Nifty 50 Top Gainers and Losers Today, August 26: Kotak Bank, Axis Bank Rise; Grasim, Cipla Fall

Indian equity benchmarks ended lower on Wednesday, August 26, as selling in IT and several heavyweight stocks offset gains in banking, metal and cement counters. Both the SENSEX and NIFTY50 ended at their intraday lows.

The 30-share BSE SENSEX fell 183.16 points, or 0.24%, to close at 77,472.94, while the NIFTY50 declined 126.80 points, or 0.52%, to end at 24,207.75.

The market remained cautious ahead of key US inflation data, which investors are watching for clues on the Federal Reserve's interest-rate outlook. Oil prices also extended their decline, providing some relief on the inflation front.

Banking and metal stocks were among the stronger pockets of the market, while IT stocks faced selling pressure. Kotak Mahindra Bank emerged as the top Nifty 50 gainer, followed by Axis Bank and JSW Steel. On the downside, Grasim Industries, Cipla, Wipro, HCL Technologies and Tata Steel were among the biggest losers.

Top Nifty 50 Gainers

Banking stocks rallied on Wednesday, with private-sector lenders emerging as a key support for the benchmark. Kotak Mahindra Bank surged 3.76% to ₹416.70, making it the biggest Nifty 50 gainer, while Axis Bank rose 1.62% to ₹1,255. The gains came despite the broader Nifty ending 0.52% lower. Kotak also outperformed its banking peers by a wide margin during the session.

The broader financial pack also remained firm, with HDFC Life Insurance gaining 1.15% and SBI Life Insurance advancing 0.75%. The strength in financial stocks came as investors rotated towards banks and select financial counters while IT and other large-cap stocks faced selling.

Metal stocks were another bright spot. JSW Steel gained 1.57% to ₹1,341 and touched its 52-week high during the session. Tata Steel, however, moved in the opposite direction and featured among the top Nifty 50 losers.

UltraTech Cement rose 1.53% to ₹11,717, extending the strength in cement stocks. The cement major was among the top five Nifty 50 gainers and helped offset some of the pressure from heavyweight losers.

Top Nifty 50 Losers

IT stocks came under pressure on Wednesday, with Wipro falling 1.43% and HCL Technologies declining 1.41%. Infosys was also among the biggest drags on the Nifty, falling 2.10% during the session. The weakness in the technology pack came as investors remained cautious ahead of US macroeconomic data and continued to assess the outlook for Indian IT companies.

Grasim Industries was the biggest Nifty 50 loser, declining 1.72% to ₹3,230. Cipla also remained under pressure, falling 1.47% to ₹1,416.40. Both stocks featured among the six biggest decliners in the index.

Tata Steel fell 1.39% to ₹183.67, even as JSW Steel gained 1.57% and emerged among the top Nifty gainers. The divergent performance within the metal pack highlighted the stock-specific nature of Wednesday's trade.

Coal India declined 1.33% to ₹401.45, completing the list of the six biggest Nifty 50 losers. The stock remained weaker even as select commodity-linked counters saw buying interest.

Midcap and Smallcap Movers

The NIFTY Midcap 100 declined 61.70 points, or 0.10%, to close at 64,101.20 on Wednesday.

Metal and financial stocks were among the stronger performers in the midcap segment. Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) gained 5.59%, while GE Vernova T&D India rose 3.70%. LIC Housing Finance, Motilal Oswal Financial Services and NMDC also advanced 3.64%, 2.82% and 2.64%, respectively.

On the downside, Tata Communications fell 3.29%, followed by Billionbrains Garage Ventures, Jubilant Foodworks, Premier Energies and Vishal Mega Mart, which declined 3.24%, 3.01%, 2.99% and 2.56%, respectively.

The NIFTY Smallcap 100, meanwhile, gained 0.81%, or 160.70 points, to close at 20,067.30.

Smallcap banking and financial stocks were among the strongest performers. IDBI Bank surged 7.86%, while Capri Global Capital gained 6.60%. Ola Electric Mobility rose 5.14%, Data Patterns (India) gained 5.08% and Physicswallah advanced 4.41%.

Physicswallah shares gained after a large trade involving 4,66,98,120 shares worth ₹549.73 crore took place on the NSE.

On the downside, Inventurus Knowledge Solutions fell 2.56%, Signatureglobal declined 2.48% and BLS International slipped 2.43%. Firstsource Solutions and Crompton Greaves Consumer Electricals also featured among the top smallcap losers, declining 1.96% and 1.95%, respectively.

What Investors Should Watch

Wednesday's session highlighted a sharp sectoral divergence. Banking and select financial stocks attracted buying, while IT stocks faced pressure, keeping the benchmark indices in negative territory. The Nifty IT index also remained weak as investors continued to assess the outlook for Indian technology companies and the impact of US policy developments.

The broader market was comparatively resilient, with the Nifty Smallcap 100 rising 0.81% even as the Nifty Midcap 100 slipped 0.10%. Investors will now track US inflation data and global market cues for further direction, along with continued sectoral rotation and stock-specific developments.

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