Archive · 26 Aug 2026
Indian Stocks Fall as IT Shares and Reliance Weigh
India’s main stock markets ended lower on Wednesday.
The Sensex lost about 183 points, while the Nifty fell about 127 points.
Technology companies and Reliance Industries were among the biggest reasons for the decline.
Stocks in areas such as information technology, consumer goods, automobiles and consumer durables also weakened.
Some companies, including Kotak Mahindra Bank and Axis Bank, gained.
Cheaper crude oil helped support the market.
Stock markets in several Asian countries and the United States had performed positively.
However, investors took profits after earlier gains, so the Indian indexes finished lower.
The BSE Sensex fell 183.15 points, or 0.24%, to 77,472.94.
The NSE Nifty declined 126.80 points, or 0.52%, to 24,207.75.
Infosys, Bharti Airtel, Larsen & Toubro and Reliance Industries led Sensex losses.
Kotak Mahindra Bank, UltraTech Cement, Axis Bank and Tata Steel gained.
Lower crude prices and positive global markets offered support, but sectoral weakness prevailed.
- Who
- Indian equity investors, companies in the Sensex, and the NSE Nifty.
- What
- The Sensex and Nifty declined after giving up their intraday gains.
- When
- Wednesday.
- Where
- Indian stock exchanges, including the BSE and NSE.
- Why
- Weakness in IT and other sectors, along with declines in Reliance Industries, outweighed support from lower crude oil prices and positive global markets.
Market Headwinds
Market Supports
Reasons for the decline
Market Headwinds
Weakness in IT, FMCG, automobile and consumer-durable stocks, along with declines in Reliance Industries, dragged the indexes lower. Analysts also described the move as profit-taking after early gains.
Market Supports
Lower crude oil prices and a broadly constructive global backdrop helped limit the decline.
Global market signals
Market Headwinds
Indian indexes remained below the Nifty’s 24,300 level and ended lower despite positive trading elsewhere.
Market Supports
South Korea’s Kospi, Japan’s Nikkei 225, Shanghai’s SSE Composite and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng ended higher, while European markets were mostly higher and US markets had closed positively.
- Sensex close
- 77,472.94, down 183.15 points or 0.24%.
- Nifty close
- 24,207.75, down 126.80 points or 0.52%.
- Sensex trading range
- The index touched 77,986.84 at its high and 77,472.94 at its low, a 513.9-point range.
- Major laggards
- Infosys, Bharti Airtel, Larsen & Toubro, Power Grid, Tech Mahindra, NTPC, Mahindra & Mahindra and Reliance Industries.
- Major gainers
- Kotak Mahindra Bank, UltraTech Cement, Axis Bank and Tata Steel.
- Crude oil
- Brent crude fell 2.96% to USD 85.96 per barrel.
- Foreign investor activity
- Foreign Institutional Investors bought equities worth Rs 1,593.53 crore on Tuesday.
