Hello Readers,

Here’s the week in a recap…

Indian equities snapped their recent winning streak during the week ended July 24, 2026, weighed down by escalating geopolitical conflict between the US and Iran, Red Sea shipping risks, and Brent crude briefly crossing $100/barrel. Unlike the prior week, positive corporate earnings failed to offset macro concerns, leading to broad-based selling and higher market volatility. 

Weekly Overview

Indian equity markets experienced a sharp correction during the week ended 24 July 2026. Brent crude oil briefly crossed $100 per barrel following reports of attacks on oil tankers in the Red Sea amidst escalating conflict involving the US and Iran. Even the earnings released this week couldn’t lift investors’ sentiments like last week. 

Nifty 50 settled at 23,767.45, down 0.43% on Friday and losing 2.33% over the week, while the BSE Sensex declined by 0.43% on Friday as well to close at 76,059.77, taking its weekly loss to 2.68%.

Broader markets, however, showcased relative resilience towards Friday’s close compared to the headline indices. The Nifty Midcap 150 ended flat on Friday, with a decline of just 0.09% and 1.23% over the week, while the Nifty Smallcap 250 dipped close to 0.3% on Friday, taking its total weekly loss to 2.23%. 

Market volatility rose across the session, with India VIX rising to 14.03, up around 6.7% over the week, reflecting rising investor caution and expectations of near-term price swings.

Weekly Performance of Key Indices

(Source: NSE, BSE)

Key Market Triggers

  • Crude Oil Surge Above $100: Brent crude climbed back above $100 per barrel for the first time in months due to Middle East geopolitical risks and threats to critical energy shipping corridors, stoking fears of import-led inflation and current account pressures for India. Having said that, on Friday, crude prices eased a little, with Brent Crude finally closing at around $98.87 per barrel while WTI Crude ended at around $90.59 per barrel on Friday. 
  • Rupee Depreciates Further: The Indian Rupee weakened to ₹96.57 per USD as of 24 July 2026, depreciating from around ₹96.3 per USD in the previous week. Crude price hikes played a major role in the depreciation of Indian currency during the week. 
  • FIIs Remained Net Buyers: Talking about FIIs, they turned net buyers of Indian equities during the week ended on 24 July. They bought domestic equities worth around $263 million during the week. 
  • Q1 FY27 Earnings Reactions: Stock-specific moves continued as major corporate entities announced quarterly results. Infosys trimming the lower end of its revenue growth guidance dampened broad tech sentiment earlier, while rate-sensitive sectors saw mixed reactions.

Weekly Sectoral Performance

As market sentiments were mostly negative this week, most of the sectoral indices ended in red with Nifty private bank index declining the most by over 4.3% during the period. It was closely followed by the Nifty Realty index, which lost over 4% during the week. Financial Services were under pressure as well, with Nifty Financial Services 25/50 declining over 3.1%. 

Only three sectoral indices ended in the green, but with marginal weekly gains, including Nifty Media gaining around 0.4% over the week, followed by Nifty Auto gaining around 0.44%, and Nifty FMCG gaining the highest, 0.6% at the end of the week. 

(Source: NSE)

Wrapping Up

While Indian equities faced intense global and macro headwinds this week, breaking their recent positive momentum as geopolitical tensions in the Middle East drove energy prices higher, surprisingly enough, FIIs remained net buyers during the week. While short-term volatility persists due to crude oil movements, resilient domestic investor participation (DIIs) along with FII inflows and healthy market breadth offer a cushion for long-term investors. In the upcoming week, tracking ongoing Q1 earnings announcements, crude oil price stability, and global rate signals will be critical for determining market direction.