Stock Market Highlights Today: Nifty holds 24,640, is the uptrend tiring out? – 6th August 2026
Indian equities ended Thursday on a mildly positive but range bound note, with the Nifty 50 hovering near 24,640 and the Sensex adding about 286 points by late trade as easing crude prices and US Iran peace hopes offset mixed sector moves. According to BSE figures, the Sensex was last seen around 78,866, up 0.36 percent, while NSE data showed the Nifty holding above 24,630 after a choppy session that saw the index dip into the red intraday. Traders cited optimism around the ongoing June quarter earnings season and relief from lower oil prices as key supports, even as global technology stocks corrected and domestic autos and FMCG lagged.
The session opened with a modest gap up, in line with Gift Nifty cues that pointed to a muted positive start, with the Sensex at 78,782 and the Nifty at 24,641. From there, the Sensex largely stayed in the green, gradually building gains through the afternoon as broad based buying in banking, capital goods and select energy names cushioned the market. The Nifty, in contrast, slipped below its opening level around midday, briefly falling about 20 points before recovering towards the close, underlining the divergence between the two benchmarks that has persisted since the new closing auction mechanism was introduced.
Broader indices were mixed through the day, with one live update putting the Nifty Midcap index down 0.22 percent and the Nifty Smallcap up 0.15 percent, signalling selective risk appetite outside the large caps. Market breadth on the NSE was positive in the morning, with 1,347 stocks advancing against 924 declining and 124 unchanged, though the ratio narrowed as profit taking emerged in autos, IT and consumer names later in the session.
Index Performance
Benchmark and key indices reflected the split tone between large caps and the broader market.
| Index | Close | Move & % Change | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sensex | 78,866.89 | +285.89 pts (+0.36%) | Held gains through the session on banking and capital goods buying. |
| Nifty 50 | 24,639.60 | +16.80 pts (+0.07%) | Stayed above 24,630 after intraday dip, reflecting cautious sentiment. |
| Nifty Midcap | approx. flat | -0.22% | Mild pressure as profit booking hit select midcap pockets. |
| Nifty Smallcap | approx. flat | +0.15% | Slight gains, indicating selective interest in smaller names. |
The primary driver for the day’s move was a combination of macro relief and domestic earnings. Crude prices slipped below 80 dollars a barrel, with Brent around 79.08 dollars and WTI near 74.69 dollars per barrel, as investors weighed progress in Iran Oman talks that could pave the way for a US Iran peace deal and reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. “Markets traded volatile on Wednesday and ended on a flat note amid mixed cues,” Ajit Mishra, SVP, Research at Religare Broking, had said earlier, adding that sentiment remained supported by the RBI’s decision to hold the repo rate at 5.25 percent and upgrade its FY27 growth outlook. On Thursday, that backdrop, combined with continued strength in the rupee and resilient domestic liquidity, helped offset global jitters around the cost of AI investments and a pullback in technology stocks.
Sectorally, the picture was uneven. Nifty Metal gained about 0.45 percent in morning trade, helped by buying in names such as Tata Steel and JSW Steel, while oil and gas and chemical stocks advanced in response to the softer crude trajectory and earnings optimism. Banking, pharmaceuticals, healthcare, realty and select midcap segments also saw buying interest, according to live market data, underpinning the Sensex. At the same time, autos and FMCG slipped into the red with marginal losses, and weakness persisted in IT, media, private banks and cement stocks, which kept the broader market mood range bound despite the headline indices’ positive close.
