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Informist, Thursday, Aug. 20, 2026

 

By Arundathi A R

 

MUMBAI – Despite crude oil prices rising to $94 a barrel, domestic benchmark equity indices closed higher on Thursday, tracking gains in their Asian peers. The Nifty 50 index snapped a seven-day fall, while the BSE Sensex put an end to its four-day fall. Most Asian indices were up on Thursday, with South Korea's KOSPI gaining almost 6%. 

 

US President Donald Trump Wednesday announced a "crushing economic operation" on Iran, one he said would amount to "economic warfare", CBS News reported.

 

At the end of the continuous trading session on exchanges at 1515 IST, the Nifty 50 was at 24211.60 points, up 0.6% from Tuesday. The BSE Sensex was at 77485.29 points, up 0.8%. After the closing auction session, the Nifty 50 ended at 24231.85, up 153.55 points or 0.6%. The Sensex ended at 77537.72, up 628.04 points or 0.8%.

 

Broader market indices also closed along similar lines to their benchmark peers. Mid-cap indices ended 0.4% higher each and small-cap indices closed 0.6–0.7% higher. Nervousness in the market saw a significant drop as volatility index India VIX fell over 4% to 10.8250 points.

 

Only the Nifty PSU Bank ended lower among sectoral indices. The Nifty Media was the highest gainer, up over 2%. The Nifty Realty ended over 1% higher. Indices tracking private bank, fast-moving consumer goods, information technology, and financial services sectors ended nearly 1% higher each.

 

Eternal was the highest gainer among 50 stocks, up over 2%. Shares of Eternal gained after global brokerage Bernstein added the stock to its India model portfolio. The brokerage underscored the company's continued competitive strength and strong operating profit as positives. 

 

Banking and financial services stocks were major gainers in the Nifty 50. Shriram Finance was the second-biggest gainer, up 2%. Kotak Mahindra Bank, Bajaj Finance, and Axis Bank were up 1–2%. HDFC Life Insurance Co. also rose 1%.

 

The Multi Commodity Exchange of India topped the Nifty 200 index, up over 5%. It was followed by Muthoot Finance, with almost 4% gains. Glenmark Pharmaceuticals and Coforge were also up nearly 4?ch.

 

Premier Energies rose almost 4% among Nifty 200 stocks. The company is expected to surpass analysts' expectations on revenue and earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation for 2027-28 (Apr-Mar), CNBC-TV18 reported Thursday, quoting Chief Business Officer Vinay Rustagi.

 

In the Nifty 500 universe, Balrampur Chini Mills logged the highest gains, up almost 18%. Shares of major sugar companies rose significantly amid the recent rally in sugar prices. Dalmia Bharat Sugar, Shree Reunuka Sugars, and Bajaj Hindusthan Sugar ended 1–14% higher.

 

Netweb Technologies India and MMTC rose around 7?ch. Brigade Enterprises ended over 6% higher. Shares of the company gained after it signed a lease agreement with US-based healthcare technology company HealthEdge.

 

Only 10 Nifty 50 stocks settled lower for the session. Tata Consumer Products fell over 1% and was the worst hit stock in the index. Hindalco Industries also shed nearly 1%.

 

In the Nifty 200 index, Power Finance Corp. and REC were the key drags, down nearly 3?ch. Shares of these companies fell after media reports that global brokerage Morgan Stanley downgraded both stocks and reduced their target price due to an increasing delta between loan growth and credit growth in the power sector.

 

Among Nifty 500 companies, Himadri Speciality Chemical fell the most, down over 6%. Aster DM Quality Care was down over 4%.

 

* Of the Nifty 50 stocks, 39 rose, 10 fell, 1 unchanged

* Of the Sensex stocks, 25 rose, 4 fell, 1 unchanged

* On the NSE, 2,108 stocks rose, 1,405 fell, and 119 were unchanged

* On the BSE, 2,450 stocks rose, 1,874 fell, and 237 were unchanged
* Nifty Media: up 2.1%; Nifty Realty: up 1.4%; Nifty PSU Bank: down 0.01%

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BSE                                           NSE

Sensex: 77537.72, up 628.04 points or 0.8%    Nifty 50: 24231.85, up 153.55 points, or 0.6%

 

