Indices continue to trade under pressure in late morning deals

Domestic equity indices remained under pressure in late morning deals due to selling by funds and retail investors. Weak cues from global markets and rising crude oil prices weighed on domestic sentiment.  Crude oil prices surged as fading US-Iran peace hopes raised supply risks. Besides, traders were cautious as foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold shares worth Rs 2,535.10 crore on August 17, 2026.

Both Sensex and Nifty were trading lower, with cuts of 0.53% and 0.43%, respectively, amid selling in Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys, Bharti Airtel, HDFC Bank, and ICICI Bank. On the BSE sectoral front, traders were seen piling up positions in Energy, Oil & Gas, Healthcare, Utilities, and Auto, while selling was witnessed in IT, TECK, Realty, Consumer Durables, and Bankex. 

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in the red, following weak cues from US markets overnight, amid uncertainty surrounding the U.S.-Iran ceasefire, which expired on Monday.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 77318.76, down by 409.40 points or 0.53% after trading in a range of 77303.32 and 77575.21. There were 8 stocks advancing against 22 stocks declining on the index.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Energy up by 0.43%, Oil & Gas up by 0.27%, Healthcare up by 0.26%, Utilities up by 0.19% and Auto up by 0.15%, while IT down by 1.44%, TECK down by 1.28%, Realty down by 0.77%, Consumer Durables down by 0.66% and Bankex down by 0.60% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Axis Bank up by 0.72%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 0.65%, Bajaj Finance up by 0.41%, Reliance Industries up by 0.41% and Power Grid up by 0.39%. On the flip side, HCL Technologies down by 2.04%, Infosys down by 1.88%, Asian Paints down by 1.82%, Interglobe Aviation down by 1.52% and Hindustan Unilever down by 1.36% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) has showed that India's unemployment rate (UR) for persons aged 15 years and above fell to a four-month low of 5.1 per cent in July 2026, from 5.5 per cent in June 2026. In rural areas, the UR decreased sharply to 4.5 per cent in July 2026 from 5.0 per cent in the previous month. During the same period, the urban UR remained almost steady at 6.7 per cent compared to 6.6 per cent. Compared with July 2025, the overall UR and rural UR remained broadly stable in July 2026, whereas the urban UR decreased by 0.5 percentage point from 7.2 per cent in July 2025. The PLFS is conducted by National Statistics Office, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation. 

The overall Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) for persons aged 15 years and above increased to 55.4 per cent in July, 2026, from 54.4 per cent in June, 2026. After declining from March to May, 2026 and remaining unchanged in June, 2026, the overall LFPR increased in July, 2026. The same trend was also observed in rural areas, where the LFPR for persons aged 15 years and above increased to 58.0 per cent in July, 2026, from 56.6 per cent in June, 2026, registering an increase of 1.4 percentage points. In urban areas, LFPR increased marginally, from 50.1 per cent in June, 2026 to 50.4 per cent in July, 2026.  Compared to the same month of the previous year, the overall LFPR increased by 0.5 percentage point, from 54.9 per cent in July, 2025 to 55.4 per cent in July, 2026. During the same period, rural LFPR also increased by 1.1 percentage points, from 56.9 per cent to 58.0 per cent while urban LFPR experienced a marginal decline by 0.3 percentage point, from 50.7 per cent to 50.4 per cent. 

The overall female LFPR experienced a noticeable increase from 32.7 per cent in June, 2026 to 34.4 per cent in July, 2026. During the same period, rural female LFPR increased from 36.6 per cent to 38.8 per cent and urban female LFPR increased from 24.8 per cent to 25.3 per cent. Compared to July, 2025, the overall female LFPR increased by 1.1 percentage points, from 33.3 per cent to 34.4 per cent in July, 2026. In rural areas, female LFPR rose by 1.9 percentage points, from 36.9 per cent to 38.8 per cent, while urban female LFPR declined marginally by 0.5 percentage point, from 25.8 per cent to 25.3 per cent. 

The Worker Population Ratio (WPR) in the age group 15 years and above showed a broadly improving trend in July, 2026 across sectors. The overall WPR increased to 52.5 per cent in July, 2026 from 51.4 per cent in June, 2026. In rural areas, WPR increased to 55.4 per cent in July, 2026 from 53.8 per cent in June, 2026, indicating an increase of 1.6 percentage points. WPR in urban areas increased marginally to 47.0 per cent from 46.8 per cent during the same period. Notably, rural female WPR increased by 2.5 percentage points from 34.7 per cent in June, 2026 to 37.2 per cent in July, 2026 and urban female WPR increased from 22.7 per cent to 23.1 per cent during the same period.    

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 24182.65, down by 105.00 points or 0.43% after trading in a range of 24182.30 and 24269.65. There were 17 stocks advancing against 33 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Mahindra & Mahindra up by 0.99%, Grasim Industries up by 0.97%, Axis Bank up by 0.77%, Apollo Hospital up by 0.71% and Reliance Industries up by 0.55%. On the flip side, HCL Technologies down by 2.16%, Infosys down by 2.12%, Shriram Finance down by 1.66%, Asian Paints down by 1.62% and Interglobe Aviation down by 1.48% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Nikkei 225 slipped 1683.25 points or 2.43% to 67,537.00, Taiwan Weighted lost 548.59 points or 1.21% to 45,308.68, Shanghai Composite weakened 6.84 points or 0.17% to 3,975.81, KOSPI dropped 145.47 points or 2.13% to 6,832.47, Hang Seng declined 21.23 points or 0.08% to 25,432.00 and Straits Times fell 72.28 points or 1.27% to 5,696.18. However, Jakarta Composite gained 80.68 points or 1.24% to 6,482.57.