Today, July 23, 2025, the Indian stock market navigated a complex landscape of global developments and domestic factors, ultimately concluding the trading session on a positive note. Key benchmark indices, the Nifty and Sensex, showcased resilience, recovering from initial fluctuations to close higher. Investor sentiment was cautiously optimistic, bolstered by developments in international trade agreements, ongoing corporate earnings, and the persistent dynamics of institutional investment flows. While certain sectors like auto and financials led the gains, others faced selling pressure, highlighting a discerning market.
Table of Contents
- Key Market Indices Performance
- Broader Market Shows Mixed Trends
- Sector-wise Performance Highlights
- Top Stock Market News of the Day
- FII and DII Activity This Week
- IPOs, Listings, and Market Buzz
- Top Gainers (Intra-day July 23, 2025)
- Top Losers (Intra-day July 23, 2025)
- Economic and Global Factors
- What to Watch in the Coming Days
- Final Takeaway
Indian equity benchmark indices settled higher on Wednesday, July 23, 2025, demonstrating resilience despite some intraday volatility. The trading day commenced with a sense of optimism.
The Nifty 50 index began the day at 25209.2, recording a gain of +148.30 points, or +0.59%.
TheBSE Sensex started on a stronger footing at 82,726.64, rising by +539.83 points, or 0.66%.
While the benchmark indices showed strong performance, the broader market presented a relatively stable picture at close. The BSE Midcap index closed over 100 points, or 0.24%, higher at 46,858, reversing earlier indications of decline. The BSE Smallcap index closed flat at 55,215. This performance indicates a relatively stable session for the wider market segments, suggesting selective investor interest rather than a broad-based rally.
Sectoral performance on Wednesday demonstrated a clear divergence. The auto sector emerged as a strong gainer, leading the rally, driven by optimism ahead of the festive season, pre-festival inventory build-up, positive trade deal sentiment, and robust export momentum. The financial services sector also contributed significantly to the positive close.
In contrast, sectors like FMCG and Realty faced headwinds, indicating profit booking or continued cautiousness in these segments. This suggests that market movements are increasingly driven by specific industry trends and company-specific news rather than broad-based sentiment alone.
Several key domestic and global news events influenced market movements today:
- US-Japan Trade Agreement: A significant boost to investor confidence stemmed from the recent trade agreement between the United States and Japan. This deal, setting tariffs at 15% on Japanese goods instead of the previously anticipated 25%, uplifted morale across Asian markets, including India, and fostered expectations for similar trade agreements with other major economies.
- Ongoing Q1 FY26 Corporate Earnings: The Q1 FY26 corporate earnings season remained a central focus. Prominent companies that released results today included Infosys, Coforge, Dr Reddy's Laboratories, Bajaj Housing Finance, Bikaji Foods International, and Tata Consumer Products. Early results indicated improving prospects for banking and digital stocks. Tech Mahindra shares increased by 1.94% on a 30% rise in consolidated PAT. Infosys recovered by 1.5%. Paytm notably reported a profit of ₹123 crore, following two quarters of losses. However, the overall earnings landscape was mixed, with some sectors experiencing a tepid start.
- SEBI Lifts Restrictions on Jane Street Group: Shares of key capital market firms, including Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), UTI AMC, IEX, CDSL, and Motilal Oswal, gained ground after SEBI conditionally lifted trading restrictions on Jane Street Group, propelling the Nifty Capital Markets index higher.
- Mixed Global Markets: Globally, markets presented a mixed picture. Asian equities opened higher following the US-Japan trade agreement, while European markets were notably lower (DAX -1.20%, STOXX 50 -0.86%). US equities finished mixed on Tuesday, with General Motors declining and Tesla advancing. Concerns over tariffs (50% duty on copper) and fading hopes of a near-term US Federal Reserve rate cut due to persistent inflation added to global market uncertainty. Gold prices, however, reached their highest level in over five weeks.
- RBI's Cautionary Message: RBI Deputy Governor Swaminathan J delivered a cautionary message to new-age bankers, urging vigilance against emerging vulnerabilities such as cyber threats, phishing, synthetic identities, deepfakes, and third-party risks.
