Nifty extends losses for third straight session on Thursday

Indian equity benchmark -- Nifty ended lower for third straight session on Thursday amid persistent geopolitical tensions in West Asia region. Index made a flat-to-negative start as renewed foreign fund outflow dampened investors sentiments. As per exchange data, foreign institutional investors offloaded equities share worth Rs 1,002.50 crore on August 12. Soon, Index extended its losses as India’s retail inflation, measured by the All-India Consumer Price Index (CPI), rose to 4.45% in July 2026 from 4.38% in June 2026, as food prices remained elevated. However, in second half of the session, the market trimmed some of its losses, driven by sharp buying in IT and tech stocks, but remained under pressure until the end of the session. Finally, Nifty ended below 24,400 mark.

Traders were seen piling up positions in Chemicals, Realty and FMCG stocks, while selling was witnessed in Metal, Cement and Private Bank. The top gainers from the F&O segment were Astral, Solar Industries India and Container Corporation of India. On the other hand, the top losers were National Aluminium Company, Page Industries and Force Motors. In the index option segment, maximum OI continues to be seen in the 24900 - 25100 calls and 23900 - 24100 puts indicating this is the trading range expectation.

India Volatility Index (VIX), a gauge for market’s short-term expectation of volatility decreased by 2.33% and reached 11.42. The 50 share Nifty down by 40.10 point or 0.16% to settle at 24,395.85.

Nifty August 2026 futures closed at 24467.30 (LTP) on Thursday, at a premium of 71.45 points over spot closing of 24395.85, while Nifty September 2026 futures ended at 24601.10 (LTP), at a premium of 205.25 points over spot closing. Nifty August futures saw an addition of 3,599 units, taking the total open interest (Contracts) to 1,96,873 units. The near month derivatives contract will expire on August 25, 2026. (Provisional)

From the most active contracts, Jio Financial Services August 2026 futures traded at a discount of 0.25 points at 255.35 (LTP) compared with spot closing of 255.60. The numbers of contracts traded were 26,830. (Provisional)

Jubilant Foodworks August 2026 f