Eternal, private banks lift Sensex 150 pts higher, Nifty over 25,100

Indian benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty50 opened higher on Tuesday, buoyed by strong earnings from top private lenders and Eternal (Zomato). Investors also remained cautious ahead of a potential trade deal with the US, with the August 1 deadline approaching.

The BSE Sensex was trading 193 points, or 0.24%, higher at 82,393. The Nifty50 was up 43 points, or 0.17%, trading at 25,134 around 9:20 am.

From the Sensex pack, Eternal, Trent, Tata Steel, BEL, ICICI Bank, and HDFC Bank were among the top gainers, while Infosys, UltraTech Cement, Sun Pharma, and Kotak Bank opened in the red.


Eternal hit the 10% upper circuit after reporting a 70% year-on-year jump in Q1 revenue from operations to Rs 7,167 crore, driven by strong growth in its quick commerce and food delivery segments.

On the sectoral front, Nifty Metal, Private Bank, and Oil & Gas indices opened higher, while Auto, FMCG, Pharma, Realty, and Consumer Durables traded in the red. In the broader markets, the Nifty Smallcap100 rose 0.36%, while the Nifty Midcap100 was flat.

Among individual stocks, Afcons Infra jumped 4% in early trade after the company announced it had emerged as the lowest bidder for a Rs 6,800-crore railway project in the Republic of Croatia.

Experts View

"Today's outlook remains optimistic, with bullish sentiment bolstered by positive Wall Street gains and optimism surrounding the US-India trade deal. However, concerns persist over FII selling and pressures on Fed Chair Jerome Powell, raising questions about the Federal Reserve’s independence," said Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities.

Devarsh Vakil, Head of Prime Research, HDFC Securities, said, "Nifty has been respecting the 50-day EMA support, currently placed at 24938 levels, while on the higher side, 25255 could offer immediate resistance."

Global Markets

Asian share markets held their ground near a four-year peak on Tuesday, buoyed by Wall Street's closing record high ahead of a slate of corporate earnings while investors took stock of tariff negotiations between the U.S. and its trading partners.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan hit its highest level since October 2021 in early Asian hours but was last little changed. The index is up nearly 16% this year.

Overnight, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq notched record-high closes on Monday, lifted by Alphabet and other megacaps ahead of a burst of earnings reports this week.

FII/DII Tracker

On July 21, Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) remained net sellers for the third consecutive session, offloading equities worth Rs 1,681 crore. In contrast, Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) continued their buying streak for the 11th straight day, purchasing shares worth Rs 3,578 crore.

Crude Oil

Oil prices declined on Tuesday as concerns about the brewing trade war between major crude consumers, the U.S. and the European Union will curb fuel demand growth by lowering economic activity weighed on investor sentiment.

Brent crude futures fell 52 cents, or 0.75%, to $68.69 a barrel by 0325 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was at $66.69 a barrel, down 51 cents, or 0.76%. Both benchmarks settled slightly lower on Monday.

Rupee vs Dollar

The Indian rupee rose 5 paise to 86.26 against the US dollar in early trade. The dollar index, which tracks the movement of the greenback against a basket of six major world currencies, surged 0.08% to 97.93 level.

(With inputs from agencies)