Indian equity benchmark indices began the last trading session of the week on a negative note, with both NIFTY50 and SENSEX trading in the red. The Nifty Midcap 100 and Smallcap 100 indices also saw losses in the broader markets. Nifty IT emerged as the top gainer, while Nifty Metal was the top loser in the early trading session.
The India VIX remained flat but traded above the 14.4 mark. Nifty started cautiously below the dotted lines after Wall Street experienced a significant drop, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq falling for the second consecutive day. Currently, the biggest risk to global stock markets has shifted from inflation to excessive optimism in Indian markets and rising geopolitical risks.
Donald Trump, the frontrunner for November's election, made headlines by stating Taiwan should pay the U.S. for protection and accused Taiwan of stealing America's semiconductor business. On Thursday, July 18, 2024, foreign institutional investors bought shares worth ₹5,483.63 crore, while domestic institutional investors sold shares worth ₹2,904.25 crore.
At 09:25 am, the SENSEX was down 0.17%, trading below the 81,300 level, and the NIFTY50 was down 0.27%, trading below the 24,800 level. The Nifty Bank plunged 0.52%, trading below the 52,300 mark. In broader indices, the Nifty Midcap 100 was down 1.02%, trading below the 56,600 level, and the Nifty Smallcap 100 fell 0.88%, trading below the 19,700 mark.
The Sectoral performance saw Nifty IT (+0.33%) and Nifty FMCG (+0.8%) trading positively, while Nifty Realty (-1.1%), Nifty Metal (-1.12%), and Nifty Energy (-1.01%) traded negatively. In the NIFTY50 space, Infosys (+3.6%), LTIMindtree (+1.13%), and HCL Technologies (+0.91%) were top gainers, while Power Grid Corporation (-2.17%), BPCL (-1.74%), and Tata Steel (-1.42%) were top losers.
On July 18, U.S. stocks tumbled as investors moved away from high-priced mega-cap growth stocks amid the second-quarter earnings season, with the Dow suffering the most. U.S. 10-year Treasury yields rose by 28 basis points to 4.19%, while the 2-year bond yield remained flat at 4.47%.
Oil prices also declined, with Brent crude down 0.6% to $84.50 a barrel and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures falling 0.9% to $82.10 a barrel. Stocks banned for trading in the F&O segment on July 19, 2024, include Balrampur Chini Mills, Bandhan Bank, GMR Airports Infrastructure, Gujarat Narmada Valley Fertilizers & Chemicals, Hindustan Aeronautics, Hindustan Copper, Piramal Enterprises, RBL Bank, Steel Authority of India, and Vedanta.
