Market Wrap

Nifty Snaps Two-Day Losing Streak as IT, Pharma Gain; Rupee Rises

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

iStock.com

By Tresha Dias

August 28, 2026 at 12:24 PM IST

Benchmark equity indices snapped their two-day losing streak on Friday, led by gains in IT, pharma and metal shares.

The Sensex rose 330.92 points, or 0.43%, to 77,264.51, while the Nifty50 gained 84.80 points, or 0.35%, to 24,175.65. Tata Consultancy Services, Tech Mahindra and Infosys were the top gainers on the Nifty50.

In the broader market, the Nifty MidCap and Nifty SmallCap indices rose 0.05% and 0.20%, respectively. Among sectors, the Nifty IT index was the top performer, while the Nifty Chemical index declined the most.

The rupee ended at 95.3775 per dollar, up 0.2% from Thursday's close of 95.54, after reversing early losses in afternoon trade. The currency has gained 0.3% this week.

The yield on the 10-year benchmark 6.94%, 2036 government bond ended at 6.9108%, compared with Thursday's close of 6.8901%. Brent crude oil rebounded to around $88 a barrel, reversing some of the day's decline and weighing on sentiment.

Top Movers of the day

Wipro India advanced 2.89% to ₹181.50 on the NSE. The company extended its partnership with Google Cloud to speed up the adoption of Gemini Enterprise and agentic AI.

The Great Eastern Shipping Company shares witnessed buying momentum after it approved a ₹9 billion buyback. The stock rose 1.58% to ₹1,338.

Texmaco Rail & Engineering climbed 1.08% to ₹109.60 per share on the NSE. The company partnered with Bochumer Verein Verkehrstechnik GmbH, Germany, to explore and pursue collaboration in the field of railway wheels, wheelsets, axles and related rail vehicle components.

Ola Electric Mobility shares jumped 3.59% to ₹38.98 after the company launched S1-Z electric scooter at an introductory price of ₹79,999.

Ather Energy gained 8.09% to ₹1,616.30 after Hero MotoCorp increased its stake in Ather to 32.8% through a $184 million investment.

Just Dial rose 10% to ₹704.55 as investors turned optimistic following changes in the company's senior management. Just Dial's board approved the appointment of Dinkar Ayilavarapu as CEO and key managerial personnel, effective July 10, 2026, and Dinesh Taluja as CFO and key managerial personnel, effective July 11, 2026.

Mastek surged 20% to ₹1,933.90 after Anand Rathi highlighted turnaround potential in the IT services company, with the stock also benefiting from broader strength in the IT sector following Nvidia's strong results.

Tejas Networks rose 7.40% to ₹549 after the company received a ₹15.37 billion Letter of Intent from Tata Consultancy Services to supply RAN equipment, accessories and installation materials for BSNL's 4G network across 18,685 sites. The order is larger than Tejas Networks' ₹15.29 billion Q1 FY27-end order book.

Tata Teleservices gained 6.97% to ₹39 after the company announced a strategic tie-up with Tata Communications to accelerate enterprise adoption of AI-powered customer engagement solutions.

LTIMindtree rose 4.97% to ₹4,686. Shares rallied alongside other Indian IT stocks following Nvidia's strong results, which revived optimism around global technology and AI spending.

TVS Motor fell 2.63% to ₹4,294 after the company appointed Peyman Kargar as CEO, effective January 27, 2027. Analysts attributed the decline to profit-taking rather than concerns over the leadership transition, noting that the stock had already gained more than 13% this year.

Vodafone Idea fell 1.94% to ₹14.68 as investors booked profits after the stock's recent rally. The decline came despite the telecom operator's plan to repay 490 billion rupees of spectrum dues over the next three years.

Futures & Options
The Nifty September 2026 futures closed at 24,349, a premium of 173.35 points compared with the Nifty's closing at 24,175.65 in the cash market. In the cash market, the Nifty 50 index rose 84.80 points or 0.35% to 24,175.65.

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, fell 3.70% to 10.66. Infosys, HDFC Bank and TVS Motor were the top-traded individual stock futures contracts in the F&O segment of the NSE.

The September 2026 F&O contracts will expire on September 29, 2026.

Bonds
The yield on the 10-year benchmark 6.94%, 2036 government bond ended at 6.9108%, compared with Thursday's close of 6.8901%. Brent crude oil rebounded to around $88 a barrel, reversing some of the day's decline and weighing on bond sentiment.

Traders remained cautious ahead of Monday's GDP data, with expectations for strong economic growth limiting aggressive buying in the secondary market.

Forex
The Indian rupee ended higher today, rounding out a weekly gain, as a surge in dollar liquidity ahead of the closure of the special FCNR(B) deposit window triggered stop-losses and unwinding of bearish rupee positions.

The rupee ended at 95.3775 per dollar, up 0.2% from Thursday's close of 95.54, after reversing early losses in afternoon trade. The currency gained 0.3% during the week.

Crypto
The cryptocurrency market traded higher today, with Bitcoin and Ethereum extending their gains over the past week despite relatively modest moves over the past 24 hours.

Bitcoin traded near $79,659.53, up 0.20% over the past hour and 1.10% over the past 24 hours. The cryptocurrency gained 6.90% over the past seven days, taking its market capitalization to about $1.60 trillion, while 24-hour trading volume stood at $36.62 billion.

Ethereum traded near $2,485.74, up 0.10% over the past hour and 0.20% over the past 24 hours. The cryptocurrency gained 6.20% over the past seven days, with its market capitalisation at about $300 billion and 24-hour trading volume at $15.74 billion.

US Stock Futures
US stock futures edged lower today as investors awaited Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh’s latest address and assessed fresh earnings reports. S&P 500 futures fell 0.07%, while Nasdaq-100 futures declined 0.3%. Dow futures bucked the trend, rising 0.11%.

US Treasury Notes

US Treasury note yields traded around 4.67% today after rising for a second consecutive session, as investors awaited Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh's speech at the Jackson Hole symposium for clues on the outlook for US interest rates. Treasury yields remained supported by firmer-than-expected US inflation data this week, which strengthened expectations for a Fed rate increase before year-end, with the probability of a hike by December remaining above 70%. For the September meeting, markets were pricing in around a 65% probability that the Fed would keep rates unchanged.

Kansas City Federal Reserve President Jeff Schmid said monetary policy was not restraining the economy, while investors continued to assess the implications of the Treasury's expanded debt buyback programme. Concerns over US fiscal risks and potential dollar weakness also remained in focus as markets awaited Warsh's comments on inflation and the Federal Reserve's policy outlook.

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