Sensex, Nifty retreat after early slide; Tata Motors PV drags; global cues offer support

Key benchmark indices pared sharp early losses on Friday as buying at lower levels helped limit the decline. The Nifty settled at 24,366 after recovering from the day's low of 24,296.80. The recovery was supported by positive global cues and a marginal strengthening of the rupee against the US dollar. A decline in India VIX also indicated easing near-term volatility and supported buying sentiment. Consumer durables stocks were in demand, while pharma, metal and cement stocks declined.

The S&P BSE Sensex shed 70.71 points or 0.09% to 78,009.25. The Nifty 50 index fell 29.85 points or 0.12% to 24,366.

Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles (down 4.32%), State Bank of India (down 1.41%) and Reliance Industries (down 0.53%) were major Nifty drags today.

In the broader market, the BSE 150 MidCap Index declined 0.23% and the BSE 250 SmallCap Index dropped 0.43%.

The market breadth was negative. On the BSE, 1,958 shares rose and 2,326 shares fell. A total of 235 shares were unchanged.

Economy:

India's wholesale prices rose 9.78% YoY in July 2026, easing marginally from a 9.87% increase in June, which was the fastest growth since September 2022. The July reading was the softest since April, mainly due to a moderation in fuel price inflation. The data are based on the new 2022-23 base year, replacing the earlier 2011-12 series.

Fuel inflation eased to 20.05% from 27.41% in June, driven by softer increases in mineral oil prices at 32.4% from 46.48% and crude petroleum and natural gas prices at 26.99% from 34.75%. Food inflation, however, accelerated to 6.65% from 6.14%, while food article prices remained broadly elevated at 5.44% compared with 5.49% in June. Non-food article inflation rose sharply to 17.66% from 11.07%. Manufacturing inflation also accelerated to 8.29% from 7.48%, its fastest pace since June 2022, led by tobacco products at 13.36%, chemicals and chemical products at 13.12%, basic metals at 12.56%, textiles at 12.80% and rubber and plastics at 10.38%.

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%.

Numbers to Track:

In the commodities market, Brent crude for October 2026 settlement rose 14 cents or 0.16% to $87.21 a barrel.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged higher against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 95.4200 compared with its close of 95.4550 during the previous trading session.

The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal paper rose 0.07% to 6.763 compared with the previous session close of 6.758.

MCX Gold futures for 05 October 2026 settlement shed 0.10% to Rs 1,53,313.

The US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was down 0.24% to 99.61.

The United States 10-year bond yield fell 0.30% to 4.655.

Global Markets:

Most European indices declined amid renewed US threats against Iran and concerns over a prolonged naval blockade, alongside growing worries about weakening global demand.

The second estimate from Eurostat confirmed that the eurozone economy grew 0.4% quarter-on-quarter in Q2, following a flat reading in the first quarter. On a year-on-year basis, eurozone GDP expanded 1% in Q2, accelerating from 0.5% growth in the previous quarter.

Most Asian indices ended higher on Friday and were on track for their strongest weekly performance in two months, as benign US inflation data reduced expectations of an imminent Federal Reserve rate hike. However, stalled talks to end the Middle East conflict continued to weigh on risk sentiment.

Markets have so far largely shrugged off the lack of progress in resolving the Iran conflict, instead focusing on the broader artificial intelligence theme and the global monetary policy outlook.

US inflation data released this week suggested that price pressures remained under control, reducing expectations of a rate hike by the Federal Reserve next month.

Overnight on Wall Street, the S&P 500 closed at a record high on Thursday, supported by gains in Sandisk and other heavyweight technology stocks.

The S&P 500 climbed 0.65% to 7,798.99, surpassing its previous record closing high set last Friday. The Nasdaq Composite gained 0.81% to 26,803.03, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.13% to 53,839.99.

Memory chipmakers Sandisk and Micron Technology surged 13.7% and 4.2%, respectively. Microsoft gained nearly 1%, while Meta Platforms advanced 2.8%.

Strong earnings forecasts from companies including Microsoft and Amazon in recent weeks have also eased investor concerns over the scale of spending on AI data centres.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles (PV) dropped 4.32% after the company reported a sharp 80.25% decline in consolidated net profit to Rs 775 crore in Q1 FY27 compared with Rs 3,924 crore posted in Q1 FY26. Revenue from operations increased 9.26% YoY to Rs 95,799 crore in the quarter ended 30th June 2026.

Zee Entertainment Enterprises surged 5.43% after media reports said the Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) granted interim relief to the company in its dispute with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), allowing it to proceed with its proposed Rs 3,143 crore preferential warrant issue to the promoter group despite SEBI's market-access restriction. The tribunal also allowed the company to use its mutual fund units for dividend distribution, subject to the deposit of the penalty imposed by SEBI. The fundraise was approved by ZEEL shareholders on 31 July 2026, with 76.64% support, through the issue of 24,94,85,563 fully convertible warrants at Rs 126 apiece and is expected to increase promoter shareholding to 23.79%.

LG Electronics India surged 10% after the company reported strong financial performance for Q1 FY27. On a consolidated basis, profit after tax increased 27.20% YoY but declined 5.75% QoQ to Rs 652.90 crore in Q1 FY27. Revenue from operations increased 15.50% YoY but declined 10.18% QoQ to Rs 7,233.40 crore, led by premium demand across all categories.

Galaxy Surfactants hit the upper circuit of 20% after the company reported strong financial performance for Q1 FY27. On a consolidated basis, net profit increased 108.7% YoY and 165.8% QoQ to Rs 165.9 crore in Q1 FY27. Net revenue from operations increased 39.4% YoY and 35.5% QoQ to Rs 1,781.9 crore.

KMC Speciality Hospitals (India) jumped 7.01% after the company reported a net profit of Rs 16.57 crore for Q1 FY27, which is 119.9% higher as compared with the PAT figure of Rs 7.53 crore recorded in Q1 FY26. Net sales jumped 37.91% YoY to Rs 91.78 crore in Q1 FY27.

Honasa Consumer rallied 4.70% 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.

Praj Industries rallied 4.18% after the company reported a sharp 117.64% jump in consolidated net profit to Rs 11.60 crore in Q1 FY27 from Rs 5.33 crore in Q1 FY26. Revenue from operations increased 11.81% YoY to Rs 715.82 crore in Q1 FY27.

Jubilant FoodWorks added 2.55% after the company reported a resilient Q1 FY27 performance. On a consolidated basis, profit after tax increased 6.0% YoY and 21.4% QoQ to Rs 100 crore in Q1 FY27. Revenue from operations increased 14.1% YoY and 2.8% QoQ to Rs 2,569.7 crore.

IPO Update:

Shiprocket received bids for 9,35,32,77,164 shares as against 9,44,36,030 shares on offer, according to stock exchange data at 16:45 IST on 14 August 2026. The issue was subscribed 99.04 times.

The issue opened for bidding on 12 August 2026 and will close on 14 August 2026. The price band of the IPO is fixed between Rs 92 and 97 per share. An investor can bid for a minimum of 154 equity shares and multiples thereof.

Behari Lal Engineering received bids 79,39,71,568 shares as against 74,12,769 shares on offer, according to stock exchange data at 16:45 IST on 14 August 2026. The issue was subscribed 107.11 times.

The issue opened for bidding on 12 August 2026 and will close on 14 August 2026. The price band of the IPO is fixed between Rs 271 and 285 per share. An investor can bid for a minimum of 52 equity shares and multiples thereof.

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