Nifty Down on Uncertainty Over Crude Supply; Rupee Ends Lower for the Week

An end-of-day recap of all that transpired in the Indian markets, highlighting the major price movements and the factors driving them

India Stocks fall

By Tresha Dias

August 14, 2026 at 12:55 PM IST

Indian equity indices ended lower on Friday as rising crude oil prices and renewed uncertainty over the Strait of Hormuzweighed on sentiment. Investors also remained cautious amid lack of clarity on energy prices and global bond yields. The Sensex fell 71 points, or 0.09%, to 78,009.25, while the Nifty50 declined 29.85 points, or 0.12%, to 24,366.00.

Brent crude prices rose after the US threatened to indefinitely maintain its naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, reviving concerns over energy supply disruptions and their impact on India's import bill and inflation.

The benchmark indices, however, came off the day’s lows on gains in consumer durables and discretionary consumption stocks, but the broader market remained under pressure, with the Nifty MidCap 100 and SmallCap 100 falling 0.53% and 0.69%, respectively.

Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles, Jio Financial Services and Oil & Natural Gas Corporation were among the worst hit on the Nifty 50, while the Nifty Consumer Durables index rose nearly 1%. Pharma and realty stocks lagged. Better-than-expected corporate earnings and expectations of upward revisions to FY27 earnings estimates provided some support for selective stocks despite the broader risk-off sentiment.

The Indian rupee ended little changed at 95.4250 per dollar today, but fell 0.2% for the week, as frequent dollar-selling intervention by the Reserve Bank of India helped ease pressure from persistent importer demand, volatile oil prices and derivative maturities amid prolonged uncertainty over the West Asia conflict.

The yield on the 10-year benchmark government 6.94%, 2036 bond ended at 6.7578%, compared with 6.7582% at the previous close. The Reserve Bank of India set the coupon on the new 2029 bond at 6.20%, and that on the new 2033 bond at 6.57%.

Top Movers of the day

Krsnaa Diagnostics rose 2.92% to ₹573 after investors looked past the company’s 19% year-on-year decline in Q1FY27 net profit, and focused on strong revenue growth. Revenue rose 22.1% on year to ₹2.36 billion, indicating continued expansion in the company's diagnostics business despite pressure on profitability.

Zee Entertainment Enterprises jumped 5.43% to ₹102 after the Securities Appellate Tribunal granted interim relief against a SEBI order, allowing Zee to proceed with its proposed ₹31.43-billion preferential warrant issue. The relief removed a regulatory hurdle around the fund-raising plan and improved investor sentiment.

LG Electronics India rose 10% to ₹1,736.10 after reporting a strong Q1 FY27 performance, with net profit rising 27.2% on year to ₹6.53 billion. Revenue increased 15.5%, while EBITDA margin expanded to 12.5%, with strong performance across categories and premiumisation supporting earnings.

Honasa Consumer gained 4.70% to ₹502 after it reported its highest-ever consolidated profit after tax at ₹900 million in Q1 FY27, up 116.5% year-on-year. Revenue rose 27% to ₹7.56 billion, supporting expectations of stronger profitability and operating performance.

Balu Forge Industries rose 11.15% to ₹496, with the rally following the company's recent Q1 FY27 results and fundraising plans. The company also secured defence orders for large-calibre ammunition and is expanding into aerospace and defence components, strengthening expectations for growth beyond its traditional forged-component business.

Welspun Living rose 2.67% to ₹164.10 after reporting a strong Q1 FY27 performance, with consolidated net profit jumping 85% year-on-year and revenue rising 24%. Improved margins and strong growth in its home-textiles business strengthened expectations of an earnings recovery.

SAIL gained 0.49% to ₹169.51 after reporting a sharp improvement in Q1 FY27 profitability, with net profit rising more than 150% on year to ₹16.36 billion and EBITDA increasing 50% to ₹43.56 billion. Better steel realisations and operating efficiencies supported the improvement, strengthening sentiment towards the state-run steelmaker.

Bosch rose 1.07% to ₹47,250 despite a 37% year-on-year decline in consolidated net profit to ₹7.05 billion in Q1FY27 from 11.15 billion rupees a year earlier. Investors focused on the company's revenue growth, supported by strong performance across key segments, with power solutions growing 29%, mobility aftermarket rising 9.6% and two-wheeler and powersports increasing 41.4%.

