Sensex Trade Lower Amid Expiry Volatility; Small-Caps Buck the Trend

Indian equities remained under pressure around midday on Thursday, with expiry-day volatility and elevated crude prices keeping sentiment cautious. The Sensex was trading near 77,826, down about 140 points or 0.18 per cent, while the Nifty 50 hovered around 24,334, lower by roughly 102 points or 0.42 per cent. The benchmarks were headed for a third straight session of weakness despite a positive overnight handover from Wall Street.

The broader market presented a mixed picture. Nifty Bank slipped around 0.5 per cent to 57,583, while the Nifty Midcap 100 was down about 0.2 per cent near 63,889. Small-Caps, however, continued to show relative strength, with the Nifty Smallcap 100 rising around 0.3 per cent to 19,877. That divergence suggests selling remained concentrated more in Large-Cap and select heavyweight pockets rather than across the entire market.

Sectorally, Nifty Media was among the stronger pockets, gaining about 0.6 per cent, followed by Realty and FMCG, which were up around 0.3 per cent each. Nifty Auto was largely flat with a mild positive bias. On the losing side, Nifty Metal fell around 0.9 per cent, Nifty Oil & Gas declined nearly 0.9 per cent, and private banks slipped about 0.7 per cent. Reliance Industries remained a drag on the energy space after MSCI reduced the stock's weight in a key index.

Stock-specific action remained lively. Tata Motors jumped about 5 per cent after reporting an 83.3 per cent year-on-year rise in Q1 FY27 net profit to Rs 2,560 crore. Astral surged as much as 9.5 per cent after its quarterly profit rose 51.8 per cent to Rs 120.2 crore. Lenskart Solutions gained around 7 per cent following strong Q1 numbers, while Jio Financial Services rose over 3 per cent after Bank of America agreed to acquire a 49.9 per cent stake in Jio Credit for Rs 18,268 crore. Reliance Industries, meanwhile, traded lower after the MSCI weight reduction.

On institutional flows, the latest available provisional data for August 12 showed FIIs as net sellers of Rs 1,002.50 crore in the cash market, while DIIs bought a net Rs 5,841.66 crore, continuing to provide a domestic liquidity cushion.

Global cues were broadly supportive. The S&P 500 gained 0.26 per cent to 7,748.50 and the Nasdaq rose 0.54 per cent to 26,588.49 overnight, helped by AI-linked earnings and softer US inflation. Asian markets were mostly higher, led by Japan, while Brent crude eased but remained elevated around USD 88.5 to USD 89 a barrel. The Dollar Index hovered close to 100.

For the rest of the session, traders will watch whether Nifty can defend the 24,300 to 24,265 zone. On the upside, 24,435 to 24,500 remains the immediate hurdle. Earnings announcements, US producer inflation data, crude oil and Middle East developments are likely to shape the next move.

This is Market commentary, not a recommendation to buy or sell securities.

Disclaimer: The article is for informational purposes only and not investment advice.