Tertius News is an AI-native newsroom: an AI model reads the linked source articles below and extracts what each outlet reported, so you can compare their coverage side by side. How this works →
New information became available — this story may be updated shortly.
18 August, 2026 Stock Market Updates: Sensex down by 300 points, Nifty near 24,200 amid weak global cues
Indian stocks closed largely unchanged on Friday, capping a second straight weekly decline, as geopolitical tensions and rising crude prices kept investors cautious. GIFT Nifty pointed to a positive opening on Monday, with attention on US sanctions on Iran and Federal Reserve signals.
Indian benchmarks ended the week on a cautious note, with the Sensex and Nifty each closing largely flat on Friday but posting their second consecutive weekly loss. The Sensex slipped nearly 0.60% to close at 77,540.83, while the Nifty fell around 0.47% to 24,252, according to multiple financial reports. During the week, the Nifty recorded its longest losing streak in nearly 11 months, with seven straight sessions of decline, losing about 2.1% before a partial recovery.
Friday's Session
On Friday, the Sensex ended just 3 points higher at 77,540.83, and the Nifty gained 20 points, or 0.08%, to 24,252. The broader market showed resilience, with the Nifty Smallcap 250 advancing 0.41% and the Nifty Midcap 150 rising 0.08%. Earlier in the session, the Sensex opened gap-up by 163 points, touching a high of 77,725.67 and a low of 77,445.86.
Global Cues
GIFT Nifty futures on the NSE International Exchange were 74 points, or 0.30%, higher at 24,360, hinting at a positive start for the domestic market on Monday. Asian markets were mixed in early trading, with the Nikkei 225 down 1.66%, the Hang Seng down 0.72%, and the Kospi down 0.58%, while the Shanghai SSE fell 0.39%. US stocks ended higher on Friday, with the S&P 500 gaining 0.4%, the Dow Jones rising 1% (517 points), and the Nasdaq Composite adding 0.4%. However, the Kospi, which had surged 11.5% the previous week, fell 0.9% for the week, and Taiwan's Weighted Index advanced 0.51%.
Oil, Dollar, and Gold
Crude prices remained elevated amid Middle East tensions. Brent slipped 1% to $93.43 a barrel, and US crude eased 1.1% to $86.14 ahead of Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's scheduled press conference on Monday to outline sanctions on Iran. On Friday, Brent and WTI futures settled higher, with Brent up 0.65% to $94.39 and WTI up 0.26% to $87.06, marking weekly gains of 6.39% and 5.7%, respectively. The dollar was on the defensive after losing 0.8% last week at 96.832, while gold firmed 0.4% to $4,623 an ounce, having climbed 14% in August so far.
Analyst Views
Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money, said Indian equity markets are set to begin the week on a cautious footing as persistent Middle East tensions and elevated crude oil prices temper risk appetite, with WTI trading near $86 a barrel. He highlighted three key themes: the Federal Reserve's policy trajectory, Nvidia's quarterly results, and the unresolved US-Iran conflict. Ajit Mishra of Religare Broking advised traders to avoid aggressively chasing prices and instead use meaningful declines to gradually accumulate fundamentally strong companies. He noted that banking, financial services, infrastructure, capital goods, defence, metals, and select healthcare stocks appear relatively better positioned.
Technical Levels
Technical analysts identified key levels for the coming sessions. Hitesh Tailor of Choice Broking placed support for the Sensex at 77,000-77,380 and resistance at 77,720-78,000. Ajit Mishra set Nifty support at 24,000-23,800 and resistance at 24,400-24,600. Ganesh Dongre of Anand Rathi noted that the Nifty had entered an overbought zone after its recent rally, with a crucial resistance at 24,500-24,600 coinciding with the 200-day EMA, and support at the long-term weekly trendline in the 23,700-23,800 zone. Bank Nifty closed at 57,761, with support at 57,000 and 56,000-56,300, and resistance at 58,000-58,500.
Stocks to Watch
Several companies were in focus:
Reliance Industries: Shareholders approved three resolutions on August 20, including material related-party transactions with subsidiaries.
NATCO Pharma: The US FDA issued a Form 483 with four observations following an inspection from August 17-21, 2026.
Power Grid Corporation: Emerged as the successful bidder under the TBCB process for a renewable energy transmission project in Gujarat.
JSW Infrastructure: Signed a share purchase agreement to acquire 100% of JSW Overseas.
Kaynes Technology: Entered a strategic MoU with BOSGAME to strengthen its presence in India.
