Indian Markets Fall for Fourth Straight Session; Nifty Ends Below 23,800, Sensex Loses 394 Points

Indian benchmark indices extended their losing streak to a fourth consecutive session on Thursday, July 23. The Sensex fell 394 points to close at 76,365, while the Nifty ended 127 points lower at 23,870, slipping below the 23,800 mark during intraday trading. The Nifty Bank shed 535 points to settle at 56,592.

Market breadth remained weak, with declining stocks outnumbering advancers by a ratio of 2:1. Financial stocks stayed under pressure amid weakness in the rupee and rising bond yields. The rupee closed unchanged at 96.57 against the US dollar.

Brent crude rose to $98 per barrel, adding further pressure on the markets. India imports more than 80% of its crude oil requirements, making elevated oil prices a structural concern for the country's import bill, inflation trajectory, and current account balance. Elevated crude prices weighed on paint companies, oil marketing firms, and IndiGo. HPCL declined approximately 2–3%.

Sector Performance

The Nifty Auto index was among the top-performing sectoral indices, rising over 200 points. Two-wheeler stocks outperformed, with Bajaj Auto emerging as the top Nifty gainer. Other notable auto gainers included Hero Motocorp (up 3.84%), Bajaj Auto (up 2.46%), Mahindra & Mahindra (up 1.72%), Bosch (up 1.58%), and Samvardhana Motherson (up 1.33%).

Notable Stock Movers

Among individual stocks, SBI Life rose nearly 3% ahead of its quarterly earnings, while NTPC Green gained 6% after releasing its results. Ujjivan Small Finance Bank jumped over 5% after raising its FY27 return on assets (RoA) guidance to 1.8–2%, up from 1.6% previously. Tips Music rebounded 8%.

Dr. Reddy's Laboratories hit a fresh 52-week low of ₹1,101.00, declining 2.35% from the previous close of ₹1,182.80. The stock opened lower and touched a morning high of ₹1,163.80. Over the past month, shares have fallen 6.56%. Trading volume stood at 46.95 lakh shares. The stock has closed in positive territory in only 2 of the last 10 sessions.

SRF tumbled 8% after warning that Q2 and Q3 performance could be weaker than Q1. IndusInd Bank fell 6% despite reporting healthy Q1 earnings, as cautious management commentary weighed on sentiment. Petronet LNG declined nearly 4% following reports that QatarEnergy was preparing to extend an LNG force majeure. Oracle Financial Services ended flat amid reports that Oracle Corp may reduce its stake.

Adani Enterprises shares fell nearly 3%, making it the top laggard on the Nifty 50.

Cipla hit its day's low following weak Q1 earnings but recovered nearly 3% in the last hour of trade to turn flat.

PVR Inox shares rose as much as 3.5% after the multiplex operator announced a return to profitability for the June quarter, driven by increased revenues and improved operating performance. The stock surged over 2% from its intraday lows following the results announcement.

Q1 Earnings Results

PVR Inox reported a net profit of ₹56.5 crore, compared to a loss of ₹54.5 crore year-on-year. Revenue rose 11.9% to ₹1,622 crore from ₹1,450 crore (YoY). EBITDA climbed 30.8% to ₹528 crore versus ₹403.5 crore (YoY), with margins expanding to 32.5% from 27.8% (YoY).

PVR Inox Managing Director Ajay Bijli, speaking on CNBC-TV18, noted that there were no blockbuster movies this quarter and that out-of-home entertainment drove Q1 momentum, with regional films performing well. He said the momentum is not specific to movies, as out-of-home entertainment is gaining broader traction. Bijli expects the August 15 weekend to provide a significant boost for cinemas. FIFA ATP events saw ticket prices above ₹400, with footfalls exceeding 60,000 people. He emphasized positioning the company as an out-of-home entertainment destination, with non-movie content expected to contribute 3% of sales this year, up from 1.5% last year.

Ujjivan Small Finance Bank reported a net profit of ₹316.5 crore, up from ₹103.2 crore (YoY). Net interest income (NII) rose 39% to ₹1,187 crore from ₹856 crore (YoY). Gross NPA improved to 2.16% from 2.26% (QoQ), while net NPA declined to 0.34% from 0.43% (QoQ).

