Nifty slips below 23,700 as crude spike, FII selling hit sentiment

Indian equities opened sharply lower on Friday, with the Sensex dropping nearly 700 points and the Nifty 50 slipping below 23,700, as Brent crude traded above $100 a barrel and foreign investors continued to sell amid weak global cues. The slide came despite a heavy Q1 earnings calendar including NTPC, Tata Consumer Products, SBI Life and Bank of Baroda, which traders expect to drive stock-specific moves later in the session.

Market overview

Index	24 Jul 2026 Open / Early Trade	Move & % Change	Comments
Sensex	approx. 75,700, 75,800	about -700 pts (approx. -0.9%)	Opened deep in the red, fifth straight weak session.
Nifty 50	below 23,700	about -170 pts (approx. -0.7%)	Broke 23,700 at open, all sectors in loss.
Bank Nifty	around 56,100, 56,200	about -400 pts (approx. -0.7%)	Extended fall after close below 200-day moving average.

• Fifth consecutive session of declines for Sensex and Nifty, according to NSE and BSE data.
• Selling pressure driven by Brent above $100, stoking inflation and rate concerns.
• Gift Nifty traded near 23,681, signalling a gap-down open versus previous Nifty close of 23,869.60.
• Domestic indices had already fallen on Thursday, with Nifty below 23,900 and Sensex at 76,391.39.

Key movers and Q1 earnings focus

Company	Segment	Notable Factor
NTPC	Power	Q1 FY27 results due today, part of four Nifty names reporting.
Tata Consumer Products	FMCG	Scheduled to report Q1 FY27 numbers, earnings reaction in focus.
SBI Life Insurance	Insurance	Q1 print eyed for VNB margin trend and premium growth.
Bank of Baroda	Banking	Q1 results today, investors tracking profit, asset quality and dividend.

• Over 80 listed companies to report Q1 FY27 results today, making it a heavy earnings day.
• Other notable reporters: Shriram Finance, Hindustan Zinc, SAIL, REC, CG Power, Jindal Steel, Bank of India, Laurus Labs, ConCor, Dalmia Bharat, Dr Lal PathLabs, KFin Technologies, New India Assurance.
• Infosys shares were down about 2% in early trade after cutting the upper end of revenue guidance and announcing a CEO transition.
• IndiGo remained in focus after reporting a second consecutive quarterly loss.
• Brokerage commentary pointed to stock-specific ideas, but index sentiment stayed risk-off.

Sectoral action

Sector/Index	Direction (approx.)	Key Drivers
Nifty IT	down	Weak US tech, AI-spend concerns, Infosys guidance cut.
Nifty Bank	down	Higher yields, crude spike, technical weakness below 200-day average.
Nifty Oil & Gas	down	Profit-taking despite higher crude, demand concerns for India.
Broad market indices	down	Risk-off mood, FII selling across large and midcaps.

• All major sectoral indices opened in the red, with no clear defensive leadership.
• Rate-sensitive sectors like banks and autos faced pressure as bond yields rose globally.
• IT stocks tracked the overnight selloff in US technology names.

Technical outlook

Statistic	Value/Change	Context
Nifty 50 key levels	Support 23,700, 23,650, resistance 23,950, 24,000	Range identified by multiple technical analysts.
Sensex key levels	Below 76,500 seen as weak; support 76,000, 75,700	Breach of 76,500 keeps downside bias.
Bank Nifty	Support 56,100, 56,000, resistance 56,900, 57,000	Trading below 200-day moving average, momentum weak.
Nifty PCR	0.68	Indicates cautious to bearish derivatives positioning.

• Nifty has slipped below its 20, 50, 100 and 200-day EMAs, signalling a deteriorating trend.
• The index is approaching a prior gap and trendline support near 23,700, 23,650.
• Analysts see potential for a bounce if these supports hold, but stress need for a move above 24,000 to revive bullish momentum.
• Bank Nifty is testing Fibonacci retracement levels around 56,540, with a break seen opening downside towards 55,900, 55,400.
• “We are of the view that as long as the market is trading below the 23,950/76,500 mark, a weak structure is likely to continue”

– Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Equity Research, Kotak Securities.

Global cues and macro backdrop

Market/Asset	Movement	Notes
Brent crude	above $100, 2‑month high	Supply fears from Red Sea attacks and Middle East conflict.
WTI crude	around $92, 93, up about 6.8% in two sessions	Fuels global inflation concerns.
Dow Jones	-0.97%	Steepest fall in a month on oil, AI spending worries.
S&P 500	-1.21%	Broad US equity weakness.
Nasdaq Composite	-2.15%	Tech-led selloff, Alphabet and Tesla under pressure.
Nikkei 225 futures	expected down about 2.7%	Tracks US tech weakness and oil spike.
Kospi	down about 3, 5%	AI-spend concerns, oil above $100, trading curb triggered.
Topix, Hang Seng, Shanghai Composite	down around 1%	Region-wide risk-off sentiment.
Indian rupee	around 96.63 per US dollar	Opened weaker; traders cited RBI intervention near record low.

• US forces continued strikes on Iran, while attacks on Saudi-linked tankers in the Red Sea lifted crude.
• Rising energy prices pushed US Treasury yields higher, tightening global financial conditions.
• European equities also fell, with the STOXX 600 down as tech weakness and oil concerns weighed.
• The European Central Bank kept its key rate at 2.25%, but higher energy costs complicate the inflation path.
• Traders in the Indian FX market reported state-run banks selling dollars as the rupee neared its May record low.

Earnings-heavy session ahead

• Four Nifty 50 constituents, NTPC, Tata Consumer Products, SBI Life and Shriram Finance, are set to report Q1 FY27 results today.
• Bank of Baroda is expected to post around 13% year-on-year growth in both net interest income and net profit, according to brokerage estimates.
• For SBI Life, analysts expect Value of New Business margin near 28% and gross premium growth of 13, 14%.
• Market participants will track management commentary on demand, margins, credit costs and any interim dividends.
• Stock-specific reactions to these earnings are likely to drive intraday volatility even as macro headwinds dominate index direction.

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