Indices drop in early trade; breadth strong

The key equity benchmarks traded with moderate losses in early trade as investors remained cautious ahead of the weekly expiry of BSE derivatives contracts. Market participants are also assessing a slew of Q1 FY27 earnings announcements, with sector- and stock-specific movements remaining in focus amid the ongoing earnings season. Investors are also keeping a close watch on the progress of the monsoon, which remains an important factor for the broader economic outlook.

The Nifty traded below the 24,350 mark, while sentiment remained subdued amid a lack of strong directional cues. Investors continued to monitor movements in crude oil prices, Gold and developments on the global geopolitical front for further indications on the market's near-term trajectory.

Barring the media index, all sectoral indices on the NSE traded in the red, led by declines in pharma, PSU Bank and consumer durables stocks.

At 09:25 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex declined 179.88 points or 0.23% to 77,785.81. The Nifty 50 index fell 91.65 points or 0.38% to 24,344.30.

The broader market outperformed the frontline indices. The BSE 150 MidCap Index added 0.25% and the BSE 250 SmallCap Index jumped 0.30%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 1,834 shares rose and 1,190 shares fell. A total of 215 shares were unchanged.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth Rs 1,002.50 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net buyers to the tune of Rs 5,841.66 crore in the Indian equity market on 12 August 2026, provisional data showed.

Numbers to Track:

The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal paper was unchanged at 6.777.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 95.3600 compared with its close of 95.3325 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 5 October 2026 settlement shed 0.05% to Rs 1,54,808.

The US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was up 0.01% to 100.

The United States 10-year bond yield advanced 0.60% to 4.664.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for October 2026 settlement fell 72 cents or 0.81% to $88.26 a barrel.

Stocks in Spotlight:

GMR Airports declined 0.82%. The company reported consolidated net profit of Rs 91 crore in Q1 FY27, compared with a loss of Rs 211.6 crore in Q1 FY26. Consolidated revenue rose 23.7% YoY to Rs 3,964 crore from Rs 3,205.2 crore.

Gujarat Pipavav Port added 2.07% after the company reported a 41.8% YoY increase in consolidated net profit to Rs 147.9 crore in Q1 FY27, compared with Rs 104.3 crore in Q1 FY26. Consolidated revenue rose 32.6% YoY to Rs 331.8 crore from Rs 250.1 crore.

Lenskart Solutions jumped 4.67% after the company reported a 269.2% YoY surge in consolidated net profit to Rs 221.8 crore in Q1 FY27, compared with Rs 60.1 crore in Q1 FY26. Consolidated revenue increased 43.3% YoY to Rs 2,714.2 crore from Rs 1,894.5 crore.

Global Markets:

Asian stocks rose on Thursday after U.S. inflation data came in as expected, dampening expectations of further near-term Federal Reserve rate hikes.

U.S. consumer prices increased 0.1% in July, in line with widely reported expectations, data showed on Wednesday. The small increase could weaken the argument for an interest rate increase ⁠from the Fed next month. Money markets are predicting a 40% chance of a rate hike, down from 54% a week ago, according to CME Group's FedWatch.

Meanwhile, oil held near $88 a barrel as Washington and Tehran remained deadlocked over efforts to end the Gulf war.

Wall Street ended mixed overnight, with the Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500 eking out small gains while the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped. Upbeat quarterly results from CoreWeave and other AI infrastructure firms coupled with mild inflation data provided support to the investor sentiment.

The S&P 500 climbed 0.26% to end the session at 7,748.50 points. The Nasdaq gained 0.54% to 26,588.49 points for the session, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.04% ⁠to 53,770.27 points.

CoreWeave surged 19% after the AI cloud company lifted its annual capital spending forecast and topped second-quarter earnings estimates.

Data center operators also rose, with IREN gaining almost 10% and Applied Digital up 4.9%. Data center company Nebius Group jumped 34%, helped by second-quarter results that beat expectations.

Super Micro Computer surged 19% after the AI server maker forecast fiscal 2027 revenue above Wall Street expectations. Chipmakers also gained, with Nvidia rising 3% and Micron Technology adding 4.9%.

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