Indian stocks fall for second day on HDFC Bank weakness, West Asia tensions

From the Sensex pack, HDFC Bank declined for the second day, down 2%, after the lender’s quarterly earnings disappointed on the margin front.

Published — July 21, 2026 06:13 pm IST — Mumbai

PTI

Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty closed lower on Tuesday (July 21, 2026), dragged by selling in HDFC Bank for the second day alongside risk-off sentiment amid escalating West Asia crisis.

Falling for the second day, the 30-share BSE Sensex declined 238.41 points, or 0.31%, to settle at 77,470.11, with nine of its constituents closing lower and 21 with gains. During the day, it dropped 371.19 points, or 0.47%, to 77,337.33.

The 50-share NSE Nifty dropped by 50.80 points, or 0.21%, to end at 24,187.70.

Escalating U.S.-Iran conflict, an uptick in crude oil prices, and persistent foreign fund outflows reinforced a risk-off sentiment in stock markets, experts said.

Sensex Movers

Decliners:

• HDFC Bank — down 2% (second consecutive decline after disappointing quarterly earnings on margin front)
• Reliance Industries — down 1.48%
• State Bank of India — down 1.48%
• Tata Consultancy Services — down 1.32%
• Infosys — down 1.24%
• Trent — down 1.1%

Gainers:

• Bajaj Finserv — up 2.07% (biggest gainer)
• InterGlobe Aviation
• UltraTech Cement
• HCL Tech
• Mahindra & Mahindra
• Titan

Sectoral Performance

Declining sectors:

• PSU Bank — down 0.82%
• Focused IT — down 0.68%
• IT — down 0.66%
• Top 10 Banks — down 0.52%
• Energy — down 0.44%
• Financial Services — down 0.22%

Gaining sectors:

• MidSmall Private Banks Quality Tilt — surged 2.94%
• Realty — jumped 1.08%
• Commodities — up 0.98%
• Telecommunication — up 0.97%
• Auto — up 0.88%
• Services — up 0.45%

Broader Markets

Broader markets maintained their positive bias, with the BSE MidCap Select index going up by 0.20% and the SmallCap Select index edging higher by 0.16%.

Expert Commentary

Ponmudi R., CEO of Enrich Money:

"Indian equity markets ended lower as investors remained risk-averse amid escalating geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. On the domestic front, losses in Banking & Financials, driven by HDFC Bank’s post-earnings decline, outweighed stock-specific gains elsewhere, weighing on the benchmark indices."

Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Limited:

"Despite geopolitical challenges, midcaps are performing well in anticipation of strong corporate earnings, supported by demand-led business updates."

Ajit Mishra – SVP, Research, Religare Broking Ltd:

"Investor sentiment improved following better-than-expected quarterly earnings from select large-cap companies, which helped offset concerns arising from weakness in the private banking space. However, renewed geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, elevated crude oil prices, and continued uncertainty over the global interest rate outlook kept participants cautious."

Key Data Points

• FII outflows: Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth ₹1,121.04 crore on Monday (July 20, 2026), according to exchange data.
• Crude oil: Brent crude climbed 0.66% to $90.03 per barrel.

Global Markets

Asia:

• South Korea’s KOSPI — rebounded by 3.56%
• Japan’s Nikkei 225 — climbed 3.26%
• Shanghai’s SSE Composite — up 1.79%
• Hong Kong’s Hang Seng — ended marginally lower

Europe: Markets were trading higher.

U.S.: Markets ended lower on Monday (July 20, 2026).

Previous Session

On Monday (July 20, 2026), the Sensex declined 442.93 points, or 0.57%, to settle at 77,708.52. The Nifty edged lower by 95.80 points, or 0.39%, to end at 24,238.50.

Published — July 21, 2026 06:13 pm IST