Sensex ends 300 pts lower, Nifty below 24,700 ahead of RBI MPC outcome; auto stocks buck trend

In today's session, all sectoral indices traded in the red, barring auto. The broader market also edged lower by up to 0.8 percent on August 5.

Benchmark indices Nifty and Sensex ended the session on a weak note as sentiment to a fresh hit after U.S. President Donald Trump warned of a “substantial” hike in duties on Indian exports, citing continued purchases of Russian oil. This follows last week’s threat of a 25 percent tariff and an unspecified penalty.

In today's session, all sectoral indices traded in the red, barring auto. The broader market also edged lower by up to 0.8 percent on August 5. At close,  the Sensex was down 308.47 points or 0.38 percent at 80,710.25, and the Nifty was down 73.20 points or 0.30 percent at 24,649.55. About 1708 shares advanced, 2184 shares declined, and 143 shares were unchanged.

Experts say President Trump's latest tweet warning of a substantial hike in US tariffs on India over its Russian oil imports poses a serious risk. If implemented, it could further strain US-India relations and hit Indian exports to the US harder than previously anticipated. Such a move would also weigh on India's FY26 GDP growth and corporate earnings. "As a result, the market enters a phase of near-term uncertainty. Any escalation in tariffs could trigger a negative reaction, with the Nifty potentially breaching the key support level of 24,500," V K Vijayakumar of Geojit Investments Limited said.

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Volatility eased slightly, with India VIX down 1.09 percent at 11.84. Among the few gainers, Nifty Auto edged up 0.06 percent, while Consumer Durables posted a marginal gain of 0.04 percent. On the downside, Nifty Oil & Gas fell the most, slipping 1.16 percent, followed by Pharma and FMCG, down 1.08 percent and 0.90 percent, respectively. IT, Infra, and Energy also registered notable losses. Banking indices remained under pressure, with Nifty Bank down 0.72 percent and PSU Bank declining 0.57 percent. The broader market mirrored the trend, with the Nifty Midcap 100 and Smallcap 100 falling 0.76 percent and 0.37 percent, respectively. Realty stocks also took a hit, dropping 0.87 percent.

Shares of Paytm parent One97 Communications were down over 2 percent as the firm saw a block deal of 1.86 crore shares, involving 2.9 percent of its total equity in trade on Tuesday, August 5. Earlier, reports had suggested that Antfin (Netherlands) Holding B.V., one of the largest shareholders in the financial services firm, was likely to sell its entire 5.84 percent stake worth Rs 3,803 crore or approximately $434 million via the block deal route.

Troubled private lender IndusInd Bank Ltd rallied as much as 5 percent before ending 2 percent higher on the bourses on Tuesday, August 5, after the Reserve Bank of India approved the appointment of Rajiv Anand as the new managing director and CEO. The three-year appointment will run until August 24, 2028, pending shareholder approval at the bank's upcoming general meeting.

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The shares of Aditya Infotech made a strong debut on the stock markets on August 5, listing at Rs 1,015 apiece on NSE. This implies a premium of more than 50 percent over the IPO price of Rs 675 apiece. On BSE, the shares however listed with a premium of nearly 51 percent over the IPO price at Rs 1,018 apiece. The stock debuted with a market capitalisation of around Rs 11,900 crore.

Technical View

Vaishali Parekh, Vice President of Technical Research at Prabhudas Lilladher, said that Nifty staged a pullback and closed above the 24,700 mark, with broader markets also showing signs of recovery. Further gains could be on the cards in the coming sessions. However, for a stronger confirmation of trend reversal, the index must decisively break above its 50-day EMA at 24,906. A sustained move beyond this level could open the door for continued upside.

Titan Company, IndusInd Bank, SBI Life Insurance, Coal India and Maruti Suzuki were the top gainers on the Nifty. Laggards on the index included Adani Ports, Infosys, Adani Enterprises, Reliance Industries and ICICI Bank.

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