Stock Market Today (26 August 2026): Sensex Falls 183 Points, Nifty Slips Below 24,250 as IT and Reliance Drag Market

The Indian stock market ended lower on 26 August 2026, reversing its early gains as selling pressure emerged in heavyweight IT, infrastructure and telecom stocks.

The BSE Sensex fell 183.15 points, or 0.24%, to close at 77,472.94. The Nifty 50 declined 126.80 points, or 0.52%, to settle at 24,207.75.

The market opened on a positive note following strong global cues and falling crude oil prices. However, the early recovery could not sustain as investors booked profits in several large-cap stocks.

The Nifty slipped below the important 24,250 level and remained under pressure through the session.

The selling intensified in the closing auction. Reuters reported that the Nifty's indicative decline had briefly reached around 1.4% during the closing auction before the final index calculation reduced the loss to 0.52%.

The broader market showed better resilience. The Nifty Smallcap 100 gained around 0.8%, while the Midcap segment remained broadly flat. Market breadth was also relatively positive on the NSE, with around 2,263 stocks advancing against 1,881 declining.

𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁 𝗛𝗶𝗴𝗵𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀

• Sensex closed at 77,472.94, down 183.15 points.
• Nifty 50 ended at 24,207.75, down 126.80 points.
• Nifty declined 0.52%.
• Sensex declined 0.24%.
• Nifty slipped below the important 24,250 level.
• Bank Nifty gained around 0.47%.
• Nifty Metal gained around 1.27%.
• Nifty Financial Services gained around 0.53%.
• Nifty Pharma gained around 0.23%.
• IT stocks were among the biggest sectoral drags.
• Nifty IT declined around 1.47%.
• Auto stocks fell around 0.74%.
• FMCG declined around 0.95%.
• Consumer Durables declined around 0.93%.
• Small-cap stocks outperformed the frontline indices.
• Kotak Mahindra Bank was the strongest Nifty gainer.
• Bharti Airtel was among the biggest Nifty losers.
• Infosys and Tech Mahindra declined sharply.
• Reliance Industries fell around 1.4%.
• Crude oil prices moved below $86 per barrel.
• Investors remained focused on Nvidia earnings and US technology-sector developments.

𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗗𝗶𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁 𝗙𝗮𝗹𝗹?

𝗜𝗧 𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗰𝗸𝘀 𝗨𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝘃𝘆 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲

IT stocks were the biggest drag on the benchmark indices.

The Nifty IT index declined around 1.47%, with all five major IT stocks in the Nifty basket ending lower.

Infosys declined around 2.10%, Tech Mahindra fell 1.81%, Wipro declined 1.52%, HCL Technologies fell 1.31% and TCS declined around 1.14%.

The weakness came amid concerns over the proposed increase in US H-1B visa costs and uncertainty surrounding the future impact of artificial intelligence on the Indian IT services industry.

Reuters reported that the Trump administration had proposed a $103,265 fee on new H-1B visas, raising concerns about potential cost pressures for Indian technology companies.

𝗥𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗜𝗻𝗱𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗗𝗿𝗮𝗴𝘀 𝗜𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗰𝗲𝘀

Reliance Industries was another major drag.

The stock declined around 1.4%, putting additional pressure on the Nifty because of its large index weight.

The weakness came despite a significant decline in crude oil prices, which is generally positive for India's oil-importing economy.

The inability of the benchmark indices to benefit from lower oil prices indicated that investors were more focused on company-specific and global technology-sector concerns.

𝗖𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗔𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝗡𝘃𝗶𝗱𝗶𝗮 𝗘𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀

Global technology stocks remained an important market trigger.

Investors were waiting for Nvidia's quarterly earnings, with the results expected to provide fresh signals about the sustainability of the global artificial-intelligence investment cycle.

Indian IT stocks have remained sensitive to developments in the US technology sector, and caution ahead of Nvidia's results contributed to selling pressure in the IT space.

𝗨𝗦 𝗩𝗶𝘀𝗮 𝗙𝗲𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗿𝗻𝘀

The proposed increase in H-1B visa costs created additional uncertainty for Indian IT companies.

The potential increase in employment costs for technology companies with significant US operations could affect margins if companies are unable to pass the additional costs to clients.

