The Indian stock market was lifted into positive territory by late-hour buying during Tuesday’s trade, August 25, though the underlying sentiment remained fragile amid escalating tensions in the Middle East.
After opening the session lower, the markets remained under pressure for most of the day before recovering in the final hour of trade. The Nifty 50 eventually settled 0.17% higher at 24,260, while the Sensex also ended the session in the green at 77,511, up 0.21% from its previous close.
The broader market, however, delivered a mixed performance, with the Nifty Midcap 100 closing in the green while the Nifty Smallcap 100 declined 0.22%. Sectoral trends were also mixed, with pharma and consumer durables gaining nearly 1%. On the other hand, private banks and metal stocks emerged as the top losers.
Meanwhile, in the commodity market, oil prices retreated after U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced fresh sanctions against Iran and warned that countries continuing to do business with the Islamic Republic could face retaliation.
President Donald Trump’s pledge last week to unleash an “economic D-Day” against Tehran ultimately translated into fresh warnings aimed at cutting Iran off from the rest of the global economy. Asked why the US was not immediately imposing secondary sanctions on Iran’s trading partners, Bessent told reporters that he wanted countries to have an opportunity to shift away from Iran before it was too late, AP reported.
The latest measures further escalated geopolitical tensions, with Iran warning that the new US sanctions announced on Monday would not bring peace to the region. Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Tehran would respond harshly to the expanded sanctions, including measures targeting countries that Iran believes are cooperating with Washington, as per the AP report.
FACT leads gains as Vodafone Idea, Cyient and new-age tech stocks also rally
Fertilisers and Chemicals Travancore (FACT) emerged as the top performer, with the stock jumping 11.4% to ₹874 after Russia on Monday assured India of an uninterrupted supply of energy and fertilisers. The positive sentiment also lifted other fertiliser stocks, with Paradeep Phosphates surging 7% to ₹159.
Beyond fertiliser stocks, Vodafone Idea shares settled 8% higher at ₹15.20 apiece amid reports of progress in its funding discussions with SBI. Cyient also posted a similar gain of 7%, settling at ₹975. Among new-age technology stocks, Paytm, Pine Labs and Groww gained 5.8%, 4.2% and 3.4%, respectively.
Adani Enterprises and AWL Agri Business emerged as the top performers among Adani Group stocks, rising 3.7% and 3.5%, respectively. Capital market-linked stocks such as Angel One and HDFC AMC also settled higher, gaining 5.2% and 3.1%, respectively.
Other stocks, including Laurus Labs, eClerx Services, Indus Towers, Chalet Hotels, Dixon Technologies and Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders, also surged more than 3%.
Hindustan Copper leads losses as Balrampur Chini Mills, IIFL Finance and others decline
Hindustan Copper shares emerged as the top loser, falling 7.2% after the government announced an offer for sale (OFS) at a floor price that was around a 10% discount to Monday’s closing price. IIFL Finance and Data Patterns (India) also closed lower, declining 4.3% and 4.1%, respectively.
Selling pressure in Balrampur Chini Mills extended further, with the stock falling another 3.9% to ₹668. Redington shares also declined 3.4% to ₹352, extending their weakness.
Netweb Technologies, Ola Electric Mobility, Federal Bank, LT Foods, Elecon Engineering, Siemens Energy India, Sonata Software, Birlasoft, and Welspun Corp. were among the other major losers, with each falling more than 2.5%.
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