Today’s Stock Market Closing, 31 July: Nifty, Sensex Snap 2-Day Winning Streak Dragged by Reliance Industries; Textile Stock Slides on Tariff Hit, While Nifty FMCG Rallies

On Thursday, July 31, Indian benchmark indices closed in the negative territory, snapping a 2-day streak, dragged by Reliance Industries and Bharti Airtel. At the closing bell, the Nifty 50 ended down by 86.70 points or 0.35%, at 24,768.35. The Sensex slipped by 296.28 points or 0.18% to 81,185.58. 

The Nifty 50 opened lower after the US President Trump announced a 25% tariff on Indian imports, plus penalty for buying Russian military equipment and oil. It recovered from intraday lows, as he later said talks with India are ongoing. However, volatility re-emerged in the latter part of the session to end the session in red.

On the sectoral front, 2 out of 11 key sectoral indices ended in positive territory. Meanwhile, broader indices like Midcaps and Smallcaps recorded a loss of 0.93% and 1.05%, respectively. 

Stock-Specific Highlights

Among individual stocks,

• Textile manufacturers such as Welspun Living, Vardhman Textiles and KPR Mills lost between 3% and 6%, and were the worst hit by Trump's tariff threat.
• Bucking the trend, FMCG major Hindustan Unilever’s share price jumped 3.44% after it reported higher profits for the quarter ended June on the back of an ongoing recovery in rural demand.
• Sagility India's share price rose 10% on posting over six-fold rise in the first quarter profit.
• Jio Financial Services' share price rose 2.79% after approving a fund raise through the issuance of 500 million warrants.

Nifty FMCG- Top Gainer of the Day

The Nifty FMCG index closed up by 1.44% on Thursday. Emami and Hindustan Unilever emerged as the top gainers among the Nifty FMCG index. On the flip side, the Nifty Pharma Index was the top losing sector, with top losers being Ajanta Pharma and Dr Reddy's Laboratories.

Nifty 50: Top Pullers and Draggers of the Day

The key drivers of the index gains were:

• Hindustan Unilever:  +20.96 points
• ITC: +10.66 points
• Kotak Bank: +7.78 points

On the other hand, these stocks weighed on the index:

• Reliance Industries: - 19.23 points
• Bharti Airtel: - 12.39 points
• Infosys: - 10.25 points

Broader Markets Negative

The broader market indices ended on a Negative note. The Mid-cap 100 index closed down by 0.93% and the Small-cap 100 index declined by 1.05%. 

Market Breadth

As of July 31, 2025, the market breadth was in favour of declining stocks. Out of 3,044 stocks traded on the NSE, 1,047 advanced, 1,907 declined, and 84 remained unchanged. 

A total of 72 stocks touched their 52-week highs, while 50 hit their 52-week lows. Additionally, 82 stocks were locked in their upper circuits, whereas 60 stocks were in lower circuits. 

Disclaimer: The article is for informational purposes only and not investment advice.