Sensex, Nifty rally for 4th consecutive session as auto, oil & gas stocks surge; small, midcaps outperform

India VIX dropped over 4 percent to 11.79, reflecting easing volatility.

Nifty and Sensex notched a fourth straight day of gains on August 19, powered by strong rallies in auto, oil & gas, metal, and FMCG stocks. The cheer spread across the board, with mid and smallcaps stealing the spotlight as they outpaced the frontline indices.

At close, the Sensex was up 370.64 points or 0.46 percent at 81,644.39, and the Nifty was up 103.70 points or 0.42 percent at 24,980.65. About 2505 shares advanced, 1375 shares declined, and 159 shares remained unchanged.

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"Government policy moves on GST, along with signals of next-generation reforms, have lifted market sentiment meaningfully. But a sustained rally will only come once there are clear signs of an earnings revival," V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Investments Limited, said. "It would be premature to expect positive responses from the Trump administration given the strain in India–US ties, even as India makes tactical efforts to improve relations with China while reinforcing its strong ties with Russia," he added.

Sectoral indices were largely trading in the green, led by Nifty Oil & Gas which rose 1.66 percent, followed by Auto up 1.32 percent, Media up 1.19 percent, and FMCG and Infra which gained nearly 1 percent each. Energy, Metals, Realty, Consumer Durables and IT also saw modest advances. Bank indices were mixed with Nifty Bank up 0.18 percent, PSU Bank gaining 0.76 percent and Private Bank adding 0.39 percent. On the broader market front, the Nifty Midcap 100 was up 1 percent and the Smallcap 100 rose 0.7 percent. Pharma was the sole laggard, slipping 0.34 percent, while India VIX dropped over 4 percent to 11.79, reflecting easing volatility.

Among movers in today's session, auto stocks were the bright sparks in today's session and rallied up to 6 percent after fresh signals out of New Delhi. According to CNBC TV-18, China’s foreign minister, currently in India for meetings, has assured that Beijing will address key concerns flagged by New Delhi, including the supply of rare earth magnets — a critical input for automakers — and tunnel boring machines. Ola Electric and Tata Motors were the top gainers.

Reliance Industries shares rose more than 2 percent in Tuesday’s trade after its Jio telecom unit announced changes in its prepaid tariffs. The gains were supported by upbeat brokerage commentary. Reliance Jio has discontinued its entry-level 1GB per day prepaid packs priced at Rs 209 for 22 days and Rs 249 for 28 days. Brokerage IIFL said the Rs 249 pack contributed less than 10 percent to Jio’s mobile revenues, and the 20 percent hike could directly lift overall revenue by under 2 percent. Axis Capital, however, expects the tariff changes to boost Jio’s FY26E revenue.

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Cotton-related companies such as Vardhman Textiles, Gokaldas Exports, Ambika Cotton Mills, and Welspun Living rallied in the range of 1 percent to 8 percent on August 19 after the Centre removed the 11 percent import duty on raw cotton till September 30. The Finance Ministry issued a notification through the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC), removing both the basic customs duty and the Agriculture Infrastructure and Development Cess on cotton imports.

Technical View

"The 50-day SMA at 25,013 is acting as a hurdle to the reversal move, which showed signs of pushing past 25,200. Upside momentum remains in play as long as the index holds above 24,850, though a slip below this level is unlikely to trigger a collapse. The preferred view is for upswings from the 24,850 zone to face resistance at 25,013, followed by 25,096 and 25,156," Anand James of Geojit Investments Limited said.

Tata Motors, Adani Ports, Bajaj Auto, Hero MotoCorp, Adani Enterprises and Reliance Industries were the top gainers on the Nifty. Laggards on the index included Dr Reddy's, Bajaj Finserv, Hindalco, Cipla, and M&M

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