Indian stocks continued to remain subdued in Monday’s trade, 17 August, as a lack of progress towards ending the Middle East conflict kept investor sentiment fragile, while higher crude oil prices and continued selling by overseas investors caused the headline indices to extend last week’s losses.
The Nifty closed 0.11% lower at 24,339, while the Sensex fell 0.19% to 77,876. The broader markets, however, recovered from their recent losses, with both the Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 indices rising 0.05% and 0.38%, respectively.
In terms of sectoral performance, tech led the losses, declining sharply by 1.75%. It was followed by FMCG, consumer durables, pharma, PSU banks, and auto, all of which fell by up to 1%. On the gaining side, realty, metal, media, and private banks ended higher, rising 1% and 0.76%, respectively.
Crude oil prices remained elevated in trade, with Brent crude futures edging closer to $90 per barrel as hopes of a near-term deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz collapsed amid a continued deadlock in negotiations.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said Tehran had not decided whether to resume talks with the US, while President Donald Trump urged Americans to accept somewhat higher gasoline prices as the conflict continues.
Meanwhile, the 60-day negotiating period to reach a peace deal between the US and Iran was nearing its end, with no word of an extension, and both sides seemingly as far apart as they were two months ago.
Q1 earnings drag Schneider Electric, Belrise Industries and others
Schneider Electric was the top laggard among Nifty 500 stocks, falling 11.5% to ₹1,212 apiece after its June quarter net profit plunged 70%, impacted by higher costs. Belrise Industries also crashed 7.5% to ₹236 as investors were disappointed with the company’s Q1 performance.
Weaker-than-expected operating profit in the June quarter dragged NMDC Steel down 6.6% to ₹6.16. The stock extended its losses after the company’s earnings, with Aditya Infotech falling another 5% to ₹3,343.
LG Electronics India also reacted negatively to its June quarter numbers, falling 3.8% to ₹1,663.
The bull run in Honasa Consumer came to a halt as investors appeared to book profits in the counter, causing the stock to drop 4.2% to ₹481. Among Tata Group stocks, Tata Technologies, Voltas, and Tejas Networks all closed with losses of over 3%.
Among tech stocks, HCL Technologies and Infosys each dropped over 2.5%. Other stocks such as Godrej Industries, ACME Solar Holdings, Dr Lal PathLabs, Gland Pharma, and AIA Engineering also declined by over 2%.
Ipca Laboratories, Hindustan Copper lead gains
On the winning side, Ipca Laboratories shares jumped 9% to ₹1,884 apiece as brokerages remained bullish on the stock following its Q1 results. Hindustan Copper also gained 8.2% to ₹572 apiece, supported by higher copper prices in the international market.
Better-than-expected Q1 performance drove PTC Industries shares 8% higher, while Inox Wind saw renewed buying interest, with the stock rising 6.1% to ₹78 apiece. The bull run in Finolex Cables extended further, with the stock gaining 6% to ₹1,320 apiece.
Other stocks such as Oberoi Realty, Netweb Technologies, TBO Tek, Suzlon Energy, Kalpataru Projects, KFIN Technologies, and Ashok Leyland all gained over 3%.
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