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The Nifty falls 76 points to close at 24,078.3, extending its losing streak to seven sessions. This is the Nifty’s longest stretch of consecutive declines since September 2025.
Stock Market Today.
Indian benchmark indices extended their losing run for a seventh consecutive trading session on Wednesday, August 19, as elevated crude oil prices, rising global bond yields and continued geopolitical uncertainty weighed on investor sentiment.
The Nifty 50 fell 76.60 points, or 0.32%, to close at 24,078.30, extending its losing streak to seven sessions. This is the Nifty’s longest stretch of consecutive declines since September 2025. Over these seven sessions, the index has lost more than 2%.
The BSE Sensex declined 325.78 points, or 0.42%, to settle at 76,909.68. The 30-share index opened at 77,218.05, climbed to an intraday high of 77,347.81 and slipped to a low of 76,822.89 before recovering slightly towards the close.
The broader market also remained under pressure. The Nifty 500 declined 0.37%, while the Nifty Next 50 fell 0.55%. The Nifty Midcap 100 slipped 0.21%, while the Nifty Smallcap 250 declined 0.63%. The Nifty Midcap 50 bucked the trend and ended marginally higher by 0.02%.
IT stocks emerged as the key outperformers in Wednesday’s session. The Nifty IT index gained 0.73%, supported by value buying and a weaker rupee.
Among major Sensex constituents, HCLTech rose 1.73%, while Eternal gained 1.33% and Kotak Mahindra Bank advanced 1.23%. Sun Pharma, Titan, TCS and Infosys also ended higher.
On the other hand, Power Grid, Bajaj Finance, LT, ITC and Reliance Industries were among the major laggards. The Nifty Bank ended almost flat, down 0.04%, while the Nifty Financial Services index declined 0.36%.
Sectoral performance remained largely weak. Nifty Chemicals fell 1.03%, Nifty Media declined 0.91% and Nifty MidSmall Healthcare dropped 0.88%.
The Nifty Cement index declined 0.77%, while Nifty FMCG fell 0.55%. Nifty Oil & Gas declined 0.48%, Nifty Private Bank fell 0.15% and Nifty Auto dropped 0.27%.
The Nifty IT index was the standout performer, rising 0.73%. Consumer Durables also edged up 0.03%, while the Metal index was almost unchanged at -0.02%.
Vinod Nair, head of research at Geojit Investments Ltd, said markets turned cautious ahead of the release of the US FOMC minutes, with investors remaining concerned about the Federal Reserve’s ongoing battle against inflation.
According to Nair, the lack of a diplomatic resolution following the end of the US-Iran ceasefire has kept crude oil prices and bond yields elevated, adding to risk-off sentiment in global markets.
“Reflecting weakness across Asian markets, Indian equities saw broad-based selling, though IT stocks outperformed on value buying and support from a weaker rupee,” Nair said. He added that as the Q1FY27 earnings season draws to a close, corporate results have generally exceeded expectations, providing confidence about earnings resilience.
However, Nair cautioned that with temporary market tailwinds fading, the next phase of market performance will depend largely on the stability of crude oil supply chains.
Key Questions Answered
Ask News18The current market downturn is driven by weakness in IT, capital goods, and defence stocks. Additionally, a downgrade of most large-cap IT names by CLSA contributed to the pressure on the IT sector.
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August 19, 2026, 3:46 PM IST
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