This concern contributed to the weakness in Infosys, TCS, HCL Technologies, Wipro and Tech Mahindra.

𝗕𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗣𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗦𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀

𝗠𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗹𝘀

Metal stocks were the strongest sectoral performers.

The Nifty Metal index gained around 1.27%, making it the top-performing major sector during the session.

JSW Steel and Tata Steel were among the stocks supporting the sector.

JSW Steel gained around 1.57%, while Tata Steel advanced around 0.57%.

𝗣𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗕𝗮𝗻𝗸𝘀

Private banking stocks performed strongly and helped limit the downside in the benchmark indices.

The private banking segment gained around 0.7%–1.1%, according to market data.

Kotak Mahindra Bank led the sector with a gain of around 3.76%.

Axis Bank also gained around 1.62%, while ICICI Bank advanced approximately 0.51%.

𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲𝘀

The Financial Services sector gained around 0.53%.

Strength in private banks and selected financial companies helped offset weakness in IT and infrastructure stocks.

𝗜𝗻𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲

Insurance stocks also performed well.

The insurance segment gained around 0.91%, led by HDFC Life, which advanced approximately 1.15%.

SBI Life also gained around 0.75%.

𝗣𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗺𝗮

Pharma stocks remained relatively resilient.

The Nifty Pharma index gained around 0.23%, providing some stability during an otherwise weak session.

𝗪𝗲𝗮𝗸 𝗣𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗦𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀

𝗜𝗧

IT was the biggest sectoral drag.

The Nifty IT index declined around 1.47%.

Infosys, Tech Mahindra, Wipro, HCL Technologies and TCS all ended lower.

𝗜𝗻𝗳𝗿𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲

Infrastructure stocks also remained under pressure.

The Infrastructure index declined around 1%, with Larsen & Toubro falling approximately 1.96%.

𝗣𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿

Power stocks witnessed significant selling.

The Power segment declined around 1.80%, with Power Grid and NTPC both ending lower.

𝗙𝗠𝗖𝗚

FMCG stocks also remained weak.

The FMCG index declined around 0.95%, reflecting profit booking in consumer-oriented stocks.

𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗼

The Auto sector fell around 0.74%.

Selling pressure was visible across several automobile stocks during the session.

𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘂𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝗗𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲𝘀

Consumer Durables declined around 0.93%.

The sector faced profit booking after recent gains.

𝗧𝗼𝗽 𝗚𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘀

The major Nifty gainers included:

• Kotak Mahindra Bank
• Axis Bank
• JSW Steel
• UltraTech Cement
• HDFC Life

Kotak Mahindra Bank emerged as the strongest Nifty performer, gaining around 3.76%.

Axis Bank advanced around 1.62%, while JSW Steel gained around 1.57%.

UltraTech Cement rose around 1.53%, and HDFC Life gained around 1.15%.

𝗧𝗼𝗽 𝗟𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘀

The major Nifty losers included:

• Bharti Airtel
• Power Grid
• Infosys
• Larsen & Toubro
• Nestle India
• Tech Mahindra
• Shriram Finance

Bharti Airtel declined around 2.31% and was among the biggest Nifty losers.

Power Grid fell around 2.14%, while Infosys declined around 2.10%.

Larsen & Toubro fell around 1.96%, while Tech Mahindra declined around 1.81%.

𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗰𝗸𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗙𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀

𝗞𝗼𝘁𝗮𝗸 𝗠𝗮𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗿𝗮 𝗕𝗮𝗻𝗸

Kotak Mahindra Bank was the strongest Nifty stock during the session.

The stock gained around 3.76% and significantly outperformed the broader market.

Strength in private-sector banking was one of the key factors limiting the downside in the benchmark indices.

𝗔𝘅𝗶𝘀 𝗕𝗮𝗻𝗸

Axis Bank gained around 1.62%.

The stock benefited from the broader buying interest in private banking stocks and helped offset weakness in IT and infrastructure companies.

𝗝𝗦𝗪 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗲𝗹

JSW Steel gained around 1.57%.

The stock was among the strongest metal counters, helping the Nifty Metal index outperform the broader market.

The Metal sector gained around 1.27% during the session.

𝗨𝗹𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗧𝗲𝗰𝗵 𝗖𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁

UltraTech Cement advanced around 1.53%.

