Nifty rebounds 137 points at open after worst day in three months; IT stocks drag as TCS results due

Benchmarks opened higher on Thursday, July 9, 2026, attempting a recovery after suffering their steepest single-session fall in over three months in the previous session. The BSE Sensex, which had closed at ₹76,503.60 on Wednesday, opened at ₹76,576.14 and was trading at ₹76,985.96, up ₹482.36 or 0.63%, as of 9.25 AM. The NSE Nifty 50, which had closed at 23,882.05 on Wednesday, opened at 23,928.95 and climbed to 24,019.15, up 137.10 points or 0.57%, at the same time.

The recovery came a day after the Sensex plunged 1,677 points and the Nifty fell 516.65 points or 2.12% on July 8, driven by a spike in crude oil prices and renewed geopolitical tensions after US President Donald Trump declared the ceasefire with Iran “over,” triggering fresh American military strikes. Brent crude surged to $78–79 per barrel, while the Indian Rupee weakened to ₹95.5 against the US dollar — a one-month low — on rising import concerns.

“Geopolitics has again played spoilsport with the Indian market,” said Dr. VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Investments Limited. “...The spike in Brent crude to around $80 raised concerns in the market. However, September crude is trading at $76, which means the market doesn’t believe that the situation will aggravate.”

On Wednesday, selling was broad-based. The India Tourism Development index was the worst performer, falling 3.75%, followed by the PSU Bank index which declined 2.50%. Banking and financial stocks bore the brunt, with the Bank Nifty closing at 56,742.60, down 1,458.10 points or 2.51%. India VIX surged nearly 26% to 14.68, signaling heightened volatility.

Despite Wednesday’s sell-off, Foreign Institutional Investors extended their buying streak to a fourth consecutive session, purchasing equities worth ₹1,962 crore. Domestic Institutional Investors also returned as net buyers after a one-day pause, investing ₹790 crore. “...The trend of FIIs turning buyers continues. They have bought equity for ₹3,954 crore in the cash market in the last four days. This trend may continue if crude remains stable. Large-caps generally, and in financials and automobiles in particular, are likely to remain resilient,” Vijayakumar added.

On Thursday morning, consumer and industrial names led the gainers on the Nifty 50. Zomato parent Eternal rose 3.37% to ₹296.35, opening at ₹287.30. Titan gained 1.98% to ₹4,661.80. Grasim Industries added 1.26% to ₹3,174.30, while Bharti Airtel was up 1.24% at ₹1,911.60. Coal India climbed 1.19% to ₹434.15.

Information technology stocks, however, remained under pressure ahead of TCS’s first-quarter results for FY27, results that the market is closely watching for signals on discretionary tech spending by global clients. TCS fell 1.47% to ₹2,027.30 after opening at ₹2,057.50. Infosys dropped 2.17% to ₹1,046.10, the sharpest decliner among IT names, while Tech Mahindra fell 1.60% to ₹1,406.00. HCL Technologies was down 1.54% to ₹1,128.00. Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories led the losers on Nifty, declining 2.43% to ₹1,316.20 against its previous close of ₹1,349.00, reversing gains from the pharma sector’s recent rerating.

“Selling on rallies would be the preferred strategy for day traders. Immediate resistance is placed at 24,050/77,100 and 24,150/77,400. As long as the market trades below these levels, the negative sentiment is expected to continue,” said Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Equity Research at Kotak Securities.

On the global front, US markets closed mixed overnight. The Dow Jones fell 1.09% on war rhetoric, the S&P 500 declined 0.3%, while the Nasdaq edged up 0.2% as Broadcom rallied following a $30 billion Apple chip supply deal. Asian markets were trading broadly higher Thursday morning, providing support to domestic cues alongside Gift Nifty, which was trading around 23,959 — up 81 points — ahead of the Indian market open.

Global brokerage JPMorgan, in its India Strategy note, maintained a constructive outlook, forecasting MSCI India earnings growth of 11% ...