Indian markets opened lower for a third straight session on Thursday, with the Nifty 50 slipping below the psychologically important 24,000 mark as escalating US-Iran tensions pushed crude oil higher and foreign investors continued to pull money out of Indian equities. Here’s everything you need to know about markets this morning.
📈 Indian Stock Market Today
The Nifty 50 opened at 23,904.80, down 0.39%, while the Sensex fell 0.31% to 76,515.10 in early trade. This follows a sharp decline in Wednesday’s session, when the Sensex tumbled 715.06 points (0.92%) to close at 76,755.05 and the Nifty dropped 191.45 points (0.79%) to 23,996.25 — the benchmarks’ worst single-day performance since April 22. Gift Nifty futures were trading near 23,887, a discount of roughly 101 points, signalling a cautious start. Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) extended their selling streak, while Brent crude’s climb toward multi-week highs has kept sentiment fragile ahead of a busy earnings week.
₿ Crypto Market Update
Bitcoin is trading around $66,355 (₹64.16 lakh), while Ethereum sits near $1,873.41 (₹1.85 lakh), with both majors holding steady after a risk-on bounce earlier this week. Crypto markets have broadly tracked the same geopolitical and rate-cut-expectation swings hitting equities, with traders watching for any spillover from oil-driven inflation worries into risk assets.
💰 Today’s Key Rates at a Glance
| Asset | Price | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Nifty 50 | 23,904.80 | -0.39% |
| Sensex | 76,515.10 | -0.31% |
| Bitcoin (BTC) | ₹64.16L / $66,355 | Range-bound |
| Ethereum (ETH) | ₹1.85L / $1,873.41 | Range-bound |
| Gold (24K, 10g) | ₹1,46,520 | MCX futures -0.31% |
| Silver (1kg) | ₹2,40,000 | MCX futures +0.24% |
| USD/INR | ₹96.53 | -0.03% |
| Crude Oil (Brent) | $87.91 | -1.5% from prior close |
📰 Top 5 Financial News Stories This Morning
- Sensex, Nifty extend losses as Iran-linked tensions rattle sentiment. Domestic benchmarks fell for a third consecutive session, with the Nifty slipping under 24,000 as investors weighed the risk of a wider Middle East conflict disrupting global crude supply — a key concern for import-dependent India.
- FIIs continue selling, keeping markets on the back foot. Foreign institutional investors extended their recent selling streak in Indian equities, adding to downward pressure even as domestic institutional investors stepped in to cushion some of the fall.
- Brent crude nears multi-week highs on Middle East supply fears. Oil prices have climbed toward the $95/bbl mark on an intraday basis this week before easing, driven by fears that the US-Iran standoff could disrupt shipping and production — a direct cost pressure for Indian refiners and the rupee.
- UCO Bank posts 8% rise in Q1 net profit. The public sector lender reported a net profit of ₹656 crore for the June quarter, up from ₹607 crore a year earlier, offering a bright spot amid an otherwise cautious earnings season.
- Sotefin Bharat set to debut on BSE SME platform. The company’s shares are listing today, with grey market premium trends pointing to a largely flat debut — a signal that primary market appetite remains subdued in the current risk-off environment.
🔍 What to Watch Today
Investors will track any fresh headlines out of the US-Iran situation for cues on crude oil direction, along with FII/DII flow data due after market close. On the earnings front, results season continues to build momentum, with heavyweight names including Infosys, Dr Reddy’s, Coforge and Tata Consumer among those reporting in the days ahead. Overnight, Wall Street closed mixed — the Dow edged up 0.05% to 52,250 while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq slipped 0.1% and 0.5% respectively as software stocks lagged and chipmakers rebounded — with markets now awaiting big-tech earnings from Microsoft, Meta and Amazon for signals on whether AI capex is translating into returns.
Data sourced from live market feeds. Last updated: 8:00 AM IST, 23 July 2026. This is for informational purposes only and not investment advice.
Related posts:
