The Nifty 50 index fell 107.25 points or 0.44% to 24,508.05 at 14:30 IST on Wednesday, August 5, marking a continued decline from Monday's session. According to Business Standard, the broader market outperformed frontline indices with the BSE 150 MidCap Index rising 0.35% and the BSE 250 SmallCap Index jumping 0.70%. At the same time, S&P BSE SENSEX declined 111.35 points or 0.14% to 78,317.69. The market breadth remained positive with 2,280 shares rising and 1,882 shares falling on the BSE, while 204 shares remained unchanged. This followed Monday's session where the index had snapped its four-session winning streak and settled 159 points lower at 24,615 or 0.64% decline.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) kept the policy repo rate unchanged at 5.25% and retained its 'neutral' policy stance at its monetary policy meeting held from August 3-5, 2026. As per Business Standard, RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra said the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) unanimously voted to leave the benchmark policy rate unchanged. The MPC raised its FY27 GDP growth forecast to 6.7% from 6.6% earlier, while projecting FY27 CPI inflation at 5%, 10 basis points lower than the previous estimate, with core inflation expected to average 4.3% during the year. Governor Malhotra noted that headline inflation is set to rise in the near term, fuelled by higher oil and food prices, and will peak in the third quarter before starting to decline. The MPC's decision came amid a challenging macroeconomic environment, with the lingering impact of the US-Iran conflict on domestic growth and inflation, though easing crude oil prices and hopes of a peace deal improved market sentiment. Quarterly CPI inflation projections were placed at 5.3% for Q1, 4.7% for Q2, 5.9% for Q3 and 5.5% for Q4.
Media stocks faced significant pressure with the Nifty Media index falling 1.36% to 1,578.70, as reported by Business Standard. Zee Entertainment Enterprises declined 4.87%, Sun TV Network fell 1.7%, Network 18 Media & Investments dropped 1.5%, PVR Inox fell 1.25%, Tips Music declined 1.05%, and Prime Focus fell 0.5%. In contrast, rate-sensitive stocks like auto, real estate, and PSU bank stocks were trading higher as the RBI kept its repo rate unchanged. The Nifty FMCG index declined 0.40% to 49,327.90, marking a 1.35% decline in the two consecutive trading sessions as reported by Business Standard. Marico fell 1.9%, ITC declined 1.02%, Nestle India dropped 0.79%, United Breweries fell 0.73%, Hindustan Unilever declined 0.52%, Patanjali Foods dropped 0.51%, Tata Consumer Products fell 0.38%, and Britannia Industries declined 0.37%.
FSN E-Commerce Ventures, the parent company of Nykaa, declined 2.91% despite reporting exceptional Q1 FY27 results, as reported by Business Standard. Nykaa reported a 247% year-on-year surge in consolidated net profit to ₹80 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2026, compared to ₹23 crore in the corresponding quarter last year. The company's revenue from operations increased 29% year-on-year to ₹2,782 crore as compared to ₹2,155 crore in Q1 FY26. EBITDA stood at ₹236 crore, marking a jump of 69% from ₹140 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal year, with EBITDA margin expanding to 8.4% in contrast to 6.5% YoY. Castrol India rose 2.41% after reporting strong earnings for Q2 CY2026, with profit after tax increasing 42.5% YoY and 43.6% QoQ to ₹347.70 crore in the quarter ended June 30, 2026. Revenue from operations rose 25.0% YoY and 21.1% QoQ to ₹1,871.47 crore during the quarter.
The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal paper shed 0.44% to 6.786 compared with the previous session close of 6.816, as reported by Business Standard. In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged higher against the dollar, hovering at 95.2150, unchanged from its close of 95.2800 in the previous trading session. MCX Gold futures for the 5 October 2026 settlement rose 1.39% to ₹1,46,303. Brent crude for October 2026 settlement jumped $1.09 or 1.37% to $80.45 a barrel. The US Dollar Index (DXY) was up 0.02% to 99.89, while the United States 10-year bond yield shed 0.35% to 4.611. India's services sector continued to expand in July, but growth slowed sharply with the Business Activity Index falling to 53.3 in July from 57.4 in June, marking the weakest pace of expansion in 53 months, though remaining above the neutral 50.0 level.
