Closing Bell, 31 July 2026: Sensex Gains 166 Points, Nifty Ends Above 24,350

Indian equity markets finished higher on Friday. That marked a third straight session of gains for the benchmark indices.

Financial stocks, automobile names, and a handful of heavyweight counters attracted steady buying, giving the market a lift. At the same time, activity across the broader market stayed strong, pointing to investor confidence even as the corporate earnings season continued.

The Sensex closed at 78,094.64 after adding 166.49 points, or 0.21%. The Nifty 50 climbed 66.45 points, or 0.27%, ending the session at 24,383.60. It remained comfortably above the 24,350 level.

Market breadth also stayed positive. Advancing stocks stood at 2,444, while 1,607 shares declined. Another 185 stocks finished unchanged.

The broader market delivered better gains than the benchmark indices. Both the Nifty Midcap 100 and the Nifty Smallcap 100 rose 0.4%, showing that buying interest extended beyond large-cap stocks.

Among sectors, Nifty Media led the pack with a 2% gain. Nifty Auto followed with 1.64%. Nifty Oil & Gas and Nifty Energy each rose over 1%, while Nifty Pharma and Nifty Infra added~ 0.7% each. Nifty IT was the weakest performer with a 1.5% decline. Nifty FMCG also finished lower, slipping over 1%.

Gainers And Losers On Nifty 50 Today

The top performers and laggards on the Nifty 50 were as follows:

Corporate Earnings In Focus

Corporate earnings continued to drive stock-specific action across the market. Dixon Technologies reported a June-quarter net profit of ₹663 crore, with the stock ending marginally higher despite witnessing increased trading volumes during the session.

Among notable movers, Divis Laboratories climbed 3.18% on a sharp jump in trading volumes, while Samvardhana Motherson International gained 2.87% amid robust investor participation. Bajaj Holdings advanced 3.37% on strong volume activity, whereas Varun Beverages declined 2.07%.

Investors will now shift their attention to the next batch of earnings scheduled for 1 August, including results from Divis Laboratories, Aditya Birla Lifestyle Brands, APL Apollo Tubes, Clean Science and Technology, Gujarat Ambuja Exports, Latent View Analytics, Muthoot Finance, and Utkarsh Small Finance Bank.

Crude Oil, Rupee And Precious Metals

The Indian rupee ended the session stronger against the US dollar. It closed at 95.39, up by 29 paise from the previous close of 95.68. That offered some support to overall market sentiment.

Commodity trading on MCX presented a mixed picture. Crude Oil for August delivery settled around ₹8,025 per barrel, while Natural Gas August futures finished near ₹266.30. Precious metals remained under pressure. MCX Gold August futures settled close to ₹1,41,860 per 10 grams. Silver September futures wrapped up around ₹2,17,554 per kg.

Benchmark indices have now advanced for three straight sessions. Broader markets are still leading the way. Attention is likely to shift toward upcoming corporate earnings, sector rotation, and commodity price movements. Those factors are expected to shape market direction over the coming sessions.

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