Where is the market headed?
The markets had a rough ride on the 8th of August, especially in the last hour and a half of trading, when a sudden and unexpected fall caused visible distress. This marks the sixth week in a row that the market has closed in the red—something that hasn’t happened in many years.
The sentiment right now is extremely weak, and the market seems oversold. There’s no clear positive news in sight, and hopes around any relief on the tariff front remain distant. Key meetings and visits—including the US team arriving in India on the 25th, Putin’s visit on the 27th, and our Prime Minister’s trip to China at the end of August—might bring some clarity, but until then, the current 50% tariff stays in place.
Market Overview
Today’s drop felt like a breaking point, especially as even strong small-cap stocks got hit badly. Technically, many charts that had been holding a key support level also gave way today, indicating a significant breakdown.
The Nifty closed down 0.95%, and this trend of falling has been continuing since early July.
Nifty Next 50
Nifty Junior broke down by 1.24%.
Nifty Mid and Small Cap
Mid-caps lost 1.44%, and small caps declined by 1.26%.
Bank Nifty
Nifty Bank also showed weakness with a bearish engulfing pattern and a 0.93% decline. When even the strongest parts of the market are being attacked, it could mean we’re heading into a rougher phase.
GOLD
On the other hand, gold is hitting all-time highs in INR terms, now at ₹10,157 per gram. This once again proves how gold protects portfolios during times of distress, something we’ve seen happen many times since 1991.
Advance Decline Ratio
The market breadth was extremely poor, with just 93 advancing stocks against 408 declining ones.
Heat Maps
Nestle’s data showed an incorrect fall due to a charting error. Stocks like Tata Motors, Mahindra, Bharti Airtel, Reliance, HDFC Bank, Infosys, and Adani Enterprises all fell sharply. NTPC was one of the rare gainers in the Nifty. In the Nifty Next 50, nearly all stocks were in the red—DLF, IRFC, JSW Energy, Divi’s Lab, Jindal Steel, and others saw strong selling.
Movers Of The Day
PG Electroplast, which was once a market favorite, crashed 20% after it cut its revenue and profit growth guidance. The stock had touched ₹1,000 before May and has now dropped to ₹588. Bharti Airtel also dropped 3.3% despite announcing good results, proving once again that good news doesn’t always support stock prices if expectations are already priced in.
Sectoral Overview
Sectoral trends painted a grim picture too. No sector was in the green. Defense stocks were down 2.4%, real estate 2%, metals 1.76%, capital markets 1.5%, and autos 1.4%. Oil and gas, media, and public sector enterprises remained somewhat stable, but overall, every sector took a hit. The recent gains in defense and real estate stocks were wiped out completely.
Sector of the Day
Nifty Ind Defence Index
The small recovery that defense stocks had shown over the past few days has been completely wiped out. Stocks like Data Patterns, Mazagon Dock, Bharat Dynamics, DCX, and Paras Defence, which had shown strength earlier, all witnessed sharp declines today. It’s clear that the recent momentum in this sector has come to a sudden halt.
Nifty Realty Index
The real estate sector also took a big hit. After a decent jump just yesterday, the sector saw a sharp reversal today, falling by 2.11%. Well-known names such as Godrej Properties, Sobha, Phoenix Mills, Oberoi Realty, and Anant Raj all traded deep in the red. The sharp pullback across both these sectors reflects the broader weakness and nervousness in the market right now.