Sectoral Performance
Sector indices showed clear winners and laggards by the closing bell.
| Sector/Index | Direction | Key Drivers |
|---|---|---|
| Nifty Metal | up 0.45% | Support from steel majors amid firm domestic demand expectations. |
| Oil & Gas | up modestly | Lower crude prices and easing Middle East tensions aided sentiment. |
| Chemicals | up | Gains in speciality names like Navin Fluorine on strong price action. |
| Banking & Financials | up | Positive Q1 trends in NBFCs and banks supported accumulation. |
| Pharmaceuticals | up | Strong Q1 prints and defensive interest amid global uncertainty. |
| Auto | down marginally | Profit booking after recent gains, despite supportive demand trends. |
| FMCG | down marginally | Mixed earnings and valuation concerns weighed on the space. |
| IT | down | Global tech correction and AI investment cost worries hit sentiment. |
In the Nifty 500 universe, individual movers were active from the open. Navin Fluorine rose over 6 percent, with the stock now up 36 percent year to date and 60 percent over the past year, trading just 0.3 percent below its 52 week high of 8,131 rupees, according to NSE data. Neuland Laboratories also gained more than 6 percent after reporting strong June quarter results, extending its year to date rally to about 40 percent and its one year gain to over 64 percent, while remaining 3 percent below its 52 week high of 21,882 rupees. On the financial side, Bandhan Bank climbed over 3 percent, taking its year to date rise to 22 percent, even though the stock still trades about 25 percent below its 52 week high of 220.76 rupees.
Among losers, GE Vernova T&D India fell around 6 percent at the open, despite having gained roughly 35 percent so far this year and 53 percent over the past twelve months, and now sits 31 percent below its 52 week high of 5,650 rupees. Cummins India slipped nearly 3 percent, and eClerx Services dropped about 4 percent, with both counters seeing heavy volumes relative to recent averages. In the IT services and engineering space, KPIT Technologies edged up more than 2 percent in early trade, but remains sharply below its 52 week high, reflecting the sector’s broader consolidation phase.
Juniper Green Energy was another notable name outside the main indices, listing nearly 9 percent above its issue price of 225 rupees. The stock debuted at 242 rupees on the BSE and 245 rupees on the NSE, giving the company a market valuation of about 13,997 crore rupees, as per exchange data. The initial public offering had been subscribed 7.97 times on the final day, and the premium listing underscored continuing investor appetite for energy and infrastructure plays amid expectations of policy support.
Foreign portfolio investors have turned modest buyers in recent sessions, though flows remain far from robust. VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Investments, said the RBI’s August monetary policy “didn’t influence the market trend,” and noted that while FIIs have been buyers recently, “big sustained FII inflows are unlikely since U.S. bond yields continue to remain high and may rise further.” Domestic institutional flows and retail participation, supported by strong Q1 numbers in financials and autos, have helped maintain market breadth despite bouts of volatility linked to the new closing auction session and global risk events.
On the technical front, analysts see near term supports intact for the Nifty despite the recent consolidation. Anand James, Chief Market Strategist at Geojit Investments, said Nifty’s supports “have been largely intact so far, despite consolidation and weakness,” improving the odds of a push higher. He flagged 24,775 as the key level to breach, with a direct rise above 24,650 potentially acting as an early entry into a breakout move, and marked 24,550 as a downside marker for the day. For the Sensex, technical research suggests immediate support in the 77,800 to 78,100 zone and resistance around 79,000 to 79,300, with the index trading above its 20, 50 and 100 day exponential moving averages but still below the 200 day EMA, indicating that a decisive long term breakout is yet to be confirmed.
Global cues remain central to the next leg. Asian equities were mostly lower, with South Korea’s Kospi dropping more than 4 percent and Japan’s Nikkei falling over 1 percent as technology stocks such as Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix corrected after a strong AI driven rally. European shares, in contrast, scaled fresh record highs, with the STOXX 600 up about 0.5 percent on earnings strength and optimism over a potential US Iran deal. On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at a record high, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite slipped, reflecting rotation away from expensive tech into cyclicals.
With the RBI policy now behind the market and the new closing auction session settling in, attention is shifting to the heavy Q1 FY27 earnings calendar and developments around the Strait of Hormuz. More than 150 companies, including Life Insurance Corporation of India, Trent, Britannia Industries, Hero MotoCorp, Emcure Pharmaceuticals and Lupin, are slated to report numbers, which could drive stock specific volatility and sector rotation. For index traders, the immediate focus will be whether Nifty can decisively clear the 24,750 to 24,800 band and whether Sensex can hold above 78,800, setting up the next trend leg in a market that is still constructive but increasingly selective.
