Sensex, Nifty snap 6-week losing streak, US-Russia talks eyed for tariff penalty relief

Markets bounce back after six weeks of declines

Indian benchmark indices, Sensex and Nifty, closed in the green on August 14, snapping a six-week losing streak. Both indices ended the week about 1 percent higher as investors looked past recent tariff-related volatility. Market attention is now firmly on the US–Russia meeting scheduled in Alaska tomorrow, with the Street hopeful that discussions could lead to a ceasefire and a rollback of the additional 25 percent penalty imposed on India.

At close, the Sensex was up 57.75 points or 0.07 percent at 80,597.66, and the Nifty was up 11.95 points or 0.05 percent at 24,631.30. About 1,655 shares advanced, 2,221 shares declined, and 142 shares unchanged.

By the week’s end, all sectoral indices except Nifty FMCG posted gains. Nifty Pharma emerged as the top sectoral gainer, climbing 3 percent for the week, while Nifty Auto and Nifty PSU Bank each advanced 2 percent.

On the day’s trade, Nifty IT led the gains, boosted by Infosys’ announcement to acquire a majority stake in an Australian IT company. In contrast, Nifty Metal and Nifty FMCG closed in the red.

Broader markets underperformed, with both Nifty Midcap and Nifty Smallcap indices slipping into negative territory.

ICICI Securities noted that Nifty is approaching a crucial support range of 24,000–23,800, aligning with its 52-week EMA and representing a 50 percent retracement of the rally from the April low of 21,743.

Given the oversold conditions, the brokerage sees potential for a technical pullback. It advised traders to avoid aggressive short positions in the truncated week ahead and instead focus on gradually accumulating quality stocks backed by strong earnings.