The activity of Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) and Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) continued to show a clear divergence:
- Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) remained net sellers in the Indian equity markets on Tuesday, July 22, withdrawing a significant ₹3,548.92 crore from equities. This extended a trend of outflows for July, with net sales exceeding ₹18,600 crore for the month so far. For the first half of July, FPIs had already pulled out ₹1,446 crore, contributing to total outflows for 2025 reaching ₹83,245 crore. Their outflows in July were largely concentrated in sectors perceived as "overheated," such as IT, FMCG, and autos. Conversely, FIIs increased their investments in services (₹2,733 crore), metals (₹1,724 crore), and capital goods (₹922 crore), signaling a strategic shift towards cyclical and infrastructure-linked sectors.
- Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) continued to provide robust support to the market by remaining strong and consistent buyers. They infused ₹5,239.77 crore into the markets on Tuesday, July 22. This marked their 12th consecutive session of buying, with DIIs making over ₹25,000 crore in net purchases so far in July. Their robust and consistent buying has been a key factor in cushioning the domestic markets against sharper falls and highlighting the increasing resilience of the Indian market.
The primary market remained active today, with new Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) opening for subscription and a new listing adding to the market's depth:
- Indiqube Spaces IPO: Public subscription opened today, July 23, 2025, and closes on July 25. This ₹700 crore mainboard issue has a price band of ₹225-₹237 per share. By 11:45 AM today, overall subscription stood at 29%, with retail investors at 1.32 times and NIIs at 22%. GMP was reported at ₹23 per share, suggesting a potential listing gain of around 9.7%.
- GNG Electronics IPO: Subscription also began today, July 23, 2025, closing on July 25. The issue size is ₹460.43 crore, with a price band of ₹225-₹237 per share. As of 1:48 PM today, the IPO was subscribed 5.17 times overall. NIIs led with 9.83 times subscription, and the retail portion was subscribed 5.88 times. QIBs subscribed 40%. GNG Electronics shares were quoting at a premium of ₹98-₹103 in the grey market, indicating a potential 41% upside.
The contrasting subscription performance of these IPOs highlights a selective investor appetite in the primary market, favoring companies with clear competitive advantages and strong growth narratives.
Upcoming IPOs for the week include: Brigade Hotel Ventures IPO (July 24-28), Shanti Gold International IPO (July 25-29), Sellowrap Industries IPO (July 25-29), Shree Refrigerations IPO (July 25-29), Patel Chem Specialities IPO (July 25-29), Repono IPO (July 28-30), Laxmi India Finance IPO (July 28-30), Sri Lotus Developers IPO (July 30 - August 1), and NSDL IPO.
- Tata Motors (Automobile)
- Current Market Price: ₹690.10
- Percentage Change: +2.48%
- Reasons: Emerged as a top gainer, part of the Nifty Auto index surge driven by optimism ahead of the festive season, pre-festival inventory build-up, positive trade deal sentiment, robust export momentum, declining raw material costs, PLI scheme tailwinds, and the government's EV push. FII interest in cyclicals also contributed.
- Shriram Finance (Financial Services - NBFC)
- Current Market Price: ₹654.05
- Percentage Change: +2.17%
- Reasons: Among top Nifty 50 gainers; likely benefited from strong fundamentals and positive analyst recommendations amidst overall market resilience in the financial services sector.
- Bharti Airtel (Telecommunications)
- Current Market Price: ₹1,943.80
- Percentage Change: +1.94%
- Reasons: A prominent gainer in the Nifty 50; supported by its high financial strength and continued positive analyst recommendations.
- Apollo Hospital (Healthcare)
- Current Market Price: ₹7,373.50
- Percentage Change: +1.75%
- Reasons: Showed significant upward movement, likely benefiting from sustained investor interest in the healthcare sector and positive company-specific developments or outlook.
- Bajaj Finance (Financial Services - NBFC)
- Current Market Price: ₹968.30
- Percentage Change: +1.65%
- Reasons: Also featured among the top Nifty 50 gainers; likely benefited from the general positive sentiment in the financial services sector and continued investor interest in robust non-banking financial companies.
- Tata Consumer Products (FMCG)
- Current Market Price: ₹1,062.60
- Percentage Change: -2.05%
- Reasons: Was a significant loser in today's trade. The stock was down ahead of its Q1 results. The broader Nifty FMCG index also closed in the red, with Tata Consumer being a notable drag.
