The Indian stock markets were mixed on Thursday, August 13, as the Sensex made a big comeback in the last minutes of the session and the Nifty ended up in negative territory. There was a lot of volatility in the session when the weekly Sensex contract expired, and market players were also watching crude oil prices, geopolitical developments, and global stock markets.
The BSE Sensex was at 78,079.96 and gained 113.61 points or 0.15 percent. The NSE Nifty, however, ended at 24,395.85, down 40.10 points or 0.16 percent.
The late-session movement was particularly notable. The Sensex jumped from around 77,714 at 3:15 pm in the Closing Auction session to the day’s high of 78,119 and still managed to finish above the previous close even though the index was under pressure through most of the trading session.
The markets opened lower with elevated crude oil prices and mixed signals from global stock markets as investors remained cautious. The market had begun lower on the back of strong demand for stocks and mixed signals around the world, and concerns over geopolitical developments did not help in the market, but buying in a few large-cap stocks and sustained strength in the broader market helped limit the downside.
IndiGo, Eternal and L&T among the top gainers
Among Sensex and Nifty constituents, IndiGo was the best performer as it jumped 2.10 percent. Eternal climbed 1.68 percent, and Larsen & Toubro gained 1.50 percent.
Hindustan Unilever gained 1.32 percent and NTPC 1.30 percent. BEL, TCS, Bajaj Finserv, Tech Mahindra, Bajaj Finance and Asian Paints were also among the notable gainers.
IT stocks, which were under pressure earlier in the day, recovered during the day. TCS was up 0.78 percent and Tech Mahindra 0.62 percent.
Titan declined 1.25 percent. ICICI Bank and UltraTech Cement each fell 1.18 percent. Reliance Industries fell 0.93 percent, and Tata Steel declined 0.94 percent.
Adani Ports, Power Grid, M&M, Axis Bank and Infosys were among other stocks that were down.
Broader market remains resilient
The broader market continued to outperform the frontline indices. Nifty Midcap 100 rose 0.15 percent, and Nifty Midcap 50 gained 0.22 percent. The Nifty Midcap Select was up 0.30 percent.
Small-cap stocks remained strong. The Nifty Smallcap 100 increased 0.23 percent, while the Nifty Smallcap 50 and Nifty Smallcap 250 gained 0.25 percent and 0.13 percent, respectively.
The Nifty Microcap 250 also finished higher by 0.14 percent.
Meanwhile, the India VIX declined 2.63 percent to 11.38. The drop in the volatility index suggested relatively muted expectations of near-term market volatility despite the weakness in the headline indices.
Realty, FMCG and IT outperform
The sectoral performance was mixed. Realty stocks led the sectoral pack, with the Nifty Realty index rising 0.94 percent. Nifty FMCG also rose 0.84 percent, while Nifty Chemicals rose 1.27 percent.
The Nifty IT index rose 0.39 percent while Nifty Media rose 0.48 percent. Consumer Durables gained 0.45 percent while Nifty Auto rose 0.10 percent.
But financial and metal stocks were under selling pressure. Nifty Private Bank declined 0.54 percent, while Nifty Financial Services fell 0.53 percent. Nifty Metal dropped 1.03 percent, and Nifty Cement declined 0.94 percent.
Nifty Oil & Gas, PSU Bank and Pharma indices were also lower.
Crude oil remains a key concern
Market analysts said the softer-than-expected inflation readings in the US and India had offered some support to investors and strengthened expectations that the US Federal Reserve and Reserve Bank of India could maintain a patient policy approach.
However, elevated crude oil prices continue to remain an important concern for Indian equities. Since India is heavily dependent on crude oil imports, a sustained increase in international oil prices can affect inflation, the current account, and corporate margins.
Geopolitical uncertainty in the Middle East has added another layer of caution among investors.
Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Investments, said the ongoing earnings season had broadly reinforced confidence in India's domestic demand environment and corporate resilience. However, he noted that external factors could continue to influence market direction.
Going ahead, investors are likely to closely track movements in crude oil prices, geopolitical developments, and foreign capital flows. The Nifty has now remained under pressure for the third consecutive trading session, with the index closing at 24,395.85 compared with 24,435.95 on Wednesday.
For the near term, market participants are expected to remain cautious as global cues, energy prices, and institutional flows continue to determine the direction of Indian equities.
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