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Informist, Friday, Aug. 21, 2026

 

By Arundathi A R

 

MUMBAI – Domestic equity indices ended the week on a positive note after moving in a range for most of the session. Benchmark indices ended higher Friday despite higher crude oil price levels of $93 a barrel. Analysts said higher crude oil prices kept indices stuck in a range for the session.

 

In the latest development on the global front, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC that Washington would impose the "toughest sanctions in history" to "collapse" the Iranian government, calling on other nations, including China, to join the effort, Al Jazeera reported. Meanwhile, China criticised US President Donald Trump's "economic D-Day" push against Iran, warning additional sanctions would fail to resolve ongoing disputes. Iran's foreign ministry has condemned the US threat of new economic sanctions and called the proposed measures "illegal and inhumane," according to the report.

 

At the end of the continuous trading session on exchanges at 1515 IST, the Nifty 50 was at 24234.75 points, flat from Thursday. The BSE Sensex was at 77522.47 points, also flat from the previous close. After the closing auction session, the Nifty 50 ended at 24252, up 20.15 points or 0.1%. The Sensex ended at 77540.83, up 3.11 points from Thursday.

 

Broader market indices ended higher, with the Nifty Smallcap 50 and Nifty Smallcap 100 settling almost 1% higher each. Investor nervousness, however, stood higher for the day as the India Volatility Index closed over 4% higher at 11.2150 points.

 

The pack of sectoral indices was mixed at close, with the Nifty Metal gaining the most among them. The sectoral index was up nearly 1% with Welspun Corp as its top performer, up over 15%. Shares of Welspun Corp rose after the company won an INR-172-billion order to supply pipes from its manufacturing unit in the US.

 

In the Nifty 50 index, Power Grid Corp. of India was the top gainer, up almost 3%. HDFC Life Insurance Co. was the second-biggest gainer in the index, up over 2%. 

 

Banking stocks ended as major contributers to the index. Kotak Mahindra Bank gained over 1%, while index heavyweight HDFC Bank rose nearly 1%. ICICI Bank was up 0.5%.

 

The Nifty 200 index was topped by Hindustan Zinc, up almost 4%. Vedanta gained nearly 4%, while National Aluminium Co. was up 3%. Bharat Dynamics was another major performer in the index, up over 3%.

 

In the Nifty 500 index, Welspun Corp was the highest gainer. Urban Co. gained almost 9%, while JBM Auto rose over 7%. Jindal Saw, NCC, IIFL Finance, and Aegis Logistics were up 6-7%.

 

Shares of JBM Auto rose after media reports that US private investment firm Bain Capital will buy significant minority stake in the electric vehicle manufacturing unit of JBM Auto. The investment will provide growth capital support to the company, speeding up its efforts to transform from a traditional automobile parts manufacturer to a clean energy mobility platform, The Economic Times said in a report.

 

Fast-moving consumer goods were among the worst performers during the session. The Nifty FMCG index fell the most among sectoral indices pack, down nearly 1%.

 

In the Nifty 50 index, Trent was the worst performer, down nearly 2%. In the Nifty 200 index, Britannia Industries and KEI Industries were down around 3?ch. Torrent Pharmaceuticals and Adani Total Gas were down over 2?ch.

 

Himadri Speciality Chemical was the worst hit Nifty 500 stock, down over 7%, while shares of Balrampur Chini Mills ended 5% lower. Glaxosmithkline Pharmaceuticals and Sumitomo Chemical India ended over 3% lower.

 

* Of the Nifty 50 stocks, 25 rose, 14 fell, 1 unchanged

* Of the Sensex stocks, 13 rose, 16 fell, 1 unchanged

* On the NSE, 1,885 stocks rose, 1,634 fell, and 125 were unchanged

* On the BSE, 2,244 stocks rose, 2,094 fell, and 247 were unchanged
* Nifty Metal: up 0.9%; Nifty Private Bank: up 0.5%; Nifty FMCG: down 0.7%

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BSE                                           NSE

Sensex: 77540.83, up 3.11 points or flat      Nifty 50: 24252, up 20.15 points, or 0.1%

 

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 95.6950

 

Edited by Avishek Dutta

 

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