The SENSEX declined 201.32 points, or 0.26%, to trade at 77,167.79 while the NIFTY50 fell 88.10 points, or 0.36%, to 24,130.95 as of 12:36 PM on Tuesday, as reported by The Hindu BusinessLine. This marked a continuation of the previous session's decline amid rising geopolitical tensions as Iran threatened to seize vessels and alter transit rules for the Strait of Hormuz ahead of the US announcement of sanctions against Tehran. The cautious mood reflected concerns over the potential impact of heightened tensions in the strategically important Strait of Hormuz, a key route for global energy shipments. As per Business Standard, the market breadth was negative with 1,712 shares rising and 2,198 shares falling on the BSE, while 268 shares remained unchanged. The selling pressure was visible among several heavyweight stocks, with Adani Ports, Bharat Electronics, Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv, Trent, Axis Bank, State Bank of India, and Tata Consultancy Services emerging as the top losers on the Nifty. Among the top gainers were Tata Steel, HCL Tech, Infosys, and Hindustan Unilever. According to The Hindu BusinessLine, turnover on NSE's cash market slipped roughly 1 per cent versus the previous session, pointing to subdued participation. In early Tuesday trading, the BSE Sensex was down 30 points to 77,336.32 and the Nifty dipped 38.80 points to 24,179.50, as reported by The Hindu.
The Nifty IT index fell 0.69 per cent to 30,385.05, marking a significant decline from the previous session's 0.21 per cent gain, as reported by Business Standard. HCL Technologies declined 1.66 per cent, Persistent Systems fell 1.42 per cent, Oracle Financial Services Software dropped 1.19 per cent, Tech Mahindra declined 1.1 per cent, Wipro fell 0.92 per cent, Mphasis dropped 0.63 per cent, Tata Consultancy Services fell 0.53 per cent, LTM declined 0.43 per cent, and Infosys dropped 0.3 per cent. The IT sector weakness mirrored global technology market pressures, with Wall Street ending mixed on Monday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average rising 0.26 per cent while the S&P 500 fell 0.28 per cent and the Nasdaq Composite declined 0.76 per cent. Nvidia dropped 2.9 per cent, while Micron Technology and Broadcom also fell, weighing on the technology-heavy indexes. The immediate focus is likely to remain on Nvidia, which is scheduled to report its second-quarter fiscal 2027 results after the US market close on Wednesday, 26 August. According to Business Standard, investor focus also remained on Washington's escalating pressure on Tehran, with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent outlining a tougher sanctions campaign against Iran, warning of further measures against countries and entities that continue to facilitate trade with Tehran.
According to Business Standard reports, the Insurance sector declined 0.86 per cent, PSU Bank (0.82%), Housing Finance (0.76%), Financial Services (0.39%) and Bankex (0.35%). However, Metal climbed 1.6 per cent, Telecommunication jumped 1.05%, Commodities (0.55%), Realty (0.43%) and Oil & Gas (0.34%). The BSE MidCap Select index fell 0.07 per cent, while SmallCap Select index shed 0.21 per cent. Among individual stocks, the market experts noted that tracking weak Asian markets, Indian equities drifted lower through the day, with large caps underperforming broader markets. As per The Hindu BusinessLine, JSW Steel, Hindalco, and Tata Steel led gains among Nifty 50 stocks, while SBI Life, Adani Ports, and Bajaj Finance were the notable laggards. Banking stocks bore the sharpest brunt, with the Nifty PSU Bank index shedding 0.9 per cent, the worst sectoral performer, as rising sovereign bond yields triggered mark-to-market losses. The Nifty Midcap 100 edged up 0.13 per cent, while the Nifty Smallcap 100 slipped 0.26 per cent. Market breadth stayed weak, with roughly 298 of the Nifty 500 stocks ending in the red and the advance-decline ratio skewed towards declines.
Fertiliser shares witnessed strong buying interest on Tuesday, August 25, in an otherwise subdued session, with Fertilizers and Chemicals Travancore (FACT) surging as much as 15% to hit an intraday high of ₹898, as reported by The Hindu BusinessLine. Paradeep Phosphates climbed 6%, Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilisers advanced 7%, National Fertilisers jumped 4%, Madras Fertilisers advanced 7%, and Zuari Agro Chemicals gained 2%. The fertiliser sector rally came after Russia assured India of uninterrupted supply of energy and fertilisers amid disruption caused by the West Asia crisis, as External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met President Vladimir Putin in Moscow and held talks with his key interlocutors. This development provided much-needed relief to the sector, which had been under pressure due to geopolitical uncertainties affecting global supply chains.
Commenting on Nifty technical outlook, experts said the 24300 region remains the crucial resistance band, as per Zee News. An analyst stated that "A decisive and sustained breakout above 24,300 would be important to improve the technical setup and could pave the way towards 24,400–24,500," while "On the downside, 24,145, which closely corresponds with the session low, remains the immediate support." The immediate support for NIFTY is placed in the 24070-24050 zone, while any sustainable move below this zone could result in Nifty extending its weakness towards 23900, followed by 23750 in the short term. According to The Hindu BusinessLine, analysts broadly see the Nifty confined to a 24,000–24,400 band in the near term, with a sustained move above 24,360 needed to open the door toward 24,600, while a break below 24,000 could expose the index to the 23,750–23,900 zone. The market breadth remained weak as the advance decline ratio was skewed in the favour of bears, with 298 out of the Nifty 500 stocks ended in red. Market experts expect heightened volatility as weakness across global equities amid renewed escalation in the US-Iran standoff, coupled with monthly expiry-related rollovers and positioning, could lead to sharper-than-usual price swings, particularly during the final hour of trading, as noted by Hariselvan Radhakrishnan, Founder & CEO of HST Wealth.
The rupee ended 6 paise lower at 95.70-95.74 against the dollar after a sharp intraday reversal, as reported by The Hindu BusinessLine. A strong opening, supported by robust FCNR(B) inflows, gave way as equity selling and a firming dollar wiped out early gains. The Dollar Index held near 98.90. Analysts see the currency consolidating in a 95.35–96.10 range near term. On the earnings front, there was a pocket of positivity with Nifty-500 companies posting 19 per cent year-on-year earnings growth in the first quarter of FY27, the strongest in 15 quarters, with smallcap earnings surging 35 per cent and midcaps 30 per cent. The week ahead carries several triggers including monthly futures and options expiry on Tuesday, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's address at the Jackson Hole symposium, and US GDP and Core PCE data. Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth ₹1,181.66 crore on Monday, according to exchange data, as reported by The Hindu.
