The Indian stock market ended lower on Thursday, 27 August, tracking mixed global cues and an uptick in oil prices amid persisting geopolitical uncertainty.
Crude oil benchmark Brent Crude futures edged up to trade near $88 per barrel as the US-Iran conflict remains unresolved. Indian rupee, meanwhile, slipped by 10 paise to close at 95.54 per dollar, provisional data showed.
The Sensex ended 539 points, or 0.70%, lower at 76,933.59, while the Nifty 50 closed the day at 24,090.85, down 117 points, or 0.48%. Broader markets also witnessed selling pressure, as the Nifty Midcap 150 declined 0.10% and the Nifty Smallcap 250 dropped 0.12%. Nifty Bank dropped 0.47% to end at 57,509.95.
HDFC Bank, Reliance, and Bharti Airtel were the top drags on the Sensex and the Nifty 50.
Among the sectoral indices, Nifty PSU Bank, Media, Metal, and Oil and Gas declined almost 1% each, while FMCG, Auto, Financial Services, and IT declined by up to half a per cent. On the other hand, Nifty Pharma, Healthcare, and Consumer Durables rose by almost 1% each.
"Expiry-led volatility and the lack of a diplomatic breakthrough in the Middle East continue to keep markets range-bound in the near term," Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments, noted.
"FII inflows and resilient earnings momentum remain supportive for Indian equities, particularly mid-caps, where several segments are relatively insulated from global uncertainties and continue to benefit from strong domestic demand trends," said Nair.
In the Nifty index, 31 stocks ended in the red, with Hindalco, HDFC Bank, and Mahindra and Mahindra among the top losers. Adani Enterprises, Kotak Mahindra Bank, and Adani Ports ended as the top gainers in the index.
In the Sensex kitty of stocks, only Kotak Mahindra Bank, ICICI Bank, Tech Mahindra, BEL, and Adani Ports ended with gains. On the flip side, HDFC Bank, NTPC, Mahindra and Mahindra ended as the top losers in the index.
Among Asian markets, Japan's Nikkei slipped 0.20%, while Korea's Kospi jumped 1.51%, boosted by a rally in tech shares after Nvidia's strong sales growth forecast for 2028. Hang Seng slipped 0.41%.
Investors will focus on US Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh's speech at the annual Jackson Hole symposium on Friday for cues on inflation, interest rates, and the monetary policy outlook.
Concerns over inflation refuse to fade amid the ongoing US-Iran conflict and energy price volatility. The Federal Reserve's preferred inflation measure, Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE), increased 3.7% year-on-year in July, indicating inflation remained above the Fed’s 2% target for the 65th straight month. Core PCE rose 0.2% month-on-month and 3.3% year-on-year.
Nandish Shah, Deputy Vice President at HDFC Securities, pointed out that the Nifty has closed below its 20-, 50- and 100-day DEMAs, signalling a bearish bias on the daily timeframe.
"A decisive break below the prior swing low of 24,025 would confirm a positional trend reversal. On the upside, the recent swing high of 24,378 is likely to act as immediate resistance," said Shah.
Shrikant Chouhan, the head of equity research at Kotak Securities, believes that the intraday market texture is weak, but there could be a technical bounce back if the Nifty and the Sensex manage to trade above the 24,100 and 77,000 support levels, respectively.
