Market opens higher in early trade; breadth strong

The headline equity benchmarks traded with substantial gains in early trade on Thursday, with the Nifty holding above the 24,150 mark. Barring the oil & gas sector, all other sectoral indices traded in positive territory, led by gains in IT, financial services and private bank stocks.

At 09:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex gained 493.55 points or 0.64% to 77,403.23. The Nifty 50 index jumped 112.75 points or 0.47% to 24,191.05.

In the broader market, the BSE 150 MidCap Index rose 0.57% and the BSE 250 SmallCap Index rallied 0.64%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2,243 shares rose and 804 shares fell. A total of 230 shares were unchanged.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth Rs 407.99 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net buyers to the tune of Rs 3,973.72 crore in the Indian equity market on 19 August 2026, according to provisional data.

Economy:

India's infrastructure output grew 5% year-on-year in June 2026, accelerating from a revised 3.2% increase in May and marking the fastest growth since January. Growth was led by iron ore output, which rose 43.9%, while cement, steel and electricity production also increased. Refinery product output, however, declined 4.7% amid supply disruptions in Persian Gulf energy exports. The data are based on a revised series with 2022-23 as the base year, which expands the core infrastructure basket to nine industries from eight with the inclusion of iron ore.

India-Singapore Ministerial Roundtable to be held today:

The 4th India-Singapore Ministerial Roundtable will be held in Singapore on 20 August 2026, with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and Minister of State Jitin Prasada representing India. The meeting will review ongoing initiatives and explore ways to deepen cooperation in advanced manufacturing, connectivity, digitalisation, healthcare, skills development and sustainability under the India-Singapore Comprehensive Strategic Partnership roadmap. A business roundtable involving key business leaders will also be held alongside the ministerial meeting.

Numbers to Track:

The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal paper was rose 0.40% to 6.839 as compared with 6.812 previous session?s close.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged higher against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 95.6400 compared with its close of 95.7350 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 5 October 2026 settlement rose 0.26% to Rs 1,58,410.

The US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was down 0.02% to 98.71.

The United States 10-year bond yield lost 0.41% to 4.634.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for October 2026 settlement gained 18 cents or 0.20% to $91.80 a barrel.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Aditya Infotech rallied 3.37% after the company?s board approved raising funds through the issuance of securities via one or more permissible modes, including public issue(s) and qualified institutions placement (QIP), subject to necessary shareholder and regulatory approvals.

HDFC Life Insurance Company shed 0.32%. The company said the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has approved the reappointment of Vibha Padalkar as managing director and chief executive officer for a further five-year term, effective 12 September 2026.

Hyundai Motor India rose 0.64%. The company has planned to increase the prices of its vehicles by up to 1% across its portfolio, effective September 2026. The quantum of increase will vary depending on the model and variant.

Global Markets:

Most Asian stock indices traded higher on Thursday, tracking a rebound on Wall Street as a retreat in US Treasury yields improved risk appetite. The recovery followed the US Treasury's announcement that it would double the size of its buyback operations for longer-dated government debt, helping ease pressure in the bond market after 30-year Treasury yields hit their highest level since 2007 earlier in the week.

Global crude prices, however, remained elevated near $92 a barrel as hopes for a near-term resolution to the US-Iran conflict faded. Stalled talks and uncertainty over crude flows through the Strait of Hormuz continued to fuel concerns that higher energy costs could keep inflation elevated.

On Wall Street, the S&P 500 ended a three-session losing streak on Wednesday, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq Composite also gained around 0.2%. The rebound was supported by the decline in longer-dated Treasury yields following the US Treasury's liquidity-support measures.

Investors also digested a hawkish set of minutes from the Federal Reserve's July meeting. The minutes showed that three policymakers had favoured a 25-basis-point rate hike, while several officials said further tightening could be required if inflation remains above the Fed's 2% target. The Fed kept its benchmark rate at 3.50%-3.75% at the 28-29 July meeting.

Investors will now watch US weekly jobless claims for fresh clues on the labour market and the outlook for monetary policy.

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