- Hindustan Unilever (FMCG)
- Current Market Price: ₹2,450.40
- Percentage Change: -1.18%
- Reasons: Also among the top Nifty 50 losers. As a major FMCG player, it was affected by the overall weakness in the Nifty FMCG index.
- Bharat Elec (Defense/Electronics)
- Current Market Price: ₹400.20
- Percentage Change: -0.72%
- Reasons: Featured among the top Nifty 50 losers. The company has a board meeting scheduled for Q1 results on July 28, suggesting that today's decline might be due to pre-earnings caution or profit-booking after previous gains.
- UltraTech Cement (Cement/Construction Materials)
- Current Market Price: ₹12,372.00
- Percentage Change: -0.64%
- Reasons: Also listed among the top Nifty 50 losers, with its stock falling for the second consecutive session. Despite reporting strong Q1 results, this could be attributed to profit-booking after recent rallies or anticipation of a likely decline in sequential Q2 cement realisations amid the monsoon season.
- Grasim (Diversified/Chemicals)
- Current Market Price: ₹2,709.10
- Percentage Change: -0.50%
- Reasons: Featured among the top Nifty 50 decliners. While a specific reason for today's loss was not explicitly stated, it could be due to broader market sentiment affecting diversified conglomerates or profit-booking after recent movements.
Several broader economic and global factors influenced market sentiment today:
- RBI's Focus on Financial Stability: RBI Deputy Governor Swaminathan J urged new-age bankers to be vigilant against emerging vulnerabilities like cyber threats and deepfakes, highlighting the central bank's focus on maintaining financial system stability.
- India's Inflation Cools: India's year-on-year CPI inflation for June 2025 fell significantly to 2.10% (Provisional), a decline of 72 basis points from May. Food inflation dropped even sharper to -1.06% (Provisional), marking the lowest since January 2019. This is a strong positive signal, potentially offering the RBI greater flexibility in future monetary policy.
- Rising Crude Oil Prices and Depreciating Rupee: Brent crude futures saw a marginal rise of 0.29% to USD 68.79 per barrel today, with a month-to-date increase of 2.18%. Rising global oil prices inflate India's import bill, increasing demand for the US dollar and exerting depreciating pressure on the rupee. The Indian rupee slipped 2 paise to trade at 86.40 against the US dollar in early trade today, marking its fifth consecutive session of decline. This creates concerns over imported inflation.
- Mixed Global Sentiment: Fading hopes of a near-term US Federal Reserve rate cut due to persistent US inflation continued to influence global sentiment. The announcement of a 50% duty on copper added to this mixed global picture. However, the US-Japan trade agreement helped ease some broader trade tension concerns. The S&P 500 in the US set its 11th new record high for 2025 on Tuesday, indicating resilience in global equities.
As the Indian stock market closes today, investors will be keenly observing several key events and data points that could influence trading in the next session, July 24, 2025:
- Upcoming Economic Data: In India, key domestic indicators to watch include the HSBC Composite PMI Flash, HSBC Manufacturing PMI Flash, and HSBC Services PMI Flash for July. Globally, significant announcements include the European Central Bank (ECB) Interest Rate Decision, and the US will release its Initial Jobless Claims and New Home Sales data.
- Q1 Earnings Season Continues: The earnings season continues to be a primary driver for market activity, with trading expected to be largely influenced by company-specific developments. Investors will continue to assess results for earnings upgrades, particularly in banking and digital stocks.
Wednesday, July 23, 2025, saw Indian equity benchmarks demonstrate notable resilience, managing a positive close despite underlying complexities. The Sensex and Nifty reclaimed higher ground, largely driven by a positive shift in global trade sentiment and robust performance from the auto and financial sectors.
Despite persistent FII outflows, the substantial and consistent buying by Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) continued to provide a crucial stabilizing force, absorbing foreign selling pressure. While India's cooling inflation data offered a strong domestic positive, rising crude oil prices and a depreciating rupee present external challenges. The IPO market saw selective investor interest, favoring companies with compelling growth narratives.
As market participants look to tomorrow, the interplay of ongoing Q1 earnings, upcoming economic data, and key technical levels will be crucial. Investors are advised to remain vigilant, keep an eye on company-specific fundamentals and broader economic trends, and exercise caution in this evolving market landscape.