

On the other hand, LIC Housing Finance (down 0.8%), REC (down 0.55%) and Power Finance Corporation (down 0.08%) turned lower.

ICICI Bank rose 2.82% after the bank reported a standalone net profit of Rs 12,768.21 crore in Q1 FY26, up 15.45% as against Rs 11,059.11 crore posted in Q1 FY25. Total income increased 11.85% year on year (YoY) to Rs 51,451.81 crore in Q1 FY26.

HDFC Bank rose 2.20% after the bank's profit after tax (PAT) for the quarter ended June 2025 stood at Rs 18,155.21 crore, a growth of 12.24% over the quarter ended June 2024. Net interest income (interest earned less interest expended) for the quarter ended June 2025 grew by 5.4% to Rs 31,440 crore from Rs 29,840 crore for the quarter ended June 2024.

Meanwhile, the board has declared a special interim dividend of Rs 5 per equity share of Re 1, pre-bonus issuance.

Further, the board has approved issuance of bonus shares in the proportion of 1:1, i.e. 1 bonus equity share of Re 1 each for every 1 fully paid-up equity share held as on the record date, subject to approval of shareholders.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Reliance Industries (RIL) fell 3.29%. The company's profit after tax and share of profit/(loss) of associates & JVs increased by 76.5% year-on-year (Y-o-Y) to Rs 30,783 crore in Q1 June 2025. The company's gross revenue increased by 6% Y-o-Y to Rs 273,252 crore in Q1 June 2025.

Aarti Drugs jumped 3.70% after the company's consolidated net profit climbed 62.2% to Rs 53.91 crore on 6.3% increase in revenue from operations to Rs 590.51 crore posted in Q1 FY26 compared with Q1 FY25.

GPT Infraprojects zoomed 7.61% after the company announced that it has bagged a construction contract worth Rs 351 crore from Agra Gwalior Highway.

Dodla Dairy declined 7.74% after the company's consolidated net profit fell 3.31% to Rs 62.87 crore despite a 10.45% jump in revenue from operations to Rs 1,006.86 crore in Q1 FY26 over Q1 FY25.

City Union Bank slipped 0.12%. The bank's net profit fell 17.44% to Rs 4,115.53 crore on a 4.49% decline in total income to Rs 31,781.34 crore in Q1 FY26 over Q4 FY25.

India Cements dropped 1.22% after the company reported a consolidated net loss of Rs 132.90 crore in Q1 FY26 as against a net profit of Rs 58.47 crore posted in Q1 FY25. However, revenue from operations rose marginally by 0.2% year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 1,024.74 crore in Q1 FY26.

UltraTech Cement rose 0.49%. The cement major reported a 48.91% year-on-year (YoY) rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 2,225.90 crore for Q1 FY26, driven by strong operating performance and lower energy costs. Revenue from operations grew 13.06% YoY to Rs 21,275.45 crore.

Larsen & Toubro rose 1.05% after the company said that its wholly-owned subsidiary L&T Energy GreenTech (LTEG) will set up India's first largest green hydrogen plant at Indian Oil Corporation Ltd's (IOCL) Panipat Refinery in Haryana.

Ganesh Housing Corporation slipped 3.73% after the company's consolidated net profit declined 18.25% to Rs 93.06 crore on a 29.57% fall in net sales to Rs 150.81 crore in Q1 FY26 over Q1 FY25.

Global Markets:

European shares tumbled on Monday as investors assess a range of corporate earnings and ongoing trade negotiations between the U.S and the European Union.

Britain's unemployment rate rose to 4.7% in the three months to May, its highest since 2021.

Asian stocks ended higher after the People's Bank of China opted to leave its key loan prime rates unchanged, keeping the 1-year rate at 3.0% and the 5-year rate at 3.5%. This move provided a measure of stability in the region, even as broader market sentiment remained shaped by renewed concerns over global trade policy.

Trade developments came back into focus over the weekend following strong signals from Washington. The White House reiterated its stance on tariffs, with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick designating August 1 as the definitive deadline for countries to begin paying newly announced tariffs. Still, Lutnick added that negotiations could continue beyond that date, suggesting a potential window for ongoing dialogue.

In the U.S., major equity indices lost some ground on Friday as uncertainty around the Trump administration's trade strategy persisted. Reports indicated that President Trump remained intent on imposing a 15% to 20% levy on the European Union, even if a broader deal is reached, while the EU was said to be arguing for a 10% tariff in response. Despite continued statements from the White House about ongoing negotiations, the number of new trade deals announced remains notably lower than what Trump had promised earlier in the year.