Stocks to watch: Reliance Industries, Wipro, CEAT among shares in focus today; check list here

Stock market today: The Indian stock market traded in a narrow range for the second consecutive session on Thursday, July 16, as rising geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, continued weakness in the rupee, and firm crude oil prices weighed on investor sentiment.

Market participants also remained cautious ahead of more June-quarter earnings announcements, preferring to wait for fresh corporate earnings cues before taking significant positions.

The benchmark Nifty 50 and Sensex ended the session almost flat, while the broader market indices settled with slight losses.

“The benchmark indices witnessed continued range-bound activity. The Nifty ended 6 points lower, while the Sensex was up by 1.40 points. Among sectors, the Consumer and Media indices rallied over 1 percent, whereas the Capital Market index lost the most, shedding over 2 percent. Technically, after a muted open, the entire day market hovered between 24,000/7,7000 and 24,200/7,7500 price ranges. A small candle on the daily charts and non-directional activity on intraday charts indicate indecisiveness between the bulls and the bears,” said Shrikant Chouhan, Head Equity Research, Kotak Securities.

Chouhan further said that as long as the market is trading within the 24,000/7,7000 to 24,200/7,7500 range, the range-bound texture is likely to continue.

“On the positive side, above 24,200/7,7500, the market could move till 24,300-24,350/7,7800-7,8000. On the downside, below 24,000/7,7000, selling pressure is likely to accelerate. Below this level, the market could retest 23,800, or 23,750/7,6500-7,6300,” he added.

As the market remained range-bound, some stocks are likely to remain in focus on Friday due to their own positive/negative triggers.

Shares of Reliance Industries, JSW Steel, Tata Technologies, Federal Bank are likely to remain in focus today as companies will declare their Q1 results 2026 today.

For the quarter ended June, the Bengaluru-headquartered IT services firm posted a 1.2% decline in constant currency revenue, underperforming peers.

The company posted a weaker-than-expected profit for the June quarter, falling short of Street estimates. However, it delivered strong sequential growth and margin expansion, while deal wins crossed the $1 billion mark for the third straight quarter.

Jio Financial Services on Thursday reported a 156% year-on-year jump in consolidated profit after tax (PAT) to ₹830 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2026 (Q1 FY27).

The company has entered into a seven-year agreement with The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America (Guardian), expanding their existing partnership. As part of the deal, it will acquire Guardian India, the insurer's global capability centre, with nearly 2,000 employees set to join the IT services company.

PC Jeweller's board has approved raising up to ₹1,000 crore through a qualified institutions placement (QIP) in one or more tranches. The board also cleared a proposal to increase the company's authorised share capital, subject to shareholder and regulatory approvals.

The non-banking financial company on Thursday reported a 67% year-on-year jump in consolidated profit after tax to ₹461 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2026, compared with ₹276.3 crore in the corresponding period last year.

The IT services and solutions provider on Thursday entered into a partnership with Factory to deliver agent-native software development capabilities to enterprise clients across professional services, banking and financial services, and other industries worldwide.