Benchmarks hit fresh intraday low; Europe opens near flat line
The domestic equity benchmarks extended losses and hit fresh intraday lows in afternoon trade, weighed down by a lack of strong directional cues, continued FII selling and persistent tensions surrounding the US-Iran conflict. The Nifty traded below the 24,200 level. PSU Banks, Cement and FMCG shares declined while those of metals, IT and realty companies edged higher.
At 13:31 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 236.52 points or 0.31% to 77,304.31. The Nifty 50 index fell 79.85 points or 0.33% to 24,172.15.
In the broader market, the BSE 150 MidCap Index shed 0.07% while the BSE 250 SmallCap Index rose 0.05%.
The market breadth was negative. On the BSE, 2030 shares rose and 2246 shares fell. A total of 275 shares were unchanged.
Gainers & Losers:
Hindalco (up 1.60%), Infosys (up 1.45%), HCL Tech (up 1.34%), Wipro (up 1.28%) and Tata Steel (up 1.26%) were the top gainers.
Bharat Electronics (down 1.86%), Bajaj Finserv (down 1.54%), Adani Ports (down 1.44%), SBI (down 1.44%) and Power Grid Corporation (down 1.36%) were the top losers.
Stocks in Spotlight:
Caplin Point Laboratories fell 2.38%. The company said that the US Food and Drug Administration (US FDA) conducted an unannounced inspection of its subsidiary Caplin Steriles? injectable and ophthalmic manufacturing facility at Gummidipoondi, Tamil Nadu. At the conclusion of the inspection, the company received Form 483 containing 10 observations.
Tata Power Company shed 0.73%. The company's subsidiary Tata Power Renewable Energy has commissioned its 190.5 MW solar FDRE project at Kalasar, Bikaner, Rajasthan, which is under the contractual capacity of 460 MW firm and dispatchable renewable energy (FDRE) project.
Ceigall India added 3.74%. The company, jointly with Sushee Infra & Mining (SIML), announced the receipt of letter of acceptance (LoA) from the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways (MoRTH) for road construction project. The contract involves construction of a 82.4-km road on the Lada-Sarli section of NH-913 (Frontier Highway) in Arunachal Pradesh, under the EPC mode. The projects has an aggregate bid cost of Rs 704.70 crore.
Larsen & Toubro (L&T) lost 0.06%. L&T Energy Hydrocarbon Onshore (LTEH Onshore) has signed the 'ultra-mega' contract for undertaking a gas compression facilities project for a prestigious client in the Middle East against a letter of award issued in FY26. As per the company's internal classification, the value of this 'ultra-mega' contract is more than Rs 15,000 crore.
Global Market:
European equities drifted sideways on Monday, lingering near three-week lows as a dramatic escalation in U.S.-Iran economic threats kept risk appetite firmly in check despite a brief pullback in crude oil prices.
Asian stocks were largely subdued on Monday, as rising government bond yields around the world continued to weigh on risk appetite. Bond yields in Japan, France and Germany have climbed to multiyear highs, while U.S. long-term yields have also remained elevated.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's decision to at least double the size of planned buybacks of longer-dated government debt to $4 billion per operation from $2 billion initially offered relief to the bond market. However, the gains quickly faded, with Treasury yields rebounding as investors remained concerned about inflation, government borrowing and the broader fiscal outlook.
U.S. stocks found firmer footing on Friday after data showed continued economic resilience and a sharp acceleration in services-sector activity. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.98%, while the S&P 500 gained 0.43% and the Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.44%.
S&P Global's flash PMI showed U.S. services activity accelerated sharply in August, with the Services PMI rising to 56.8 from 54.6 in July.
In the week ahead, investors will focus on quarterly results from AI chipmaker Nvidia, along with earnings from software companies including Intuit, Salesforce and CrowdStrike. Markets will also be watching whether Nvidia's results and outlook can sustain investor enthusiasm around artificial intelligence.
The U.S. economic calendar includes the July Personal Consumption Expenditures price index, the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge, due on Wednesday, 26 August.
Markets will also turn to the Federal Reserve's Jackson Hole symposium from 27-29 August, where Fed Chair Kevin Warsh is scheduled to speak on Friday. Investors will look for clues on the outlook for interest rates, particularly after stronger-than-expected August services activity reinforced concerns about inflationary pressures.
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