The domestic equity benchmarks ended with major losses today, declining for the second day in a row. The Nifty settled below 24,850 mark. Barring the Nifty Pharma index, all sectoral indices on the NSE ended in the red.

As per provisional closing data, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, tanked 721.08 points or 0.88% to 81,463.09. The Nifty 50 index declined 225.10 points or 0.90% to 24,837. In two consecutive trading sessions, the Sensex declined 1.52% while the Nifty fell 1.51%.

The broader market underperformed the frontline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index fell 1.46% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index tanked 1.88%.

The overall market breadth was weak, with a greater number of declining stocks than advancing ones. On the BSE, 1,133 stocks advanced, 2,879 declined, and 163 remained unchanged.

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, jumped 5.15% to 11.28.

Economy:

India and the United Kingdom have taken a major step in building a stronger economic partnership with the signing of the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) yesterday under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The agreement was signed by Commerce and Industry Minister, Piyush Goyal and Secretary of State for Business and Trade, Jonathan Reynolds in the presence of the two Prime Ministers.

This marks a significant milestone in India's engagement with major developed economies and reflects a shared commitment to strengthening economic integration. As the world's fourth and sixth largest economies respectively, India and the UK's bilateral engagement holds global economic significance. The signing of the India-UK CETA follows the successful conclusion of negotiations announced on 6th May 2025. The bilateral trade between the two countries stand at nearly USD 56 billion, with a joint goal to double this figure by 2030.

CETA secures unprecedented duty-free access for 99% of India's exports to the UK, covering nearly the entire trade basket. This is expected to open new opportunities for labour-intensive industries such as textiles, marine products, leather, footwear, sports goods, toys, and gems and jewellery, alongside fast-growing sectors like engineering goods, auto components, and organic chemicals.

IPO Update:

The initial public offer (IPO) of Shanti Gold International received bids for 1,19,51,775 shares as against 1,26,67,200 shares on offer, according to stock exchange data at 15:20 IST on Friday (25 July 2025). The issue was subscribed 0.94 times.

The initial public offer (IPO) of Brigade Hotel Ventures received bids for 5,61,29,746 shares as against 5,11,93,987 shares on offer, according to stock exchange data at 15:20 IST on Friday (25 July 2025). The issue was subscribed 1.10 times.

The initial public offer (IPO) of Indiqube Spaces received bids for 16,02,57,636 shares as against 1,71,48,335 shares on offer, according to stock exchange data at 15:20 IST on Friday (25 July 2025). The issue was subscribed 9.35 times.

The initial public offer (IPO) of GNG Electronics received bids for 1,97,01,81,045 shares as against 1,41,88,644 shares on offer, according to stock exchange data at 15:20 IST on Friday (25 July 2025). The issue was subscribed 138.56 times.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Media index fell 2.61% to 1,669.60. The index declined 5.25% in the four trading sessions.

Dish TV India (down 4.58%), Zee Entertainment Enterprises (down 4.53%), Network 18 Media & Investments (down 4%), Tips Music (down 2.76%) and Hathway Cable & Datacom (down 2.57%), Saregama India (down 2.08%), Sun TV Network (down 1.93%), Nazara Technologies (down 1.77%), PVR Inox (down 0.98%) and D B Corp (down 0.69%) declined.

Stocks in Spotlight:

SBI Life Insurance Company rose 2.07% after the life insurer reported strong performance for the quarter ended June 2025 (Q1-FY26).

The company's profit after tax (PAT) rose 14.41% year-on-year to Rs 594.37 crore in Q1-FY26, driven by a healthy uptick in premium collections and a surge in embedded value. Gross Written Premium (GWP) for the quarter stood at Rs 17,810 crore, marking a 14% jump from Rs 15,570 crore in Q1-FY25.

Bajaj Finserv's consolidated net profit jumped 26.60% to Rs 5,329.17 crore on 12.61% increase in total income to Rs 35,451.34 crore in Q1 FY26 over Q1 FY25.

KFin Technologies declined 5.73% after the company's consolidated net profit dropped 9.16% to Rs 77.26 crore on a 3.06% rise in revenue to Rs 274.06 crore in Q1 FY26 over Q4 FY25.

Avantel tumbled 7.69% after the company's consolidated net profit tanked 56.23% to Rs 3.23 crore in Q1 FY26, compared with 7.38 crore in Q1 FY25. However, revenue from operations marginally increased by 0.29% year on year to Rs 51.91 crore in Q1 FY26.

Trident shed 0.32%. The company's consolidated net profit surged 89.83% to Rs 139.96 crore on a 2.06% drop in revenue from operations to Rs 1,706.89 crore in Q1 FY26 over Q1 FY25.

Bharat Electronics (BEL) shed 0.67%. The company has announced that it has secured additional orders worth Rs 563 crore since its last disclosure on 30 June 2025.

JSW Energy tanked 3.67%. The company's said that its wholly owned subsidiary JSW Neo Energy has signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) with the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) under the SECI' FDRE Tranche IV scheme.

ACC slipped 2.17% after the cement maker's consolidated net profit fell 50.01% to Rs 375.38 crore in Q1 in FY26 as against Rs 751.03 crore posted in Q4 FY25. However, revenue from operations shed to Rs 6,036.11 crore in Q1 FY26 as against Rs 6,039.70 crore reported in Q4 FY25.

On a year-on-year (YoY) basis, net profit rose 4.35%, while total income increased 18.05% in Q1 FY26.

Tanla Platforms tumbled 3.95% after the company's consolidated net profit tanked 16.15% to Rs 118.41 crore in Q1 FY26, compared with 141.22 crore in Q1 FY25. However, revenue from operations rose 3.84% year on year to Rs 1,040.66 crore in Q1 FY26.

Global Markets:

Most European shares traded lower on Friday, as weakness in automobile stocks weighed on the market. Investors also remained cautious ahead of updates on EU-U.S. trade talks and the upcoming U.S. tariff deadline set by President Donald Trump.

Asian markets ended lower as investors assessed recent trade developments. Japanese stocks retreated from record highs, with profit-taking ahead of a crucial week that includes the U.S. tariff deadline set by President Donald Trump and several major central bank meetings.

Mixed inflation data, however, dampened the sentiment for Japanese investors. Tokyo consumer inflation data for July showed a slightly bigger-than-widely anticipated easing in prices. But core inflation still remained above the Bank of Japan's 2% annual target, keeping uncertainty over the central bank's rate hikes largely in play.

Focus now is on China's Politburo meeting, a convening of top political leaders, for more cues on the Chinese economy. The meeting was supposed to be convened in late July.

US stocks were mixed on Thursday, with the S&P 500 notching its fourth record close in a row as tech earnings from Alphabet pointed to AI as a key growth catalyst.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 0.2% to also close at a fresh record, while the S&P 500 ended up just 0.1% higher. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.6% amid a post-earnings slide in IBM (IBM) shares.

Alphabet beat widely reported market's second-quarter earnings expectations and doubled down on its AI spending spree. The Google parent's shares rose alongside other AI-linked stocks such as Nvidia, helping buoy the tech-focused gauges.

Tesla's stock sank after an earnings miss, a continued slump in European sales, and a warning from CEO Elon Musk that the EV maker faced rough quarters as President Trump's budget bill killed off tax credits.

Optimism around trade deals remained strong after the US-Japan agreement helped push the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite to new record highs on Wednesday. Meanwhile, media reports indicated that the US and EU are nearing a deal to impose a 15% tariff on most European imports'significantly lower than the previously threatened 30%.

Powered by Capital Market - Live News