S&P BSE Sensitive Index	Nifty 50
Lifetime High: 86159.02 (Dec. 1, 2025)	: Lifetime High: 26373.20 (Jan. 5, 2026)
Record Close High: 85836.12 (Sept. 26, 2024)	: Record Close High: 26328.55 (Jan. 2, 2026)
2026 1st day close: 85188.60 (Jan. 1)	: 2026 1st day close: 26146.55 (Jan. 1)
2026 Closing High: 85762.01 (Jan. 2)	: 2026 Closing High: 26328.55 (Jan. 2)
2026 Closing Low: 71947.55 (Mar. 30)	: 2026 Closing Low: 22331.40 (Mar. 30)
2026 High (intraday): 85883.50 (Jan. 5)	: 2026 High (intraday): 26373.20 (Jan. 5)
2026 Low (intraday): 71545.81 (Apr. 1)	: 2026 Low (intraday): 22182.55 (Apr.2)
2025 1st day close: 78507.41 (Jan. 1)	: 2025 1st day close: 23742.90 (Jan. 1)
2025 Closing High: 85720.38 (Nov. 27)	: 2025 Closing High: 26215.55 (Nov. 27)
2025 Closing Low: 72989.93 (Mar. 4)	: 2025 Closing Low: 22082.65 (Mar. 4)
2025 High (intraday): 86159.02 (Dec. 1)	: 2025 High (intraday): 26325.80 (Dec.1)
2025 Low (intraday): 71425.01 (Apr. 7)	: 2025 Low (intraday): 21743.65 (Apr. 7)
2024 1st day close: 72271.94 (Jan. 1)	: 2024 1st day close: 21741.90 (Jan. 1)
2024 Closing High: 85836.12 (Sept. 26)	: 2024 Closing High: 26216.05 (Sept. 26)
2024 Closing Low: 70370.55 (Jan. 23)	: 2024 Closing Low: 21238.80 (Jan. 23)
2024 High (intraday): 85978.25 (Sep. 27)	: 2024 High (intraday): 26277.35 (Sept. 27)
2024 Low (intraday): 70001.60 (Jan. 24)	: 2024 Low (intraday): 21137.20 (Jan. 24)
2023 1st day close: 61167.79 (Jan. 2)	: 2023 1st day close: 18197.45 (Jan. 2)
2023 Closing High: 72410.38 (Dec. 28)	: 2023 Closing High: 21778.70 (Dec. 28)
2023 Closing Low: 59288.35 (Feb. 27)	: 2023 Closing Low: 17311.80 (Oct. 17)
2023 High (intraday): 72484.34 (Dec. 28)	: 2023 High (intraday): 21801.45 (Dec. 28)
2023 Low (intraday): 58699.20 (Jan. 30)	: 2023 Low (intraday): 17098.55 (Jan. 17)
2022 1st day close: 59183.22 (Jan. 3)	: 2022 1st day close: 17625.70 (Jan. 3)
2022 Closing High: 63284.19 (Dec. 1)	: 2022 Closing High: 18812.50 (Dec. 1)
2022 Closing Low: 51360.42 (Jun. 17)	: 2022 Closing Low: 15293.50 (Jun. 17)
2022 High (intraday): 63583.07 (Dec. 1)	: 2022 High (intraday): 18887.60 (Dec. 1)
2022 Low (intraday): 50921.22 (Jun. 17)	: 2022 Low (intraday): 15183.40 (Jun. 17)
2021 Closing High: 61305.95 (Oct. 14)	: 2021 Closing High: 18338.55 (Oct. 14)
2021 Closing Low: 46285.77 (Jan. 29)	: 2021 Closing Low: 13634.60 (Jan. 29)
2021 High (intraday): 61353.25 (Oct. 14)	: 2021 High (intraday): 18350.75 (Oct. 14)
2021 Low (intraday): 46160.46 (Jan. 29)	: 2021 Low (intraday): 13596.75 (Jan. 29)
2020 Closing High: 47751.33 (Dec. 31)	: 2020 Closing High: 13981.95 (Dec. 30)
2020 Closing Low: 25981.24 (Mar. 23)	: 2020 Closing Low: 7610.25 (Mar. 23)
2020 High (intraday): 47896.97 (Dec. 31)	: 2020 High (intraday): 14024.85 (Dec. 31)
2020 Low (intraday): 25638.90 (Mar. 24)	: 2020 Low (intraday): 7511.10 (Mar. 24)
2019 High (intraday): 41809.96 (Dec. 20)	: 2019 High (intraday): 12293.90 (Dec. 20)
2019 Low (intraday): 35287.16 (Feb. 19)	: 2019 Low (intraday): 10583.65 (Jan. 29)
2018 High (intraday): 38938.91(Aug. 28))	: 2018 High(intraday): 11760.20 (Aug. 28)
2018 Low (intraday): 32483.8 (Mar. 23)	: 2018 Low (intraday): 9951.9 (Mar. 23)
2017 High (intraday): 34005.37 (Dec. 26)	: 2017 High(intraday): 10515.10 (Dec. 26)

 

End

 

US$1 = INR 95.7050

 

Edited by Avishek Dutta

 

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