Sensex Up 63 Points, Nifty 50 Settles Above 25200 Amid Absence Of Fresh Triggers

Stock Market Today: The domestic equity market traded in a tight range on July 16 amid the absence of any major triggers, with benchmark indices closing at almost unchanged levels. The Sensex closed higher by 63.57 points, or 0.08 per cent, at 82,634.48, and the Nifty 50 climbed a meagre 16.25 points, or 0.06 per cent, to settle at 25,212.05.

The broader market mirrored the cautious tone, with the Nifty Smallcap 100 gaining 0.03 per cent and the Nifty Midcap 100 rising just 0.01 per cent. The Nifty 500 index, which represents more than 92 per cent of the free-float market capitalisation of all the NSE-listed stocks, gained 0.10 per cent. However, the Nifty Microcap 250, which tracks the performance of the top 250 stocks by market capitalisation beyond the Nifty 500 constituents, climbed 0.44 per cent.

On the sectoral front, Nifty PSU Bank emerged as the top performer, rising 1.81 per cent during the day, followed by Nifty Media, which gained 1.31 per cent. Nifty IT rose 0.63 per cent, Nifty Realty advanced 0.50 per cent, Nifty FMCG surged 0.45 per cent, and Nifty Auto climbed 0.44 per cent.

On the other hand, Nifty Metal slid 0.54 per cent, Nifty Pharma declined 0.32 per cent, and the Nifty Healthcare slipped 0.34 per cent.

"Mixed global cues and a lacklustre start to the earnings season are keeping participants uncertain about the next directional move," said Ajit Mishra, senior vice president, research, Religare Broking.

Sensex, Nifty 50: Top Gainers And Losers

From the Sensex's 30 stocks, Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M), Tech Mahindra, State Bank of India (SBI), Infosys, Adani Ports, Asian Paints, ITC, and Axis Bank were the top gainers, while Eternal (formerly Zomato), Sun Pharma, Tata Steel, Bajaj Finance, Bharat Electronics (BEL), Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and Power Grid were the top losers.

Among the Nifty 50 stocks, M&M, Wipro, Tech Mahindra, Nestle India, SBI, Infosys, Adani Ports and Eicher Motors led the gains, and Shriram Finance, Eternal, Sun Pharma, Cipla, Tata Steel, BEL, Tata Motors, and Hero MotoCorp dragged the index.

Key Cues To Watch Tomorrow, July 17

Q1 Results: Axis Bank, Wipro, LTIMindtree, HDFC AMC, Jio Financial Services, and 32 other companies will announce their Q1 FY26 results on July 17. Investors will also react to earnings released post-market hours today.

India-US Trade Deal: US President Donald Trump earlier today hinted that a trade agreement with India could be finalised soon, ahead of the August 1 deadline

Speaking on the sidelines of the recently concluded US-Indonesia trade deal, where his administration slashed tariffs from 32 per cent to 19 per cent, Trump said, "Indonesia was great... he's a great president. We made a terrific deal; he opened up the entire country to trade with the United States. We were not allowed to go in and trade. I think something similar would happen with India and we have a couple of others..."

Any developments in this space will be closely watched by investors.

US Fed Leadership: Trump, of late, has been extremely critical of the current US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell for not cutting down on interest rates fast enough. Powell's tenure is set to be over by May 2026. Trump has been pushing to replace him, even before Powell's tenure ends.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is being considered for the role of Federal Reserve Chair, Trump confirmed earlier today, though he indicated Bessent is not among the top contenders.

Bessent has vehemently supported Trump with his rate cut views. Powell being replaced with Bessent would mean a further rate cut in the US.