Sensex down 650 pts, Nifty below 24,850 as auto, IT, PSU bank stocks tumble

Laggards on the index included Bajaj Finance, Shriram Finance, Bajaj Finserv, IndusInd Bank, and Bajaj Auto.

Benchmark indices Nifty and Sensex extended their losses in afternoon trade on July 25, dragged down by sharp declines in metal, auto, IT, and PSU bank stocks. Pharma was the lone bright spot, with Dr Reddy’s and Apollo Hospitals leading the gains. Broader markets also struggled, with both the Midcap and Smallcap 100 indices slipping over 1 percent.

At noon, the Sensex was down 654.81 points or 0.80 percent at 81,529.36, and the Nifty was down 223.70 points or 0.89 percent at 24,838.40. About 914 shares advanced, 2,462 shares declined, and 117 shares were unchanged.

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"The near-term market construct has turned weak. Sustained FII selling of Rs 11,572 crores in the last four trading days will weigh on the market. The weakness in the broader market, particularly in smallcaps, might continue since valuations had turned excessive and difficult to justify," V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Investments Ltd, said.

Trade deal uncertainty with the US and weak Q1 earnings from largecap names will likely have a bearing on the markets, experts say.

Markets remained under pressure on July 25, with most NSE sectoral indices trading in the red. Nifty Energy, Auto, Metal, and Smallcap indices, fell between 1.2–1.5 percent. The Nifty Bank index dropped 0.6 percent, while both the Private and PSU Bank indices also saw cuts. The IT, Consumer Durables, and Realty sectors were down around half a percent each. On the positive side, Nifty Pharma bucked the trend with a modest gain of 0.29 percent. Meanwhile, India VIX rose over 5 percent, indicating heightened market volatility.

Also read: India-UK trade deal offers British firms a major stake in Atmanirbhar Bharat

As for individual stocks, Bajaj Finance shares tumbled 6 percent in trade on Friday, after India's leading non-banking financial company reported its earnings for the quarter ended June 30, 2025. JPMorgan downgraded its rating on Bajaj Finance to 'neutral', from 'overweight' earlier. The brokerage noted that while Bajaj Finance remains a top-tier NBFC, the unexpected MSME stress and weak 2W/3W loans may lead to earnings downgrades.

After crashing almost 30 percent in the previous session, shares of Indian Energy Exchange Ltd (IEX) took a U-turn to soar over 12 percent in the early session on Friday, July 25. Indian Energy Exchange reported a standalone net profit of Rs 113 crore for the first quarter of the financial year 2026, up 21 percent from the Rs 93 crore net profit reported in the corresponding quarter of the previous financial year.

Read more: Sensex declines over 500 pts, Nifty below 24,900: Top factors behind D-St weakness

Trident Ltd. climbed as much as 7 percent after the home textiles and paper products manufacturer posted a sharp jump in quarterly profit, brushing aside a slight dip in revenue. The company’s net profit surged 89.7 percent year-on-year to Rs 140 crore in the April–June quarter. Experts say the positive momentum also stems from the India-UK FTA, which will benefit textile stocks.

Technical View

"The Nifty gave up all of Wednesday’s gains, falling 159 points to close at 25,062. On the charts, another bearish engulfing candle has formed—two in quick succession, a rare and bearish signal. Key levels are now well-defined, with 25,000 acting as crucial support and 25,245 as immediate resistance. The bears are likely to stay in control unless the index closes above 25,340. Meanwhile, Asian markets are trading weak, even as US index futures edge higher," Akshay Chinchalkar, Head of Research at Axis Securities, said.

SBI Life Insurance, Dr Reddy's, Apollo Hospitals, Sun Pharma, and Bharti Airtel were the top gainers on the Nifty. Laggards on the index included Bajaj Finance, Shriram Finance, Bajaj Finserv, IndusInd Bank, and Bajaj Auto.