The stock was among the top Nifty gainers and provided additional support to the benchmark.

𝗛𝗗𝗙𝗖 𝗟𝗶𝗳𝗲

HDFC Life gained around 1.15%.

Insurance stocks were relatively strong, with the insurance segment gaining around 0.91%.

𝗜𝗻𝗳𝗼𝘀𝘆𝘀

Infosys was among the biggest Nifty losers.

The stock declined around 2.10% amid broad weakness across the IT sector.

Concerns around US visa costs, AI-related disruption and caution ahead of Nvidia's earnings weighed on investor sentiment toward Indian technology companies.

𝗕𝗵𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶 𝗔𝗶𝗿𝘁𝗲𝗹

Bharti Airtel declined around 2.31%.

It was one of the biggest Nifty losers and contributed to the weakness in the benchmark.

Telecom stocks remained among the weaker areas of the market.

𝗣𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿 𝗚𝗿𝗶𝗱

Power Grid fell around 2.14%.

The weakness in Power Grid contributed to the broader decline in the power and infrastructure segments.

𝗧𝗲𝗰𝗵 𝗠𝗮𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗿𝗮

Tech Mahindra declined around 1.81%.

The stock followed the broader IT-sector sell-off, with the entire major IT basket ending lower.

𝗩𝗮𝗿𝘂𝗻 𝗕𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗲𝘀

Varun Beverages declined around 3.8%.

The stock came under pressure after investors assessed execution risks related to the company's planned entry into the alcoholic ready-to-drink beverages business.

𝗕𝗿𝗼𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁 𝗣𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲

The broader market performed better than the benchmark indices.

The Nifty Smallcap 100 gained around 0.8%, while the Midcap segment ended broadly flat.

Market breadth on the NSE was also relatively positive, with around 2,263 stocks advancing, compared with 1,881 stocks declining and 173 remaining unchanged.

However, within the Nifty 50 itself, breadth was weak.

Only 13 of the 50 Nifty constituents advanced, while 37 declined, producing an advance-decline ratio of approximately 0.35.

This divergence indicates that the headline-market weakness was concentrated more heavily in large-cap stocks, while selective buying continued in smaller companies.

𝗜𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗶𝘁𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗔𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗶𝘁𝘆

Foreign and domestic institutional flows remained an important factor for the market.

On the previous session, FIIs had bought approximately ₹1,593.53 crore, while DIIs bought around ₹230.26 crore.

The positive institutional flow had helped the Nifty recover on 25 August, but the market failed to sustain that momentum on 26 August.

Investors continued to monitor whether foreign buying would remain consistent in the coming sessions.

𝗥𝘂𝗽𝗲𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗖𝗿𝘂𝗱𝗲 𝗢𝗶𝗹

Crude oil prices remained one of the most important global market variables.

Brent crude fell below $86 per barrel during Wednesday's session.

Reuters reported that Brent crude was around $86.45 per barrel, down more than 2%, as hopes increased for a potential reopening of the Strait of Hormuz following talks between Iran and Oman.

Lower crude prices are generally positive for India because the country is a major oil importer.

However, Indian equities did not benefit significantly from the decline in oil prices because selling in IT and Reliance Industries outweighed the positive macroeconomic impact.

The Indian rupee had also strengthened to around ₹95.41 per US dollar on the previous session as falling crude prices reduced pressure on the currency.

𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗶𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗛𝗼𝗿𝗺𝘂𝘇 𝗗𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀

Developments around the Strait of Hormuz remained an important factor for global markets.

Iran and Oman were involved in discussions aimed at managing and potentially reopening shipping through the strategic waterway.

The possibility of reduced disruption to oil shipments helped crude prices decline for the third consecutive day.

For India, any sustained reduction in crude oil prices could provide relief to inflation, the rupee and the country's import bill.

𝗚𝗹𝗼𝗯𝗮𝗹 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁 𝗖𝘂𝗲𝘀

Global markets were relatively positive on Wednesday.

US markets had ended higher in the previous session, with the Dow Jones gaining around 0.30%, the S&P 500 advancing around 0.32% and the Nasdaq gaining around 0.66%.

Asian markets also traded positively amid falling oil prices and hopes of easing tensions around the Strait of Hormuz.

