Stock Market Update 18 August 2026: Sensex Sheds Over 250 Pts; Nifty 50 Below 24,250

The Indian stock market indices traded in the red during early trading on Tuesday, 18 August 2026.

At around 9:17 AM, the Sensex was down by around 274 points (0.35%) to trade at 77,453.90. The Nifty 50 was trailing by around 56 points (0.23%) to trade at 24,231.90.

On Monday, 17 August 2026, the indices closed in the negative territory. At market close, the Sensex stood at 77,728.16, down 0.36%. The Nifty 50 stood at 24,287.65, down 0.32%.

How Are Other Indices Performing?

Apart from the Sensex and the Nifty 50, other broader indices also traded in the red during early trading on Tuesday.

At around 9:19 AM, Bank Nifty was down 59 points (0.10%) to trade at 57,438.75. The Nifty Financial Services index was also down by around 0.20% to trade at 26,163.45.

The sectoral indices, however, traded in mixed directions. Nifty Auto (up 0.42%) and Nifty Pharma (up 0.26%) were trading in the green. Nifty FMCG (down 0.11%), Nifty Metal (down 0.01%), Nifty PSU Bank (down 0.05%) and Nifty IT (down 1.25%) were trading in the red.

Top Gainers And Losers

During early trading on Tuesday, around 1514 shares advanced, 1159 shares declined, and 164 shares remained unchanged.

The top gainers on Nifty included Bajaj Auto, ONGC, SBI, Grasim Industries and Axis Bank.

The top losers were Max Healthcare, Interglobe Aviation, Asian Paints, Infosys and Jio Financial.

How Are The Global Markets Performing?

With rising oil prices and escalating Middle East tensions weighing down investor sentiments, global markets were mostly bearish on Tuesday.

• S&P 500 futures fell 0.1% as of 10:54 AM Tokyo time.

• Nikkei 225 futures (OSE) fell 1.3%.

• Japan’s Topix fell 0.3%.

• Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.1%.

• Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.6%.

• The Shanghai Composite was little changed.

• Euro Stoxx 50 futures fell 0.2%.

Factors Impacting The Markets

• Middle East Uncertainty: After the US-Iran truce expiry, Tehran had adopted a fully offensive military posture. The heightened geopolitical uncertainty has impacted investor sentiments globally.

• Rupee Opens Lower: The Indian rupee opened a bit lower at 95.6625 per US dollar on Tuesday. The previous close was at 95.6025.

• Global Oil Prices: Global oil prices edged higher on Tuesday as there was no certainty on the peace deal between the US and Iran and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. Rising Brent crude prices were one of the main irritants for global markets.

• FII activity: Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) inflows have remained positive for most of July and August so far. However, now, they can turn negative after rising geopolitical tensions.

Investor Takeaway

A combination of national and international factors is currently influencing the markets. While positive Q1 results are providing resilience, rising oil prices are weighing down investor sentiment. Developments in the Middle East remain a key factor and could lead to short-term volatility.

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