Apollo Micro Systems: Received a SEBI communication regarding an open offer for Premier Explosives.
Federal Bank: Board cleared a proposal to raise up to $500 million via foreign currency bonds.
IREDA: Set record date of September 11, 2026, for a final dividend of ₹0.75 per share.
Diamond Power Infrastructure: Secured an order worth ₹52.86 crore from Aurionpro Solutions for a hyperscale data centre in Hyderabad.
Choksi Laboratories: Had a US FDA inspection with four observations.
FII/DII Flows
Provisional data from the NSE showed foreign portfolio investors were net sellers of ₹542.71 crore on Friday, while domestic institutional investors were net buyers of ₹2,124.14 crore. FPIs have infused ₹23,544 crore in Indian equities so far in August, according to reports.
Outlook
Market participants will watch the US Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh's keynote speech at the Jackson Hole symposium on Friday, August 28, 2026, and the outcome of the US-Iran situation. Analysts expect continued volatility, with the near-term trend dependent on global cues, crude oil movements, and institutional flows.
How each outlet told it
Business Today
Framing: Headline focuses on today's outlook for Nifty, Sensex, Nifty Bank, with GIFT Nifty up 75 points and key levels to watch — analytical, with multiple technical expert quotes
Facts Included:
GIFT Nifty up 74 points (0.30%) at 24,360
Asian markets flat, Hang Seng and KOSPI down 2%, Nikkei lower
US stocks closed higher Friday: Dow +0.98% to 53,277.01, S&P 500 +0.43% to 7,674.37, Nasdaq +0.44% to 26,180.46
Brent slipped 1% to $93.43, US crude eased 1.1% to $86.14
Bessent due to hold news conference to outline sanctions on Iran
Dollar down 0.8% last week at 96.832, gold firmed 0.4% to $4,623
FPIs net sellers of Rs 542.71 crore, DIIs net buyers of Rs 2,124.14 crore on Friday
Framing: Headline emphasizes live market updates with Sensex down 300 points, Nifty near 24,200 amid weak global cues — urgent, with direct market numbers and analyst quote
Facts Included:
Sensex opened lower by 309.19 points (0.39%) at 77,418.97, Nifty opened down 63.8 points at 24,223.85
Framing: Headline emphasizes stocks to watch, focusing on individual company triggers, leaving out broader market context. — informative, with a cautionary note: 'Investors continued to monitor global risk factors'
Facts Included:
Nifty slipped 0.47% to 24,252, Sensex declined 0.60% to 77,540.83 for the week
Gift Nifty trading near 24,329.50, up 43.50 points
Quote from Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money, about cautious footing and crude prices near $86
Reliance Industries shareholders approved three resolutions on August 20
NATCO Pharma received US FDA Form 483 with four observations from inspection August 17-21, 2026
Power Grid emerged successful bidder for TBCB process for renewable energy project in Gujarat
JSW Infrastructure signed share purchase agreement to acquire 100% of JSW Overseas
Kaynes Technology and BOSGAME entered strategic MoU
Apollo Micro Systems received communication from SEBI regarding open offer for Premier Explosives
Federal Bank board cleared proposal to raise up to $500 million via foreign currency bonds
IREDA set record date September 11, 2026 for final dividend of ₹0.75 per share
Diamond Power Infrastructure secured order worth ₹52.86 crore from Aurionpro Solutions
Choksi Laboratories had US FDA inspection with four observations
Framing: Headline focuses on prediction for Monday, highlighting US, South Korea, Taiwan cues, omitting specific stock picks — analytical, with direct quotes from analysts
Facts Included:
Nifty slipped 0.47% to 24,252, Sensex declined 0.60% to 77,540.83 for the week
Sensex edged up 3 points to 77,540.83, Nifty gained 20 points (0.08%) on Friday
Second straight week of losses
Ponmudi R quote on three key themes: Fed policy, Nvidia results, US-Iran conflict
Hitesh Tailor technical outlook: Sensex support at 77,000-77,380, resistance at 77,720-78,000, RSI at 49.00
Ajit Mishra technical outlook: Nifty support at 24,000-23,800, resistance at 24,400-24,600
US stocks advanced on Friday: S&P 500 +0.4%, Dow +517 points (1%), Nasdaq +0.4%
Kospi gained 60.37 points (0.88%) to 6,912.95, but fell 0.9% for the week
Taiwan Weighted Index advanced 0.51%, top performer Msscorps Co Ltd jumped 10%
US bond market volatility exerting pressure
Details of Sensex intraday movement: opened gap-up 163 points, high 77,725.67, low 77,445.86
Mahesh M. Ojha technical outlook for Dow and Nasdaq
Framing: Headline highlights Ganesh Dongre's stock recommendations, focusing on buy/sell calls — advisory, with a positive bias on buy-on-dips strategy
Facts Included:
Nifty slipped around 0.47% to 24,252, Sensex declined nearly 0.60% to 77,540.83 for the week
