Sensex, Nifty snap 3-day slump; banking, metal stocks lead gains

However, IT and FMCG stocks remained under pressure. The Nifty IT index dropped 1.4 percent, with Infosys, LTIMindtree, and Tech Mahindra leading the decline.

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26 Aug, 2025 12:21

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After three consecutive sessions of losses, the Sensex and Nifty finally found some relief on October 18, buoyed by gains in banking and metal stocks. Excluding IT and FMCG, the remaining 11 major sectoral indices contributed to Nifty's recovery.

At close, the Sensex was up 218 points or 0.3 percent at 81,224, and the Nifty was up 104 points or 0.4 percent at 24,854. About 1,833 shares advanced, 1,928 shares declined, and 106 shares were unchanged.

The recent downturn in Indian indices was primarily triggered by persistent FII selling, weaker-than-expected earnings from marquee companies, and ongoing geopolitical concerns. Heavyweights such as Reliance Industries, Bajaj Auto, and TCS reported muted September quarter results, adding to the selling pressure in large caps.

This week, the Nifty 50 slipped by 0.4 percent, while the Sensex edged down 0.2 percent.

"September quarter earnings are not expected to be strong, with overall earnings growth at only 2 percent. Excluding oil, gas, and metals, Nifty's earnings growth stands at 10 percent. There's not much of a positive trigger on the horizon," said Siddhartha Khemka, Head of Retail Research at Motilal Oswal Financial Services. Khemka expects indices to consolidate in the term given the lack of any major triggers apart from Q2 FY25 earnings.

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V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services expects FII selling to continue considering the high valuations in India. He believes that any bounce back in the next two or three days is unlikely to be sustained as market sentiments have turned weak.

The banking sector aided in the relief, rising 1 percent ahead of Q2 results from HDFC Bank and Kotak Mahindra, due to be announced on October 19. Metals also made a comeback, with the Nifty Metal index snapping a four-session losing streak and gaining nearly 2 percent led by Tata Steel and Hindalco.

However, IT and FMCG stocks remained under pressure. The Nifty IT index dropped 1.4 percent, with Infosys, LTIMindtree, and Tech Mahindra leading the decline. Infosys shares plunged as much as 5 percent after the company's Q2 earnings fell short of expectations. The Nifty FMCG index saw its third consecutive session of losses, falling nearly 1 percent, dragged down by ITC, HUL, and Nestle.

In the broader market, the BSE Midcap index inched up 0.2 percent, while the Smallcap index fell 0.2 percent. On the Nifty 50, Axis Bank, Wipro, and Eicher Motors emerged as the top gainers, advancing between 3-6 percent. Conversely, Britannia, Asian Paints, and Infosys were the day’s biggest laggards, sliding 1-5 percent.

Axis Bank shares surged nearly 6 percent as the top Nifty 50 gainer, driven by positive brokerage calls following its 18 percent YoY rise in Q2 net profit to Rs 6,918 crore. Wipro followed, up almost 4 percent, after posting earnings that exceeded expectations, marking its first sequential revenue growth in six quarters.

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