Market benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty ended flat on Friday (August 21, 2026), a day after registering a rebound, as elevated crude oil prices induced by geopolitical uncertainties and a sharp fall in the U.S. markets made investors cautious.
In a largely range-bound trade, the 30-share BSE Sensex ended almost unchanged from the previous close at 77,540.83, up 3.11 points. During the day, it hit a high of 77,725.67 and a low of 77,445.86, gyrating 279.81 points.
The 50-share NSE Nifty also ended flat, up 20.15 points, or 0.08%, at 24,252.
A rebound in U.S. Treasury yields and persistently elevated crude oil prices discouraged investors from taking aggressive directional positions, an expert said.
“Indian equity benchmarks ended a choppy Friday session largely unchanged, as investors defended Thursday’s recovery but showed little conviction to push the market decisively higher.
“Investor sentiment remained cautious heading into the weekend as a rebound in US Treasury yields and persistently elevated crude oil prices discouraged investors from taking aggressive directional positions,” Hariselvan Radhakrishnan, founder & CEO of HST Wealth, a Research Analyst firm, said.
The continuing standoff between the United States and Iran has kept geopolitical risk firmly embedded in energy markets, leaving oil prices at levels that remain uncomfortable for a major importing economy such as India, Mr. Radhakrishnan added.
“The renewed rise in U.S. bond yields has added another layer of uncertainty, despite the Treasury’s expanded debt-buyback programme,” he said.
Among the Sensex firms, Power Grid, Bharat Electronics, Kotak Mahindra Bank, NTPC, Bajaj Finserv and Asian Paints were the biggest winners.
Trent, Maruti, InterGlobe Aviation and HCL Tech were among the laggards. The BSE SmallCap Select index climbed 0.81% and the MidCap Select index was up 0.39%.
Among sectoral indices, Insurance climbed 0.94%, Utilities 0.69%, MidSmall Private Banks Quality Tilt 0.68%, MidSmall Private Banks 0.65%, Power 0.64%, Financial Services 0.33% and Telecommunication 0.21%.
Auto dropped 0.68%, Housing Finance 0.61%, Hospitals 0.50%, Focused IT 0.47%, IT 0.42% and Healthcare 0.33%.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth ₹583.36 crore on Thursday, according to exchange data.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was up 0.06% at $93.84 per barrel.
“The elevated global bond yields continue to cause worry in the market. The recent U.S. Treasury’s move to ease the bond yields failed to provide lasting comfort, given surging crude prices and persistent inflation fears,” Vinod Nair, head of research, Geojit Investments Limited, said.
On the weekly front, the BSE benchmark declined 468.42 points, or 0.60%, and the Nifty dipped 114 points, or 0.46%. In Asian markets, South Korea’s Kospi, Shanghai’s SSE Composite index and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index ended higher, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 settled lower.
Markets in Europe were trading marginally higher. U.S. markets ended in negative territory on Thursday.
On Thursday, the Sensex jumped 628.04 points, or 0.82%, to settle at 77,537.72 after four days of decline. The Nifty also bounced back after seven days of losses. It ended at 24,231.85, up 153.55 points, or 0.64%.
Published – August 21, 2026 05:54 pm IST
