Sensex & Nifty End Higher on Strong Earnings | Market Close 29 July 2026

Today at a glance

Today, 29 July 2026: Sensex closed at 77,654.60, up 888.68 points (1.16%), while Nifty 50 settled at 24,250.20, up 264.85 points (1.10%). IT and FMCG stocks led the rally as Infosys jumped 4.51% and Hindustan Unilever gained 4.70%. Adani Ports was the top Nifty 50 loser, declining 3.10%. For SIP investors, broad-based rallies like today reinforce why staying invested through market cycles matters more than timing individual sessions.

What happened in the markets today

On Tuesday, 29 July 2026, the Sensex today closed at 77,654.60, up 888.68 points or 1.16%, while the Nifty 50 settled at 24,250.20, gaining 264.85 points or 1.10%. The rupee strengthened to 95.64 against the dollar, while crude oil (WTI) surged 6.61% to $84.50 per barrel. Gold slipped 0.57% to ₹4,075 per 10g and silver declined 0.45%. Most Asian markets fell, but Indian benchmarks rallied on strong domestic cues.

Why did Sensex rise today? Broad-based buying across IT, FMCG, and infrastructure stocks, supported by better-than-expected quarterly earnings from several blue-chip companies, lifted the indices.

Movers: IT and FMCG gain, infrastructure and auto drag Nifty 50

Today’s Nifty 50 gainers were Divis Lab, Hindustan Unilever, Infosys, L&T, and Bharti Airtel.

Today’s Nifty 50 losers were Adani Ports, M&M, Power Grid, BPCL, and Eicher Motors.

Hindustan Unilever share price today closed at ₹2,117.80, up 4.70%, buoyed by its Q1 results showing 10% underlying sales growth. Adani Ports share price today fell 3.10% to ₹1,719.70 despite reporting a 9% year-on-year profit rise, as markets digested the earnings. IT and FMCG stocks dominated the gainers list, while infrastructure and auto stocks weighed on the index.

In the news

• L&T — Won a major EPC order worth ₹5,000–10,000 crore from Kuwait Oil Company for crude oil storage tanks and export infrastructure upgrades. This marks the fourth consecutive day of order wins for the company, with cumulative wins approaching ₹50,000 crore. [Source: ET]
• Hindustan Unilever — Q1 FY27 net profit fell 3% year-on-year to ₹2,673 crore, impacted by a one-off tax credit in the year-ago quarter. Underlying sales grew 10% and EBITDA rose 8% to ₹3,947 crore. [Source: BSE filing]
• Asian Paints — Q1 net profit surged 40% year-on-year to ₹1,539 crore, beating market estimates of ₹1,240 crore. Revenue rose 18% to ₹10,542 crore, driven by price hikes and cost efficiencies. [Source: ET]
• Adani Enterprises — Reported a net loss of ₹1,160 crore in Q1, compared with a profit of ₹885 crore a year earlier. The loss was driven by a ₹2,644 crore one-time settlement payment to the US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). [Source: ET]
• Adani Ports — Q1 net profit rose 9% year-on-year to ₹3,620 crore. Revenue from operations climbed 19% to ₹10,821 crore, and the company maintained its FY27 revenue guidance of ₹43,000–45,000 crore. [Source: ET]
• M&M — Approved the sale of its Truck and Bus Division to subsidiary SML Mahindra for ₹525 crore, subject to regulatory approvals. The restructuring aims to streamline the company’s commercial vehicle operations.
• SEBI — Will replace the current volume-weighted average price method with a Close Auction System for determining closing prices of F&O-eligible stocks from 3 August 2026. The new 20-minute auction session aims to align Indian markets with global price-discovery standards. [Source: CNBC TV18]

Term of the day — Generic Medicines

A generic medicine is a pharmaceutical product made by a company other than the original patent holder, once that patent has expired. When a drug company develops a new medicine, it files a patent that grants exclusive manufacturing rights for a set period. During this window, only the patent holder can produce and sell the drug, which keeps prices elevated. Once the patent expires, other manufacturers can produce chemically identical versions at significantly lower costs, since they do not need to recoup original research and development expenses.

Indian pharmaceutical companies are among the world’s largest producers of generic medicines, supplying affordable drugs to markets across Africa, Asia, and Latin America. For SIP investors, this matters because the healthcare and pharma sector’s growth trajectory — and the funds that track it — is partly shaped by India’s dominant position in the global generics market.

What it means for SIP investors

Days when markets rally on strong corporate earnings can feel like a signal to accelerate your investment plans, but the real edge in SIP investing comes from consistency, not reaction. Your systematic investment plan automatically buys more units when prices are low and fewer when they surge — today’s rally means your next SIP instalment purchases fewer units than it would have last week. That is the mechanism working as intended. If headlines like these make you eager to increase your SIP amount, here is how experienced investors think about step-ups: SIP step-up complete guide. And if you are wondering whether to start a SIP now or wait for a dip, the evidence is clear — time in the market beats timing the market: cost of delay in starting SIP.

Returns snapshot — 1-day & long-term

1-Day Returns:

Long-Term Returns (20-Year CAGR):

Sensex today, 29 July 2026 closed at 77,654 — extending gains for the second straight session, yet a reminder that short-term rallies are noise on the long-term compounding chart.