Indian equity benchmarks ended lower on July 20, weighed down by heavy selling in private banking stocks after their June-quarter earnings and weak global cues amid escalating geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.

Rising crude oil prices, which surged above $90 per barrel, dampened investor sentiment and dragged the Nifty below the 24,200 mark at the opening bell. However, buying interest emerged in the second half of the session, helping the benchmark erase a significant portion of its intraday losses.

At close, the Sensex was down 442.93 points or 0.57 percent at 77,708.52, and the Nifty was down 95.80 points or 0.39 percent at 24,238.50.

The broader market outperformed the benchmarks, with Nifty midcap index adding 0.6 percent and smallcap index ended marginally in the green.

Among the Nifty constituents, Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, Maruti Suzuki, Kotak Mahindra Bank, and Jio Financial Services were the top losers, while Trent, Cipla, Power Grid Corporation, Bharti Airtel, JSW Steel emerged as the top gainers.

Sectoral performance was mixed during the session. Nifty PSU Bank emerged as the top performer, gaining 2.8%, followed by Nifty Pharma (+1.4%), Nifty Media (+1%), Nifty Energy (+1%), Nifty Metal (+0.86%), Nifty Oil & Gas (+0.62%), Nifty Infrastructure (+0.7%), Nifty FMCG (+0.6%) and Nifty Consumer Durables (+0.72%).

On the downside, Nifty Private Bank was the worst-performing sector, falling 2.2%, followed by Nifty Bank (-1%), while Nifty Auto and Realty ended with marginal losses.

More than 100 stocks touched their 52-week high on the BSE, including Gabriel India, Shyam Metalics, Himadri Speciality Chemical, Navin Fluorine International, Aegis Logistics, Gujarat Fluorochemicals, Solar Industries India, Zydus Wellness, Lloyds Metals & Energy, Radico Khaitan, Divi's Laboratories, Sona BLW Precision Forgings, Federal Bank, and Exide Industries, among others.

After staging a strong recovery in the previous session, the Indian rupee came under renewed pressure on Monday, settling 17 paise lower at 96.45 against the US dollar, compared with its previous close of 96.28.

Among individual stocks, Punjab National Bank (PNB) gained 5% after reporting a strong June-quarter performance, while VA Tech WABAG advanced more than 6% after securing multiple water infrastructure contracts from the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB).

Shyam Metalics rose 4% after posting healthy Q1 earnings and announcing plans to raise up to ?4,500 crore, while shares of UltraTech Cement added 1.5% on healthy Q1 performance.

On the downside, Axis Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, and HDFC Bank declined 2–5% despite reporting healthy June-quarter earnings.