Lenskart, Indo-MIM, Netweb Tech among buzzing stocks as SENSEX falls nearly 400 pts, NIFTY trades below 24,250

The Indian benchmark indices, SENSEX and NIFTY50, continued their downward trend during the afternoon session on Tuesday, August 18, amid a sell-off in information technology stocks (IT) and weak global cues.

Globally, crude oil prices surged past the $91 per barrel (bbl) mark, as the US ruled out seeking an extension on the ceasefire with Iran, which expired on Monday. Furthermore, Iran said it would adopt a more offensive stance, which has led to heightened tensions in the region.

The SENSEX declined as much as 0.6% to touch an intraday low of 77,275.96. Meanwhile, the NIFTY50 fell as much as 0.5% to reach the session’s low of 24,174.45.

At 12:46 PM, the S&P BSE SENSEX slumped by 385.50 points, or 0.50%, to trade at 77,342.66, while NSE’s NIFTY50 stood at 24,199.75, reflecting an 87.90-point, or 0.36% slip.

The top losers in the NIFTY50 index included Asian Paints, Infosys, HCL Technologies, Tech Mahindra and Tata Motors PV.

On the contrary, Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M), Grasim Industries, Bajaj Finance, Axis Bank and Trent were among the top gainers.

Buzzing stocks on August 18: Check list

Shares of electronics manufacturing services (EMS) companies such as Jyoti CNC Automation, Syrma SGS Technology, and Centum Electronics, etc, were trading higher on Tuesday, August 18.

This comes as the government has cleared 31 fresh proposals under the electronics components manufacturing scheme (ECMS), entailing investments of ₹7,877 crore, S Krishnan, the secretary in the IT ministry, said on Monday.

According to Krishnan, the government has received a total investment proposal of ₹69,548 crore, against a target of ₹59,350 crore.

"Currently, we have cleared almost 31 applications, which have been dealt with in this particular session or in this particular gathering, and in total, the investment that we are talking about is ₹7,877 crore," Krishnan said at an event jointly organised by Elcina and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY).

The approved proposals include those of GX Group, Centum Electronics, Ennovi Mobility Solutions, Allied Engineering Works, Globe Capacitors, Syrma SGS Technology, Rosenberger Interconnect, Sensata Technologies, and Britannia RFID Technologies, among others.

Shares of Netweb Technologies India surged by as much as 3.5% to hit an intraday and all-time high of ₹5,396.40 apiece on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) on Tuesday, August 18, as the company opened its qualified institutional placement (QIP) issue to raise ₹1,200 crore.

The company, in an exchange filing, said that its fundraising committee, at its meeting held on Monday, approved opening the QIP issue on August 17, 2026. It also set the floor price at ₹4,885.90 per share.

The firm may, at its discretion, offer a discount of up to 5% on the floor price for the issue, the filing read.

The final issue price will be determined in consultation with the book-running lead managers appointed for the QIP.

Lenskart Solutions stock advanced as much as 3.4% to hit a 52-week high of ₹628.80 per equity share on Tuesday, August 18, after the eyewear firm incorporated a step-down subsidiary.

In a regulatory filing, Lenskart said its step-down subsidiary, Wenzhou Framekart Trade Co., Ltd, was incorporated on August 14, 2026, and received its Certificate of Incorporation on August 17, 2026.

“The entity will undertake the business of trading, import, export, and procurement of spectacle frames and allied optical products, as well as related materials, equipment, and technology, as may be required for the business of BFT and its subsidiaries from time to time,” the company said.

Upon incorporation, Baofeng Framekart Technology (BFT) will hold a 95% equity interest in Wenzhou Framekart Trade Co., Ltd. BFT will subscribe to the equity interest for RMB 1 million.

Shares of Indo-MIM gained 10% to hit their upper circuit level on the NSE on August 18, as investors focused on the company’s strong April to June quarter earnings growth and the decline in overall raw material costs in the period.

NSE filings showed that Indo-MIM recorded a 31.6% year-on-year (YoY) growth in net profit after tax (PAT) to ₹240 crore in the April to June quarter results, in comparison to ₹182 crore in the same period a year earlier.

The company’s consolidated revenue from core operations advanced 9.3% YoY to ₹1,219 crore in the first quarter of FY27, compared with ₹1,114 crore in the same period a year earlier.

The stock of One 97 Communications, the parent of Paytm, declined, as Resilient Asset Management B.V. proposed to sell up to a 4.98% stake through a block trade, the company said.

The proposed transaction will be undertaken under Resilient's existing Optionally Convertible Debenture (OCD) agreement with Antfin (Netherlands) Holding B.V. While Resilient will execute the share sale, the economic value from the transaction will accrue to Antfin under the OCD arrangement.

Resilient had acquired about a 10.20% equity stake in Paytm from Antfin in August 2023 against OCDs issued to Antfin, with the economic interest continuing to remain with Antfin.

The company clarified that it is not a party to the transaction and that there will be no change in founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma's direct shareholding in Paytm.

Bharti Airtel shares slip 2.3% to touch an intraday low of ₹1,923.20 per unit on the NSE, a day after the company announced board transition plans for Airtel Payments Bank.

The telecom major, in a regulatory filing, informed that Shabnam Sinha will succeed Sunil Bharti Mittal as the Chairperson of Airtel Payments Bank Limited for a three-year term beginning October 1, 2026, following her appointment by the Board and approval by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

Sunil Bharti Mittal will conclude his tenure as Non-Executive Chairman and step down from the board, effective September 30, 2026, the company said.

Sinha currently serves as an Independent Director on the board of Airtel Payments Bank, where she chairs the special committee of the board for monitoring frauds and is a member of the risk management and IT committees.

The stock of Nelco slipped nearly 12% to an intraday low of ₹956.80 apiece on Tuesday, August 18, after the Tata Group firm said it has partnered with US-based Lunar Holdco for satellite communications.

In a regulatory filing, Nelco said it has entered into an agreement with Lunar Holdco for an investment of $20 million through the subscription to Compulsorily Convertible Debentures (CCDs) of Lunar. The agreement was approved by the board of directors and shareholders.

Shares of Milky Mist Dairy Food debuted at ₹165 apiece on the NSE and the BSE (formerly Bombay Stock Exchange) on Tuesday, August 18. This reflects a premium of 17.86% over the IPO issue price of ₹140 per share.

A lot consisted of 107 shares and cost ₹14,980. Investors who received the Milky Mist Dairy Food IPO allotment made ₹17,655 per lot, taking the value of their investment to ₹2,675, as per the listing price on the NSE.

The ₹1,553 crore IPO was a combination of a fresh issuance of equity shares worth ₹1,428 crore and an offer-for-sale (OFS) of ₹125 crore by promoters, Anitha S and Sathishkumar T.

Ceigall India shares were trading lower despite the company on Tuesday, August 18, said that it has received four Letters of Acceptance (LOAs) from the road ministry.

In a regulatory filing, the company said that jointly with Sushee Infra Mining, it has received four LOAs from the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways (MoRTH) aggregating to a total bid cost of ₹2,149.62 crore.

Ceigall India holds a 74% stake in the joint venture, while Sushee Infra Mining holds the remaining 26%.

The LOAs include road construction projects under the Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) mode.