European and US markets suffered a sharp sell-off, while Asian markets also opened in the red this morning. Crude oil climbed to $102 a barrel before retreating below $100. The United States expanded its bombing campaign as far as Tehran, while Houthi militants attacked Saudi Arabian oil tankers in the Red Sea. Gold prices declined.
The United States has announced new tariffs of 10% and 12.5%. India has been placed in the 10% category, offering some relief. However, neighbouring countries have also been given the same rate.
In derivatives trading at GIFT City, GIFT Nifty closed at 23,668.00 on Thursday night. It rose to 23,716 this morning before retreating. This indicates that the Indian market could open with substantial losses once again.
The new tariffs announced by the United States on Thursday brought some relief for India, as the rate remains at 10%.
After a court struck down the tariff rate announced by US President Donald Trump in 2025, the tariff applicable to India had been fixed at 10%. That arrangement expired on Thursday.
The new tariff, which came into effect today, was announced after the US cited an investigation into alleged forced labour.
Apart from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka have also been placed in the 10% tariff category. These countries compete with India in several export markets.
The United Kingdom, European Union and Canada have also been assigned a 10% tariff. China, Japan and South Korea face a rate of 12.5%.
However, countries including Japan, South Korea and Switzerland that have entered into agreements with the United States will receive concessions in line with those deals.
The southwest monsoon continues to improve. The India Meteorological Department said the rainfall deficit narrowed to 17.3% as of July 23.
According to the department’s classification, rainfall that is up to 19% above or below the long-period average is considered normal.
Kerala’s rainfall deficit, however, widened to 35.7%. Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Punjab, Jharkhand, Gujarat, Karnataka, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh have recorded rainfall deficits of more than 20%.
Around 49% of India’s geographical area has received rainfall that is more than 20% below normal.
Crude oil crossing $100 a barrel, along with concerns over the results of Alphabet and Tesla, pulled US markets lower on Thursday.
Alphabet, the parent company of Google, warned that its capital expenditure this year could reach $205 billion. Investors are becoming increasingly concerned about the scale of spending on artificial intelligence.
Tesla, the electric vehicle company led by Elon Musk, reported a lower-than-expected profit as expenses increased. Both Alphabet and Tesla reported negative cash flow.
Alphabet shares fell 7%, while Tesla plunged 14.52%.
SpaceX shares rose 2.59% during regular trading but declined 1.89% in after-hours trade. Nvidia, Amazon, Apple, Advanced Micro Devices and Microsoft also fell.
Intel reported its best quarterly performance in 15 years and presented an optimistic outlook for the coming quarters. The stock declined 2.33% during regular trading but rose 3.59% in after-hours trade.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 506.93 points, or 0.97%, to close at 51,711.65 on Thursday.
The S&P 500 declined 90.66 points, or 1.21%, to 7,408.30. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 553.21 points, or 2.15%, to close at 25,137.69.
US futures are trading marginally higher today.
Dow futures are up 58 points, or 0.11%. S&P 500 futures have gained eight points, or 0.10%, while Nasdaq futures are up 17 points, or 0.06%.
In the American Depositary Receipt market in New York, HDFC Bank fell 0.22% during regular trading on Thursday before gaining 0.09% in after-hours trade to close at $23.15.
ICICI Bank declined 0.71% during regular trading and later rose 0.17% to close at $29.29.
Infosys fell 2.38% during the regular session before gaining 0.37% in after-hours trading to close at $10.71.
Wipro declined 1.66% during regular trading and remained unchanged in after-hours trade at $1.78.
European markets declined sharply on Thursday.
The surge in crude oil prices and disruptions to shipping in the Red Sea pulled the markets down by around 1.5%. Concerns over the new US tariffs coming into effect today also weakened sentiment.
Asian markets are trading lower today.
South Korea’s Kospi fell 3%, while Japan’s Nikkei declined 2.5%. Australia’s benchmark index lost 0.60%.
Hong Kong fell 1%, while Shanghai declined 0.50%.
Crude oil prices approaching $100 a barrel and concerns over US tariff measures pushed the Indian market lower for a fourth consecutive session.
The mid-cap and small-cap indices fell by around 1% or more for the second day.
Foreign investors stepped up selling. They sold shares worth a net ₹2,999.23 crore in the cash market. Domestic institutional investors were net buyers of ₹2,947.14 crore.
