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Sensex fell 332 points to close at 76,059.77, while Nifty 50 declined 102 points to end the session at the 23,767 mark during Friday's trading session. Broader markets also saw a sharp recovery after a crash in the morning trading hours, with the Nifty Midcap 50 index closing in the green.
Here's how analysts read the market pulse
Market sentiment is likely to remain under pressure in the near term, as sustained oil prices in a higher range could begin to adversely impact key macroeconomic indicators and growth dynamics, said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Investments. He noted that the US 10-year yield has climbed to a 52-week high despite crude oil trading well below its crisis-era peak, reflecting the bond market's concerns over energy-led inflation risks, resilient labour market conditions, and a persistently hawkish Fed.
"These factors have pushed the implied probability of a rate hike in September. Washington’s new tariffs on imports added another headwind for export-driven economies, with technology-heavy markets having been hit the most, as higher rates weigh on growth and investors are increasingly seeking to diversify their concentrated exposure to other emerging market opportunities. Bank Nifty outperformed, supported by favourable valuations and credit growth outlooks," he added.
US stocks
The Nasdaq declined on Friday as a sell-off in chip stocks weighed on sentiment, driven by growing investor concerns over the scale of spending on artificial intelligence ahead of key megacap earnings. The S&P 500 ended largely flat, with weakness in the technology index offsetting broader support from lower oil prices despite ongoing Middle East tensions.
Investor enthusiasm for Big Tech also softened after Alphabet signalled plans to increase capital expenditure, intensifying worries about sustained cash burn in AI. Market participants are now cautious as they await earnings from Microsoft, Amazon, Meta and Apple, with rising scrutiny on the returns from heavy AI investments.
European markets
European markets closed higher, with the pan-European STOXX 600 rising 0.8%, recovering from the previous session’s decline and marking a second straight week of gains. The uptick was supported by easing oil prices, which provided some relief to equities.
However, sentiment remained cautious as bond yields stayed elevated amid inflation concerns. The European Central Bank kept rates unchanged, while markets continue to price in a strong probability of a rate hike in September, even as economic data from Germany and France showed signs of improvement.
Tech view
"The Nifty slipped from the consolidation on the daily chart on Thursday, with follow-up selling taking the index to 23,600 on Friday. Besides, the index has fallen below the 50 EMA as well, confirming a new downtrend for the short term. Immediate support is placed at 23,600. A fall below 23,600 might trigger a severe correction, as investors would be running away, putting the Nifty at greater downside risk. On the higher end, 24,000 will become the line of polarity. Unless the Nifty moves higher to reclaim 24,000, the broader trend is likely to remain weak," said Rupak De, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities.
Most active stocks in terms of turnover
Infosys (Rs 2,991 crore), Bajaj Finance (Rs 1,864 crore), HDFC Bank (Rs 1,770 crore), ICICI Bank (Rs 1,553 crore), IndiGo (Rs 1,423 crore), SBI (Rs 1,392 crore) and RIL (Rs 1,251 crore) were among the most active stocks on NSE in value terms. Higher activity in a counter in value terms can help identify the counters with the highest trading turnovers during the day.
Most active stocks in volume terms
Vodafone Idea (traded shares: 38.28 crore), Yes Bank (traded shares: 5.38 crore), Suzlon Energy (traded shares: 4.53 crore), Ola Electric (traded shares: 4.05 crore), Eternal (traded shares: 3.7 crore), Canara Bank (traded shares: 3.67 crore) and JP Power (traded shares: 3.45 crore) were among the most actively traded stocks in volume terms on NSE.
Stocks showing buying interest
Action Construction Equipment, KPIT Tech, PVR Inox, RR Kabel, Atul, Tata Elxsi and Dr Lal Pathlabs were among the stocks that witnessed strong buying interest from market participants.
52-week high
Among the stocks that hit their 52-week highs on NSE were Laurus Labs, Nuvama Wealth Management, Lloyds Metals and Sona BLW Precision.
Stocks seeing selling pressure
Stocks that witnessed significant selling pressure included Go Digit General Insurance, Motilal Oswal, Syrma SGS, Ami Organics, ITD Cementation, HFCL and Chennai Petro.
52-week low
Among the stocks that hit their 52-week lows were Go Digit General Insurance, UTI AMC, IndiaMART, KEC, RVNL, RIL and IRFC.
Sentiment meter favours bears
Out of the 3,425 stocks that traded on the NSE on Friday, July 24, 1,702 advanced, 1,595 declined, while 128 remained unchanged.