However, Indian markets failed to follow the positive global trend because of domestic selling pressure in IT, infrastructure and heavyweight stocks.

𝗡𝘃𝗶𝗱𝗶𝗮 𝗘𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗙𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀

Nvidia's quarterly earnings became one of the biggest global market events for investors.

The results were expected to provide clues about the sustainability of the global AI investment cycle.

For Indian IT companies, the outcome was particularly important because demand for technology services and AI-related spending in the US can influence the sector's future growth expectations.

Indian IT stocks therefore remained under pressure ahead of the results.

𝗧𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗢𝘂𝘁𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸

The Nifty closed at 24,207.75, slipping below the important 24,250 level.

The immediate support zone remains around 24,150–24,100.

A decisive break below 24,100 could increase selling pressure towards 24,000.

On the upside, 24,250 is now an important level to reclaim.

Above 24,250, the Nifty could again attempt a move towards 24,350–24,400.

The broader technical range remains approximately 24,000–24,600, with the market likely to remain volatile until a decisive breakout or breakdown occurs.

Bank Nifty continued to show relative strength, closing around 57,783.75, up approximately 0.47%.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗪𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵 𝗡𝗲𝘅𝘁

Investors will closely monitor:

• Nifty's ability to reclaim 24,250
• Support around 24,100–24,000
• Bank Nifty performance
• IT sector weakness
• Nvidia earnings
• US technology stocks
• H-1B visa fee developments
• Crude oil prices below $86
• Strait of Hormuz developments
• Rupee movement
• FII and DII flows
• Reliance Industries performance
• Metal and banking stocks
• Global market cues

𝗜𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗢𝘂𝘁𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸

The short-term market outlook remains cautious and range-bound.

Although crude oil prices declined sharply and banking stocks remained strong, the Nifty failed to sustain its early gains.

The weakness in IT stocks is particularly important because the sector has a significant weight in the benchmark.

Investors are also waiting for Nvidia's earnings and further clarity on US visa policies.

At the same time, strength in private banks and metal stocks shows that investors are actively rotating money between sectors rather than exiting the market completely.

Long-term investors should continue focusing on fundamentally strong companies and avoid making investment decisions purely based on one volatile trading session.

Short-term traders should closely monitor the 24,100–24,250 zone and maintain strict risk management.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗛𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗻 𝗡𝗲𝘅𝘁?

If the Nifty manages to reclaim 24,250 and sustain above this level, the index could attempt a recovery towards 24,350–24,400.

A sustained move above 24,400 could improve the short-term structure and potentially take the index towards 24,500.

On the other hand, a decisive break below 24,100 could increase selling pressure towards 24,000 and potentially lower levels.

The direction of crude oil, developments around the Strait of Hormuz and global technology stocks will remain important.

The performance of IT, private banks and metals could also determine the next major move in the benchmark indices.

𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗹𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻

The Indian stock market ended lower on 26 August 2026, with the Sensex falling 183.15 points and the Nifty declining 126.80 points.

The Sensex closed at 77,472.94, while the Nifty settled at 24,207.75.

The market started positively but failed to sustain its early gains as investors sold IT, infrastructure, telecom and selected heavyweight stocks.

The Nifty IT index fell around 1.47%, while Infrastructure, Power, FMCG, Auto and Consumer Durables also remained under pressure.

In contrast, Metal, Private Banks, Financial Services and Insurance stocks performed relatively well. The Nifty Metal index gained around 1.27%, while Bank Nifty rose around 0.47%.

Kotak Mahindra Bank, Axis Bank, JSW Steel, UltraTech Cement and HDFC Life were among the top Nifty gainers.

On the other hand, Bharti Airtel, Power Grid, Infosys, Larsen & Toubro and Tech Mahindra were among the major losers.

The broader market remained comparatively resilient, with the Nifty Smallcap 100 gaining around 0.8%, while the Midcap segment remained broadly flat.

Crude oil prices continued to decline amid hopes of progress around the Strait of Hormuz, with Brent crude moving below $86 per barrel. However, the positive impact of lower oil prices was overshadowed by IT-sector selling and weakness in Reliance Industries.

Going forward, the 24,250 level will remain important for the Nifty. A recovery above this level could open the door towards 24,350–24,400, while a break below 24,100 could increase selling pressure towards 24,000.