Market closing: Sensex surges 270 points on late buying; Nifty closes at 25,522

Driven by firm global cues and spurt in late-day buying, the BSE Sensex gained 270 points, while the Nifty closed near 25,522 today. This upswing comes despite ongoing uncertainty over upcoming U.S. tariffs, as investor sentiment was buoyed by a mix of bargain hunting and cautious optimism in late trading sessions.

The 30-share Sensex ended 0.32% higher at 83,712.5, and the NSE Nifty50 settled rose 61.2 points, or 0.24%, to close at 25,522.50. In the broader markets, the Nifty MidCap 100 and the Nifty SmallCap 100 indices ended marginally lower, falling 0.17% and 0.29% respectively.

Financial services firm Equirus Securities expects the Indian IT services sector to witness a soft quarter despite the seasonal strength. IT companies’ earnings are expected to be mixed across the board with a very soft quarter for ER&D services companies on a QoQ basis.

Equirus expects some tweak in Infosys’s FY26 sales growth guidance. The research house prefers Infosys and Tech Mahindra amongst large caps IT companies, and Zensar, Mphasis, KPIT, eClerx amongst midcaps on a relative basis.

Shares of BSE, Nuvama, and CDSL tumbled up to 7% in intraday trade after latest data by captal market regulator showed that retail derivatives traders lost ₹1.05 lakh crore in FY25, up 41% from the ₹74,812 crore lost in FY24. The number of unique individual traders in the EDS declined significantly, from around 61.4 lakh in Q1 FY25 to around 42.7 lakh in Q4 FY25.

Shares of Kotak Mahindra Bank surged over 4% on July 8 after its Q1FY26 business update exceeded investor expectations. The private lender reported a 14% year-on-year and 4.2% sequential rise in total advances, taking its loan book to ₹4.45 lakh crore. Deposits grew 14.6% YoY and 2.8% QoQ to ₹5.13 lakh crore, largely in line with analyst forecasts.

While overall performance was robust, current and savings account (CASA) deposits dipped 2.2% sequentially, although they still posted a 7.9% annual increase. The CASA ratio fell to 41% from 43% in the previous quarter. Still, loan growth outpaced industry trends, pushing the credit-to-deposit (CD) ratio to 86.7% from 85.5% in Q4FY25—a sign of improving credit momentum.

By 1:30 PM IST, shares of Kotak Mahindra Bank were trading at ₹2,220.20, up ₹70.40 or 3.27% for the day.

Indian equities traded range-bound on Tuesday in a subdued session, weighed down by global uncertainty after former U.S. President Donald Trump announced new tariffs on multiple countries. Investor sentiment remained cautious, with markets awaiting clarity on the progress of India-U.S. trade negotiations. Shares of Titan slipped 5%, dragging the broader indices.

Shares of Sobha Ltd. are in the spotlight on Tuesday after the real estate company reported that its sales for the April–June quarter crossed ₹2,000 crore for the first time in its history. In an operational update, the company said it had achieved a new milestone in quarterly sales value, signalling strong demand and robust execution.

As of Tuesday, Sobha’s stock was trading at ₹1,509 on the NSE, down 0.46% for the day.

The announcement of unilateral tariffs on 14 countries, excluding India, along with President Trump’s comment that “we are close to a deal with India” signals that a formal India-US trade agreement may be imminent, said VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments. However, this development appears to be largely priced in by the markets, he said.

“The market is unlikely to break the 25200- 25500 range soon. Resilience within this range is strong. In the coming days market reaction will be stock-specific in response to the Q1 results,” he said.

The key market focus now shifts to the specifics of the deal, particularly the potential sectoral impact, including on pharmaceuticals, where tariff decisions could influence key Indian exporters. The market’s near-term reaction will hinge on the clarity and scope of these sectoral provisions.

Titan was the top loser on the Sensex index, falling over 4%. This was followed by losses in HCL Tech, Sun Pharma, M&M, Trent and Reliance Industries.

On the other hand, Kotak Mahindra Bank was the top performer, followed by Eternal, Bharat Electronics, NTPC, Tata Motors, and Bajaj Finance.

The Indian equity benchmarks, BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty, opened marginally lower today, tracking mixed cues from global peers amid tariff uncertainties.

Technically, a small candle on the daily chart and non-directional activity on the intraday chart indicate indecision between the bulls and bears, said Shrikant Chouhan, Head Equity Research, Kotak Securities.

“We believe 25,500/83500 would act as an immediate breakout zone for traders. Above this level, the market could rise towards 25,600/83700–25,670/84000. On the other side, below 25,400/83250, we may see a quick intraday correction towards 25,300/83000. Further weakness may continue, potentially dragging the market towards 25,225/82800. The current market pattern is non-directional; hence, level-based trading would be the ideal strategy for day traders.”

“For Bank Nifty, the 20-day SMA (Simple Moving Average) at 56,500 is a crucial level to watch out for. Below this, Bank Nifty could drop to 56,200-56,000. On the other hand, above 57,200, the outlook for reaching 57,500-57,800 remains bright,” he said.