SBI fell 1.62% to ₹1,065.50 despite reporting strong Q1 FY27 earnings and receiving positive broker commentary. The decline appeared to reflect profit-taking and weakness across parts of the banking sector rather than deterioration in the bank's latest financial performance.

Tube Investments of India fell 1.37% to ₹2,742 after reporting a 15.1% year-on-year decline in consolidated net profit to ₹1.69 billion in Q1 FY27 from ₹1.99 billion a year earlier. The weaker bottom-line performance weighed on sentiment despite the company's diversified business portfolio.

Alkem Laboratories fell 2.28% to ₹5,325 after the company reported its Q1 FY27 net profit declined 21.7% year on year to ₹5.20 billion. The earnings decline raised concerns about the pharmaceutical company's near-term profitability and weighed on the stock.

Futures & Options
The Nifty August 2026 futures settled at 24,450, a premium of 84 points to the Nifty 50 cash close of 24,366. The Nifty 50 fell 29.85 points, or 0.12%, while the India VIX declined 0.85% to 11.32, indicating subdued near-term volatility.

Bharat Dynamics, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles and Bharti Airtel were the most actively traded individual stock futures contracts on the NSE. The August 2026 F&O series expires on August 25, 2026.

Bonds
The yield on the 6.94%, 2036 government bond ended at 6.7578%, compared with 6.7582% at the previous close. At the auction of government bonds today, the Reserve Bank of India set the coupon on the new 2029 bond at 6.20%, and that on the new 2033 bond at 6.57%.

The shorter-tenured bonds attracted buying from state-owned and private-sector banks for their asset-liability management books, while the three-year paper saw limited demand from mutual funds, traders said.

Forex
The Indian rupee ended little changed at 95.4250 per dollar today, but declined 0.2% for the week, as frequent dollar-selling intervention by the Reserve Bank of India helped ease the pressure from persistent importer demand, volatile oil prices and derivative maturities amid prolonged uncertainty over the West Asia conflict.

State-run banks, likely acting on behalf of the RBI, kept the rupee's weekly trading range below 30 paise.

Oil prices rose after the US States threatened an indefinite naval blockade of Iran, reviving concerns over crude supply. India, which imports about 90% of its oil, remains particularly vulnerable to such disruptions.

Data released today showed India’s wholesale price inflation rose 9.78% year-on-year in July, easing slightly from 9.87% in June as energy inflation moderated. Consumer inflation stood at 4.45%, above the RBI’s 4% medium-term target but within its 2%-6% tolerance band.

Crypto
The cryptocurrency market traded higher today, with Bitcoin and Ethereum posting modest gains as the broader market remained relatively steady.

Bitcoin traded near $63,844.20 today, up 0.30% over the past 24 hours, with a market capitalisation of $1.28 trillion and 24-hour trading volume of $23.45 billion. The cryptocurrency held below the $64,000 mark, with gains remaining limited.

Ethereum traded near $1,896.80 today, up 0.82% over the past 24 hours, with a market capitalisation of $229.52 billion and 24-hour trading volume of $8.37 billion. The second-largest cryptocurrency outperformed Bitcoin and moved closer to the key $1,900 level.

US Stock Futures
US stock futures were mixed today after the S&P 500 closed at a record high, with two of the three major benchmarks on track for their third consecutive weekly advance. S&P 500 futures hovered just above the flatline, while Nasdaq-100 futures gained 0.11%.

Dow futures slipped 71 points, or 0.13%. Technology and communication services were among the strongest sectors, each rising roughly 1%, helping lift the broader market to its latest record.

US Treasury Notes
US Treasury note yields held around recent lows today, with the benchmark 10-year yield around 4.65% as softer-than-expected inflation data reduced expectations of a Federal Reserve rate hike in September. US producer prices were flat in July, following subdued consumer inflation data released a day earlier, suggesting price pressures remained contained. Markets have priced in an around 35% probability of a 25-basis-point rate hike in September, down from 55% a week earlier.

The data reduced the immediate pressure on the Federal Reserve to tighten monetary policy, although uncertainty over the West Asia conflict and energy prices remained a risk to the inflation outlook.

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