SENSEX, NIFTY50 fall for a second straight session dragged by banking, auto shares

The Indian equity benchmarks declined for a second straight session on Tuesday, September 1, as investor sentiment remained negative tracking a surge in crude prices and selloff in banking and auto shares.

The SENSEX fell as much as 301 points and the NIFTY50 index touched an intraday high of 24,143 and a low of 23,952 dragged down by heavyweights like State Bank of India, ICICI Bank, Maruti Suzuki, Mahindra & Mahindra and Axis Bank.

The SENSEX ended 13 points lower at 76,944 and NIFTY50 index dropped 25 points to close at 24,056.

Investor sentiment remained weak as Brent crude prices surged as much as 4.7% to hit an intraday high of $92.52 per barrel as renewed fighting between United States and Iran raised concerns that disruptions to oil supply from the Strait of Hormuz could persist going ahead.

11 of 15 major sector gauges compiled by the National Stock Exchange (NSE) ended lower led by the NIFTY Healthcare index's 1.6% fall. NIFTY Consumer Durables, Realty, PSU Bank, Pharma, Auto, Bank and Financial Services indices also fell between 1% and 1.4%.

On the other hand, FMCG, oil & gas, media and IT shares witnessed buying interest.

Broader markets ended mixed as NIFTY Midcap 100 index dropped 1.4% while NIFTY Smallcap 100 index declined 0.23%.

Among the individual shares, Tribhovandas Bhimji Zaveri was locked in 20% upper circuit after the company informed exchanges that it has signed a share purchase agreement to sell 74.12% stake in the company.

Tribhovandas Bhimji Zaveri in an exchange notification said that GRT Jewellers India Private Limited, one of India’s leading jewellery retail companies, signed share purchase agreement (SPA) with the promoters of lTribhovandas Bhimji Zaveri to acquire their stake of 74.12% in the company.

Milky Mist shares were locked in 10% upper circuit as investors reacted to the company’s strong April to June quarter earnings report for the financial year 2026-27, with profits rising nearly 10-fold in the period.

NSE data showed that Milky Mist shares surged 10% to hit an intraday high and upper circuit of ₹232.03 apiece on Tuesday’s market, in comparison to ₹210.94 apiece at the previous equity market close.

Shriram Finance was top loser in the NIFTY50 index, the stock fell 4.58% to close at ₹1,059. Maruti Suzuki dropped 4.4% after its August sales data failed to enthuse investors.

The country's largest car maker sold 1,76,971 units of passenger vehicle domestically compared with 1,31,278 units sold during the same month last year.

Nestle India, IndiGo, Max Healthcare, Axis Bank, Asian Paints, