SENSEX falls over 200 points, NIFTY50 below 24,350; Reliance, ICICI Bank top drags

The Indian equity benchmarks edged lower on Thursday, August 13, as investor sentiment remained sombre as crude oil hovered around $90 per barrel as confusion prevailed on reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.

The SENSEX fell as much as 213 points and NIFTY50 index touched an intraday low of 24,329 dragged down by losses in Reliance Industries, ICICI Bank, Infosys, HDFC Bank, Titan, Ultratech Cement and Kotak Mahindra Bank.

As of 9:27 am, the SENSEX was down 191 points at 77,775 and NIFTY50 index declined 105 points to 24,332.

Asian markets were trading higher as United States retail inflation data came on expected lines and dampened hopes of a rate hike by the Federal Reserve going ahead.

Japan's Nikkei surged 1.75%, China's Shanghai Composite advanced 0.45%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 0.11% and South Korea's KOSPI advanced 3.9%.

Back home, 12 of 15 major sector gauges compiled by the National Stock Exchange (NSE) were trading lower led by the NIFTY Oil & Gas index's 0.7% fall. NIFTY Consumer Durables, Healthcare, Realty, Private Bank, PSU Bank, Pharma, Metal, IT, Financial Services and Bank indices also fell between 0.3% and 0.7%.

On the other hand, select auto and media shares were witnessing buying interest.

Broader markets were trading on a mixed note as NIFTY Midcap 100 index declined 0.23% while NIFTY Smallcap 100 index advanced 0.3%.

Lenskart shares surged as much as 6.9% to hit a fresh 52-week high of ₹626.95 after the company reported 269% year-on-year (YoY) surge in its consolidated net profit to ₹222 crore.

In the corresponding period of the preceding fiscal year, the company had logged a profit of ₹60 crore, according to a regulatory filing.

The technology eyewear firm’s revenue from core operations advanced 43% YoY to ₹2,714 crore in the period under review, compared with ₹1,894 crore in the first quarter of the 2025-26 fiscal year (Q1 FY26).

At an operational level, its EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation), also known as operating profit, stood at ₹589 crore in the June FY27 quarter, marking a 61.37% YoY increase from ₹365 crore in the same period of the previous fiscal year.

Tata Motors CV shares advanced as much as 6.11% to hit an intraday high of ₹485 after it posted an 8% growth in its standalone net profit for the first quarter of the financial year 2026-27 (Q1 FY27) to ₹1,528 crore on Wednesday, August 12, as compared to ₹1,411 crore recorded in the year-ago period.

The company's revenue from operations jumped 23% on a year-on-year (YoY) basis to ₹19,329 crore in the April to June quarter as against ₹15,682 crore seen in Q1 FY26.

Hindalco was top loser in the NIFTY50 index, the stock fell 2.2% to ₹1,055. Ultratech Cement, Grasim, Dr Reddy's Labs, Reliance Industries, Titan, ICICI Bank, Infosys and Adani Ports also fell between 0.65% and 2.13%.

On the flip side, Tata Motors PV, Shriram Finance, Tech Mahindra, Jio Financial Services, Eternal, Mahindra & Mahindra, Nestle India and Max Healthcare were top gainers in the NIFTY50 index.

The overall market breadth was positive as 1,688 shares were advancing while 1,190 were declining on the NSE.