The Sensex fell 363.66 points, or 0.47%, to close at 76,391.39 on Thursday. The Nifty declined 126.65 points, or 0.53%, to 23,869.60.
The Bank Nifty dropped 534.80 points, or 0.94%, to close at 56,592.
The Nifty Midcap 100 fell 615.60 points, or 0.99%, to 61,685. The Nifty Smallcap 100 declined 192.90 points, or 1.01%, to close at 18,936.35.
Nearly twice as many stocks declined as advanced. On the BSE, 1,556 stocks rose and 2,684 fell. On the NSE, 1,135 stocks advanced, while 2,084 declined.
InterGlobe Aviation, which operates IndiGo, reported a loss of ₹238 crore in the June quarter. Disruptions to services in West Asia, higher fuel prices and weakness in the rupee contributed to the loss.
Infosys Technologies reported an 8.6% decline in June-quarter net profit compared with the preceding quarter. Profit rose 12.2% on a year-on-year basis.
Revenue increased 14% from a year earlier and 3.9% from the preceding quarter. The company lowered its revenue growth forecast for the coming quarters to between 1.3% and 3%.
Infosys named Ashiss Kumar Dash, the company’s global business head, as its next chief executive officer and managing director. He will succeed Salil Parekh, who is scheduled to retire next March.
Meesho Limited reduced its June-quarter loss by half, while revenue grew 48%.
Cyient Limited reported a 90% increase in June-quarter net profit.
Concerns that the surge in crude oil prices could lead to higher interest rates pulled gold prices lower.
The market is pricing in an 80% probability that the US Federal Reserve will raise interest rates in September.
Gold fell $80.80, or 1.96%, on Thursday to close at $4,050.60 an ounce. It was trading close to $4,045 this morning.
In Kerala, the price of 22-carat gold rose by ₹560 on Thursday morning to ₹1,08,000 per sovereign. It later declined by ₹800 to ₹1,07,200.
Silver fell to close at $57.78 an ounce. It was trading at $57.70 this morning.
Platinum stood at $1,592, palladium at $1,236 and rhodium at $7,825.
International rubber prices recorded a marginal increase on Thursday.
In Bangkok, RSS-1 remained at $289.90 per quintal, while RSS-3 rose to $286.50 per quintal.
In Kerala, RSS-4 remained at ₹28,200 per quintal. The surge in crude oil prices supported rubber prices.
Copper, aluminium and tin declined, while other industrial metals advanced.
Copper fell 1.07% to $13,744.85 a tonne. Aluminium declined 0.25% to close at $3,182.
Zinc, lead and nickel recorded gains.
Cocoa prices rose 0.73% on Thursday to $5,367 a tonne.
The International Cocoa Organization expects production in Indonesia to increase despite the El Niño weather phenomenon. Production in West Africa is expected to decline.
Arabica coffee fell 1.86% to $3.11 a pound. Coffee inventories remain at their lowest level since March 2024.
The US Dollar Index rose to close at 101.44 on Thursday. It climbed further to 101.46 this morning.
The euro fell to $1.1377, while the pound declined to $1.3314.
The Japanese yen weakened to 163.89 against the dollar. The Chinese yuan remained at 6.77 to the dollar.
The yield on the US 10-year Treasury note rose to 4.703% this morning. This is the highest level since 2015.
The Indian rupee ended unchanged on Thursday after moving within a narrow range. The dollar closed at ₹96.57.
The rupee is expected to remain under pressure today because of the increase in crude oil prices.
In the offshore non-deliverable forward market, the dollar was quoted at ₹96.88 this morning. The Chinese yuan stood at ₹14.26 and the euro at ₹109.90.
Crude oil prices surged after Houthi attacks on Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea.
Saudi Arabia temporarily diverted oil exports to an Egyptian port near the Suez Canal.
Brent crude rose 7% on Thursday to close at $100.69 a barrel. It touched $102 during the session.
The price declined around 1% this morning to $99.68. West Texas Intermediate crude rose to $91.29 a barrel.
Cryptocurrencies are trading lower.
Bitcoin fell below $64,900 this morning. Ether declined below $1,870, while Solana slipped below $76.
Thursday, July 23, 2026
