Markets trade under pressure amid elevated crude oil prices

Indian equity benchmarks made a negative start on Wednesday, as elevated crude oil prices and uncertainty over the West Asia conflict continued to weigh on investor sentiment. Brent crude remained above $91 a barrel. Rising global bond yields also added to pressure on risk assets, keeping markets cautious. Besides, the Indian rupee weakened against the dollar, weighing on market sentiment.

Sensex and Nifty were trading lower with cut of over quarter a percent each in early deals amid selling pressure in capital goods, power and metal stocks. Though, downside remained limited amid foreign fund inflows. The provisional data showed that foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth Rs 1,651.53 crore in the Indian equity market on August 18, 2026. 

On the global front, most of the Asian markets were trading lower amid sell-off in technology and semiconductor stocks, reflecting growing concerns that elevated borrowing costs could challenge the steep valuations built up during the global artificial intelligence rally.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 77035.67, down by 199.79 points or 0.26% after trading in a range of 76971.59 and 77347.81. There were 9 stocks advancing against 21 stocks declining on the index.

The few gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were IT up by 0.69%, TECK up by 0.46%, Oil & Gas up by 0.17% and FMCG up by 0.14%, while Capital Goods down by 1.61%, Power down by 1.40%, Industrials down by 1.09%, Metal down by 0.96% and Realty down by 0.87% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Infosys up by 1.08%, HCL Technologies up by 1.07%, Eternal up by 1.01%, Sun Pharma up by 0.66% and Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 0.31%. On the flip side, Tata Steel down by 1.24%, Bharat Electronics down by 1.00%, Power Grid down by 0.97%, Larsen & Toubro down by 0.97% and Bajaj Finance down by 0.96% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, with an aim to expand bilateral ties, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has said the fourth round of the India-Singapore Ministerial Roundtable (ISMR) will be held in Singapore on August 20, 2026, with the two countries looking to further expand cooperation in key sectors such as trade, investment, advanced manufacturing and digitalization. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology Jitin Prasada will travel to Singapore to attend the ISMR. During their visit, the ministers will meet their counterparts and call on the Singaporean leadership.

The MEA said the ISMR is an important platform for driving cooperation, including in new and emerging areas. Its inaugural meeting was held in New Delhi in September 2022, followed by the second meeting in Singapore in August 2024 and the third in New Delhi in August 2025. Deliberations on advanced manufacturing, connectivity, digitalization, healthcare and medicine, skills development and sustainability at these meetings have helped shape the Roadmap for the India-Singapore Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP). The CSP Roadmap was unveiled during Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong's visit to India in September 2025.

Singapore is India's largest trading partner in ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations). It is also India's leading source of foreign direct investment (FDI) and among the largest sources of external commercial borrowings and foreign portfolio investment. Singapore was India's sixth-largest trading partner in the financial year 2024-25. India's imports from Singapore stood at $21.2 billion in 2024-25, while exports to the country were valued at $14.4 billion. Over the past 10 years, Singapore's annual investments in India have ranged between $10 billion and $15 billion.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 24084.55, down by 70.35 points or 0.29% after trading in a range of 24065.10 and 24172.85. There were 16 stocks advancing against 34 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were HCL Technologies up by 1.19%, Infosys up by 1.17%, Eternal up by 1.09%, Sun Pharma up by 0.84% and Wipro up by 0.81%. On the flip side, Tata Steel down by 1.45%, SBI Life Insurance down by 1.44%, Hindalco Industries down by 1.26%, Coal India down by 1.25% and Bharat Electronics down by 1.18% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Nikkei 225 slipped 1851.73 points or 2.74% to 65,609.00, Taiwan Weighted lost 451.15 points or 1% to 44,857.53, KOSPI dropped 394.45 points or 5.74% to 6,475.38, Shanghai Composite weakened 78.13 points or 1.96% to 3,912.17, Jakarta Composite fell 28.61 points or 0.44% to 6,421.22 and Straits Times was down by 13.28 points or 0.23% to 5,688.12, while Hang Seng rose 59.85 points or 0.23% to 25,531.00.