(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times.)
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Top Trending Stocks: SBI Share Price, Axis Bank Share Price, HDFC Bank Share Price, Infosys Share Price, Wipro Share Price, NTPC Share Price
(What's moving Sensex and Nifty Track latest market news, stock tips, Budget 2025, Share Market on Budget 2025 and expert advice, on ETMarkets. Also, ETMarkets.com is now on Telegram. For fastest news alerts on financial markets, investment strategies and stocks alerts, subscribe to our Telegram feeds .)
Subscribe to ET Prime and read the Economic Times ePaper Online.and Sensex Today.
Top Trending Stocks: SBI Share Price, Axis Bank Share Price, HDFC Bank Share Price, Infosys Share Price, Wipro Share Price, NTPC Share Price
Facts Only
* Sensex closed at 76,059.77, falling 332 points.
* Nifty 50 declined 102 points to end the session at 23,767.
* Nifty Midcap 50 index closed in the green.
* Market sentiment is likely to remain under pressure due to sustained oil prices impacting macroeconomic indicators and growth dynamics.
* The US 10-year yield reached a 52-week high.
* Washington's new tariffs added a headwind for export-driven economies.
* The Nasdaq declined due to a sell-off in chip stocks related to AI spending concerns.
* The pan-European STOXX 600 rose 0.8%.
* Immediate support for the Nifty is placed at 23,600.
* Stocks like Infosys, Bajaj Finance, HDFC Bank, and ICICI Bank were among the most active in value terms by turnover.
* Vodafone Idea, Yes Bank, Suzlon Energy, Ola Electric, Eternal, Canara Bank, and JP Power were among the most actively traded stocks in volume terms.
* Laurus Labs, Nuvama Wealth Management, Lloyds Metals, and Sona BLW Precision hit their 52-week highs.
* Go Digit General Insurance, UTI AMC, IndiaMART, KEC, RVNL, RIL, and IRFC hit their 52-week lows.
Executive Summary
The Sensex fell 332 points to close at 76,059.77, and the Nifty 50 declined 102 points to end the session at 23,767 on Friday. The Nifty Midcap 50 index closed in the green following a morning crash. Analysts suggest near-term market sentiment will remain under pressure due to sustained high oil prices potentially impacting macroeconomic indicators and growth dynamics. This is linked to the US 10-year yield hitting a 52-week high, reflecting concerns over energy-led inflation risks and persistent hawkish Federal Reserve stance.
In the technology sector, selling pressure was noted in chip stocks, driven by investor concerns regarding the scale of AI spending. While European markets saw a slight recovery, supported by easing oil prices, sentiment remained cautious due to elevated bond yields amid inflation worries. Technical analysis suggests a new short-term downtrend for the Nifty, with immediate support at 23,600 and 24,000 acting as polarity lines. Most active stocks in turnover included large financial and IT service companies, while volume activity was seen in energy and banking stocks.
Full Take
The narrative presented juxtaposes immediate market volatility with deeper, structurally driven macroeconomic headwinds, particularly concerning energy prices and monetary policy expectations. The pattern emerging is one where short-term market indices reflect speculative risk (e.g., Nifty's technical downtrend) while underlying macro factors—like interest rate sensitivity, oil dependency, and AI investment cycles—suggest a more protracted period of cautious movement. The focus on US yield strength and the implied probability of September rate hikes indicates that investor positioning is heavily weighted toward managing inflation risk over immediate growth impulses.
A key implication is the divergence between broad market caution and specific sector performance; while the broader indices showed weakness, the Bank Nifty outperformed, suggesting relative strength in credit-growth-focused segments despite broader uncertainty. The technical warning placed at 23,600 suggests that momentum shifts can be abrupt, implying a potential for sharp corrections if established support is breached, which aligns with investor fear of sustained cash burn in high-growth technology areas. The pattern suggests that superficial recovery (like European gains) is easily overridden by entrenched macroeconomic concerns regarding inflation and geopolitical energy flows.
The missing element is a deeper mapping of the feedback loop between specific industrial output, commodity pricing, and the long-term fiscal implications of rate hikes on emerging market growth versus developed market AI investment expenditure. What questions remain unanswered are how persistent oil price ranges translate into actual GDP divergence across different economies, and whether current investor diversification efforts genuinely mitigate systemic risk or merely shift exposure.
Sentinel — Human
The text appears to be a synthesis of real-time financial reporting, mixing objective market statistics with expert commentary on macroeconomic factors and technical trends.