Markets bounce back after falling in early trade driven by buying in ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank

Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty dropped in early trade on Monday (July 21, 2025), but buying in the blue-chip stocks ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank helped the markets recover all the early lost ground.

The 30-share BSE Sensex declined 148.68 points to 81,609.05 in early trade despite a positive start. The 50-share NSE Nifty dropped 67.55 points to 24,900.85.

Later, both the benchmark indices bounced back and were trading in the green. The BSE benchmark quoted 181.30 points higher at 81,944.67, and the Nifty traded 36.75 points up at 25,009.10.

From the Sensex firms, ICICI Bank traded over 2% higher after the company posted a 15.9% jump in its consolidated net profit for the June quarter to ₹13,558 crore compared to ₹11,696 crore in the year-ago period.

HDFC Bank also climbed over 2% despite the firm reporting a 1.31% decline in its consolidated net profit to ₹16,258 crore for the June 2025 quarter.

Tata Steel, UltraTech Cement, Eternal and Bajaj Finance were also trading higher.

However, Axis Bank, Reliance Industries, Infosys, HCL Technologies, Tech Mahindra, Mahindra & Mahindra, Titan and Tata Consultancy Services were among the laggards.

India’s most valuable company Reliance Industries declined nearly 2% even after the firm reported its highest-ever quarterly profit of ₹26,994 crore for the April-June quarter, reflecting a growth of 78.3% over the year-ago period, driven by consumer businesses and investment sales.

“The single most important factor which the market will be focusing on in the coming days will be the outcome of the trade talks between the U.S. and India. If an interim trade deal between the two countries is reached with a tariff rate of less than 20% on India, that would be positive from the market perspective. Weekend Q1 results were good with ICICI Bank reporting the best numbers, particularly in PAT and credit growth. HDFC Bank also reported a steady set of numbers,” VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments Limited, said.

In Asian markets, South Korea’s Kospi and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng traded in positive territory.

The U.S. markets ended on a mixed note on Friday (July 18, 2025).

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth ₹374.74 crore on Friday (July 18, 2025), according to exchange data.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.17% to $69.40 a barrel.

On Friday (July 18, 2025), the Sensex tanked 501.51 points or 0.61% to settle at 81,757.73. The Nifty dropped 143.05 points or 0.57%t to close at 24,968.40.