Market benchmark indices ended lower on Tuesday (August 18, 2026), with the Sensex falling 493 points and the Nifty dropping to 24,154.90 level, as elevated crude oil prices and fading hopes of a diplomatic breakthrough in West Asia weighed heavily on investors’ sentiment.
The 30-share BSE Sensex was down 492.70 points, or 0.63%, to settle at 77,235.46, registering its third day of decline. During the fag-end of trade, it tanked 493.8 points, or 0.63%, to 77,234.36.
The 50-share NSE Nifty declined for the sixth day, sliding 132.75 points, or 0.55%, to end at 24,154.90.
From the Sensex pack, Asian Paints, Infosys, HCL Tech, Bharti Airtel, Tata Consultancy Services, and Hindustan Unilever were among the major laggards.
Axis Bank, Power Grid, Mahindra & Mahindra, and Bajaj Finance were among the winners.
The BSE MidCap Select index declined 0.46%, while SmallCap Select index was up 0.24%.
Among sectoral indices, Focused IT tanked 1.84%, ITechnology Realty (1.28%), PSU Bank (1.04%), Consumer Durables (0.81%), FMCG (0.67%), Metal (0.47%), and Capital Goods (0.47%).
MidSmall Private Banks Quality Tilt, MidSmall Private Banks, Hospitals and Healthcare were the winners.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, went up 0.17% to $91.02 per barrel.
“Crude oil remained the primary drag on market sentiment, while rising U.S. bond yields and weak global cues prolonged the risk-off trend in Indian equities. Investor anxiety increased as hopes for a Middle East resolution faded following the expiration of the temporary U.S.-Iran ceasefire, heightening concerns about renewed inflation,” Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Ltd., said.
Elevated U.S. yields further reduced the attractiveness of emerging markets, and IT stocks-led losses amid fears that persistently high interest rates could dampen global technology spending, he added.
Among the Tata Group stocks, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles was down 2.28%, Tata Chemicals slipped 1.63%, TCS dipped 1.47%. Tata Consumer Products fell 1.25%, Voltas edged lower by 1.10%, Tata Communications declined 1%, Tata Investment Corporation skidded 0.94%, Tata Steel lost 0.48%, Titan (0.39%), Tata Power (0.24%) and Trent (0.24%) on the BSE.
A key annual general meeting of Tata Sons, the holding company of the salt-to-software conglomerate, had to be adjourned on Tuesday (August 18, 2026) due to lack of quorum, sources said.
The meeting had to be adjourned because Sir Dorabji Tata Trust (SDTT) and Sir Ratan Tata Trust (SRTT), which jointly nominate a representative, could not be present, they said.
The AGM was considered key because it comes within a week of current Tata Sons chairman N. Chandrasekaran opting out of reappointment after his term ends next February.
In Asian markets, South Korea’s Kospi and Japan’s Nikkei 225 settled lower, while Shanghai’s SSE Composite index and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index ended marginally higher.
Markets in Europe were trading on a mixed note.
U.S. markets ended in negative territory on Monday (August 17, 2026).
“Indian equity markets extended their losing streak to a sixth consecutive session on Tuesday, tracking weakness across global markets as rising crude oil prices and a sharp sell-off in U.S. Treasuries weighed on investor sentiment,” R. Ponmudi, CEO of Enrich Money, an online trading and wealth tech firm, said.
Fading hopes of a diplomatic breakthrough in the Middle East dampened risk appetite, he added.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth ₹2,535.10 crore on Monday (August 17, 2026), according to exchange data.
On Monday (August 17, 2026), the Sensex declined 281.09 points, or 0.36%, to settle at 77,728.16. The Nifty was down 78.35 points, or 0.32%, to end at 24,287.65, taking the losses to the fifth day.
Published – August 18, 2026 05:31 pm IST