Coromandel International posted Q1 results with profit down 24.6% at ₹381 crore versus ₹505 crore (YoY). Revenue rose 15.9% to ₹8,165 crore from ₹7,042 crore (YoY). EBITDA fell 3.4% to ₹756 crore from ₹782 crore (YoY), with margins at 9.3% compared to 11.1% (YoY).

Mahindra Lifespaces reported a net profit of ₹85.53 crore, down 5% from ₹90 crore (QoQ). Revenue rose 44% to ₹962.13 crore from ₹669 crore (QoQ). EBITDA stood at ₹94.4 crore, compared to an EBITDA loss of ₹44.4 crore (QoQ), with a margin of 9.8%.

Solara Active Pharma Sciences reported a 55% increase in net profit to ₹16.3 crore from ₹10.5 crore (YoY). Revenue grew 19.7% to ₹382 crore from ₹319 crore (YoY). EBITDA rose 10% to ₹62.6 crore from ₹57 crore (YoY), with margins at 16.4% versus 17.8% (YoY).

Vishal Mega Mart reported net profit up 26% at ₹259 crore versus ₹206 crore (YoY). Revenue rose 18.7% to ₹3,727 crore from ₹3,140 crore (YoY). EBITDA increased 18.7% to ₹545 crore from ₹459.5 crore (YoY), with margins flat at 14.6% (YoY).

Novartis India posted a 16.6% rise in profit to ₹32.2 crore from ₹27.6 crore (YoY). Revenue grew 18.6% to ₹103.8 crore from ₹87.6 crore (YoY). EBITDA climbed 28.2% to ₹34.9 crore from ₹27.2 crore (YoY), with margins at 33.6% versus 31.1% (YoY).

IRB InvIT reported profit down 20.2% at ₹79.44 crore versus ₹99.60 crore (YoY). Revenue grew 66.4% to ₹474.63 crore from ₹285.20 crore (YoY). EBITDA rose 54.5% to ₹378.70 crore from ₹245.08 crore (YoY), with margins at 79.8% compared to 85.9% (YoY).

Corporate Developments

Critical minerals and advanced manufacturing platform NAN GreenMet announced the establishment of India's first fully integrated high-performance neodymium-iron-boron (NdFeB) magnet and rare earth magnet manufacturing facility, with an initial investment of approximately ₹1,250 crore. NdFeB magnets are critical components in electric vehicles, wind turbines, and consumer electronics, and India currently relies heavily on imports, predominantly from China, for rare earth materials.

Adani Group is seeking relaxation of airline entry rules and has expressed interest in launching its own airline, with a joint venture option also being explored. The proposed airline business is expected to be housed under the group's defence vertical, and a response from the Airports Authority of India (AAI) is awaited.

Life Insurance Sector

The five listed life insurance companies in India—SBI Life Insurance, HDFC Life Insurance, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance, Max Financial Services, and Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC)—are significantly larger now than at the time of their initial public offerings (IPOs). However, despite business growth, their valuations remain substantially lower.

Pharma R&D Commentary

Speaking to CNBC-TV18, Boston Consulting Group (BCG) noted that Indian pharma has supplied 60% of US generics over the years. The building blocks for pharma R&D in India are falling into place, with patent filings increasing fourfold to 2,995. Glenmark was cited as having successfully out-licensed its molecule. BCG indicated that further work is needed to strengthen the R&D supply chain, noting that the US spends $70–75 billion on R&D while India spends $2–3 billion.

Analyst Recommendations

Vinay Rajani, Senior Technical Research Analyst at HDFC Securities, recommended selling Bharat Electronics with a target price of ₹390 and a stop loss of ₹408. At 1:49 pm, the stock was trading at ₹401.60, with shares unchanged over the past year.

Manish Hathiramani, Proprietary Trader and Technical Analyst at Deen Dayal Investments, recommended buying Bajaj Finserv with a stop loss of ₹1,810 and a target of ₹2,000, and buying Eternal with a stop loss of ₹270 and a target of ₹320.

Upcoming: Infosys Q1 Results

Bengaluru-based Infosys Ltd. is scheduled to release its June quarter results after market hours on Thursday, July 23. As one of India's largest IT services exporters, Infosys is among the first major players in the sector to report, and its results and management commentary on demand trends are closely watched for signals on the broader IT services industry. According to a CNBC-TV18 poll, rupee revenue is expected to increase 4.4% year-on-year, while US dollar revenue is projected to grow 1.7% sequentially to $5,127 million.

Source: CNBC-TV18