Nifty had longest losing streak in nearly 11 months with seven consecutive sessions, lost 2.1% during that period
Ganesh Dongre's quote: Nifty declined 0.67% on week, Bank Nifty gained 0.05% to 57,761
Framing: Headline focuses on top five triggers for the market, listing specific events like Fed speech and US-Iran war — informative, with a forward-looking perspective
Facts Included:
Sensex ended 3 points higher at 77,540.83, Nifty gained 20 points (0.08%) to 24,252 on Friday
Each row is one claim, attributed to the outlet whose wording states it most clearly. Confidence rates how directly the source text states the claim — explicit and unhedged rates high; hedged, pieced-together, or internally inconsistent statements rate lower. It does not measure whether the claim is true. Status counts the distinct outlets we found asserting it — so a single-source claim can still show high confidence, and a multi-source claim can show medium. Every one of those outlets is named beside the status, so you can check the count against the list. For claims extracted before we began storing that list, the row says so: it names the outlet the claim is quoted from and states that we have not recorded which outlets backed it. Outlets wrote at different times, so a figure that evolves — a casualty count, for example — can legitimately differ between rows; check the "as of" time next to each claim's source.
Claim
Confidence
Status
ClaimFor the week, the Nifty slipped around 0.47% to end at 24,252.
ClaimPonmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money, said Indian equity markets are set to begin the week on a cautious footing as persistent Middle East tensions and elevated crude oil prices temper risk appetite, with WTI trading near $86 a barrel.
ClaimMukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries said shareholders approved three resolutions with the required majority on August 20, including proposals on material related-party transactions with subsidiaries.
ClaimThe US FDA issued a Form 483 with four observations to NATCO Pharma following an inspection of its finished dosage formulations facility in Hyderabad between August 17 and 21, 2026.
ClaimPower Grid Corporation of India emerged as the successful bidder under the Tariff Based Competitive Bidding (TBCB) process for setting up an inter-state transmission system to support renewable energy projects in Gujarat.
ClaimJSW Infrastructure signed a share purchase agreement with JSW Terminal (Middle East) FZE and JSW Overseas FZE to acquire the entire 100% shareholding of JSW Overseas from JSW Terminal.
ClaimKaynes Technology India and BOSGAME entered into a strategic memorandum of understanding (MoU) to establish and strengthen BOSGAME’s presence in the Indian market.
ClaimApollo Micro Systems said the manager to its open offer received a communication from SEBI concerning the proposed open offer to acquire up to 1.40 crore fully paid-up equity shares of Premier Explosives.
ClaimDiamond Power Infrastructure secured an order valued at ₹52.86 crore from Aurionpro Solutions for supplying electrical cables to a hyperscale data centre campus in Hyderabad.
ClaimThe US FDA completed an inspection of Choksi Laboratories' central laboratory in Indore between August 17 and 20, 2026, resulting in four observations.
ClaimIn early trade, the BSE Midcap Select Index fell 10.28 points, while the BSE Smallcap Select Index gained 24.22 points, or 0.51%, to trade at 9,146.19.
ClaimHitesh Tailor of Choice Broking said the near-term outlook is cautious to negative, with Brent crude moving above $91 and disruptions around the Strait of Hormuz raising supply concerns.
ClaimAjit Mishra of Religare Broking advised traders to avoid aggressively chasing prices and instead use meaningful declines to gradually accumulate fundamentally strong companies.
ClaimOil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz have come to an almost complete halt, with Tehran threatening unauthorized tankers the vessel could be targeted.
ClaimBrent and WTI futures settled higher on Friday because of renewed sanction threats, with Brent up $0.65 (0.65%) to $94.39 and WTI up $0.26 (0.26%) to $87.06.
ClaimThe US Fed Chair is to deliver a policy transformation speech mentioning Donald Trump's? | The original article in article_id ea6... states 'U.S. Fed chairman Kevin Warsh's speech' but the text says 'Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh is set to deliver', but it does not specify 'first keynote' in the article_id ea6...? Actually the article 'ea6...' explicitly says 'Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh is set to deliver his much-awaited first keynote speech'.