Indian equities ended lower for a fifth straight session on Friday as Brent crude's spike above $100 a barrel on escalating West Asia tensions rattled sentiment — though the market clawed back most of a roughly 900-point intraday plunge, and banks bucked the sell-off to close in the green.

How India closed

As reported by Goodreturns, the Sensex settled at 76,059.77, down 0.43% (about 331 points), while the Nifty 50 ended at 23,767.45, also down 0.43%. Both recovered sharply from the day's lows — the Sensex had cracked nearly 900 points to an intraday trough near 75,489 — as crude cooled from its highs into the afternoon. For the week, the Nifty shed close to 2%, its worst week in over a month, with financials leading the weekly decline.

Sectors, movers & stock stories

The standout was the Bank Nifty, which bucked the trend to rise about 1.39% (to roughly 58,046, as reported), led by AU Small Finance Bank, Bank of Baroda, Union Bank and IDFC First Bank. The broader market stayed soft — the Nifty Midcap 100 and Smallcap 100 closed marginally lower, with only the Nifty Midcap 50 nudging up. Oil-sensitive names took the brunt: aviation was hit after IndiGo parent InterGlobe Aviation reported a Q1FY27 standalone net loss of about Rs 3.8 billion (versus a Rs 21.6 billion profit a year earlier), blaming jet-fuel costs from $100 crude (Equitymaster). On earnings, Tech Mahindra, Jio Financial Services and UltraTech Cement surprised positively, while Swiggy, Shadowfax and Eternal lagged.

FII & DII flows

Provisional net figures for Friday were not yet published at the time of writing. Through the week both were net sellers in the cash segment (FIIs about -Rs 819 cr and DIIs about -Rs 418 cr on 22 July, per Trendlyne), underlining the risk-off tone.

Currency & commodities

The rupee hovered near record lows around Rs 96.5-96.6 to the US dollar (Goodreturns), pressuring oil importers and airlines. Brent, which breached $100 intraday, eased back below $98 but was still up more than 12% on the week; WTI traded near $97. Gold held firm near $4,044 an ounce internationally (about Rs 14,400 per gram for 24k in India).

Global now

The mood is fragile worldwide. Wall Street's Thursday session saw the S&P 500 fall about 1.2% — its worst day in a month — and the Nasdaq 100 drop 1.9% in a tech-led sell-off (Bloomberg/CNBC); US futures were mixed on Friday as traders tried to steady. Asia closed lower: Japan's Nikkei fell about 2.7%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng about 1.2% and Shanghai about 1.6%. European markets opened mixed-to-flat, with the DAX marginally higher and the FTSE 100 slightly lower.

Economic data

In India, the RBI's weekly foreign-exchange reserves are due this evening (the prior print stood at $675.16 billion). Recent macro context: June CPI firmed to 4.38% and the RBI has held its repo rate at 5.25%. The heavier calendar is abroad and lands next week — the US Federal Reserve meets 28-29 July (decision Wednesday), followed by the first estimate of Q2 GDP and the June PCE inflation gauge on Friday 31 July, plus Consumer Confidence, durable goods and weekly jobless claims (a strong 187k last week).

Sentiment

Risk-off, but less panicky by the close. The intraday recovery and the bank rebound suggest buyers stepped in as oil retreated from triple digits — yet a weak rupee, foreign outflows and the crude-and-geopolitics overhang keep the tape defensive.

What to watch tonight & Monday

Brent's next move is the swing factor: a sustained hold above $100 would keep pressure on the rupee, importers and inflation expectations, while a slide back toward the $90s could let equities breathe. Watch the FII/DII provisional numbers after the close, tonight's Wall Street reaction to oil, and positioning into next week's Fed decision, which will set the tone for global risk appetite.

As of 4:00 PM IST, 24 July 2026. Sources: Goodreturns, Trading Economics, Equitymaster, Trendlyne, CNBC, RBI via Business Standard. Automated market wrap for discussion and education only — not investment advice. Verify before acting.