NIFTY50, SENSEX today: Wall Street cues, FII activity, key things to know before markets open on August 26

The Indian equity benchmarks are set to open higher on Wednesday, August 26, as indicated by GIFT NIFTY futures. NIFTY futures at GIFT City in Gandhinagar advanced 89 points to 24,561 amid positive cues from Asian markets.

The Indian equity benchmarks resumed their up move on Tuesday, August 25, after a day’s pause in the previous session, as sentiment improved tracking a decline in crude oil and strength in rupee against the US dollar.

The SENSEX rose as much as 297 points and NIFTY50 index touched an intraday 24,335 and a low of 24,115 led by gains in the index heavyweights like ICICI Bank, Infosys, State Bank of India, Larsen & Toubro, Reliance Industries and Mahindra & Mahindra.

The SENSEX ended 287 points higher at 77,656 and NIFTY50 index advanced 116 points to close at 24,335.

Asian markets

Asian markets were trading sharply higher on Wednesday tracking a drop in crude prices after Iran said that it has reopened talks with Oman to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

Japan's Nikkei surged 0.52%, China's Shanghai Composite gained 0.5%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index advanced 0.9% and South Korea's KOSPI index surged 1.03%.

Wall Street update

US stocks ended higher on Tuesday on the back of falling oil prices.

Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.3%, S&P 500 index advanced 0.32% and the heavy Nasdaq gained 0.66%.

Crude oil update

Iran and Oman have been in on-and-off talks for weeks about controlling traffic through the waterway, which handled one-fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas shipments before the war began in February, the report added.

FII/DII activity

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought shares worth ₹1,593.53 crore on Tuesday while domestic institutional investors bought stocks worth ₹230.26 crore, as per NSE data.

FIIs have so far this month bought shares worth ₹27,186 crore, data from National Securities Depository Limited (NSDL) showed.

Stocks to watch

Institutional investors subscribed for over 8.91 crore shares, as against the 2.61 crore shares reserved for them. At an indicative price of ₹520.35 per share, the bids are valued at over ₹4,600 crore.

The government of India, which owns a majority stake in the copper mining company, is selling over 5.80 crore shares or up to 6% (including 3% green shoe option) of its holdings in Hindustan Copper through a two-day OFS at a floor price of Rs 514 apiece.

The OFS for the additional 3% stake in Hindustan Copper will open for retail investors on Wednesday, August 26, 2026.

The company will set up a new subsidiary, “KIVA Spirits and Company”, to enter the ready-to-drink (RTD) alcoholic beverages business and has appointed former Diageo executive Prathmesh Mishra as its chief executive officer and managing director.

The board of the company, at its meeting held on Tuesday, approved “to incorporate a wholly-owned subsidiary company in India, inter alia to carry on the business of ready-to-drink, alcoholic beverages and allied products, subject to receipt of applicable requisite approvals”.

Addressing shareholders at the AGM of the company, Founder and Non-Executive Chairman S Goenka said that favourable monsoon conditions, improving agricultural output and rising affordability are reviving rural consumption, a key market for the FMCG major.

Anil Chadha, Managing Director, ITC Hotels Limited, said, "Swaraj Deep (Havelock Island) has emerged as one of India's most sought-after leisure destinations, drawing travellers with its unparalleled natural beauty and distinctive experiences. The signing of Storii Havelock reflects our strategy of expanding across high-potential leisure markets through properties that are rooted in their surroundings. We look forward to introducing the Storii brand to the Andaman & Nicobar Islands.".