Sensex declines 223 pts; oil & gas shares under pressure

The domestic equity benchmarks traded with modest losses in early-afternoon trade as investors assessed a slew of Q1 FY27 earnings announcements amid the ongoing results season. Sector- and stock-specific movements remained in focus, while investors also tracked the progress of the monsoon, an important factor for the broader economic outlook.

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

Oil & gas shares extended losses for the second consecutive trading session.

At 12:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex declined 223.25 points or 0.29% to 77,856.71. The Nifty 50 index fell 50.35 points or 0.20% to 24,345.50.

In the broader market, the BSE 150 MidCap Index declined 0.24% and the BSE 250 SmallCap Index fell 0.22%.

The market breadth was negative. On the BSE, 1,831 shares rose and 2,189 shares fell. A total of 267 shares were unchanged.

Monsoon Session of Parliament Ends:

The Monsoon Session of Parliament concluded on 13 August 2026 after 19 sittings spread over 25 days, with both Houses passing 12 Bills. Key legislation included Bills on public examinations, MSMEs, taxation, tribunals, banking records, mining and the renaming of Kerala as Keralam. The Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill was referred to a Joint Committee for further scrutiny. The session was marked by repeated disruptions, with Lok Sabha recording approximately 19% productivity and Rajya Sabha around 39%.

Derivatives :

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, shed 0.83% to 11.32. The Nifty 25 August 2026 futures were trading at 24,401 at a premium of 55.50 points as compared with the spot at 24,345.50.

The Nifty option chain for the 25 August 2026 expiry showed a maximum call OI of 87.1 lakh contracts at the 25,000 strike price. Maximum put OI of 91.6 lakh contracts was seen at a 24,000 strike price.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Oil & Gas index fell 0.67% to 11,176.70. The index dropped 1.03% in two consecutive trading sessions.

Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (down 5.17%), Oil India (down 1.91%), Oil & Natural Gas Corpn (down 1.5%), Indian Oil Corporation (down 1.47%) and GAIL (India) (down 1.09%) were the top losers. Among the other losers were Chennai Petroleum Corporation (down 1.08%), Reliance Industries (down 0.96%).

On the other hand, Mahanagar Gas (up 2.13%), Aegis Logistics (up 1.48%) and Bharat Petroleum Corporation (up 0.84%) edge higher.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Honasa Consumer rose 2.06% after the company reported strong financial performance for Q1 FY27. On a consolidated basis, profit after tax increased 116.5% YoY and 30.3% QoQ to Rs 90 crore in Q1 FY27. Revenue from operations increased 27% YoY and 15% QoQ to Rs 756 crore.

Rashtriya Chemicals & Fertilizers (RCF) shed 0.24%. The company reported a 35% rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 73.53 crore in Q1 FY27, compared with Rs 54.43 crore in Q1 FY26. Revenue from operations rose 6.38% year on year (YoY) to Rs 3585.71 crore during the quarter ended 30 June 2026.

Powered by Capital Market - Live News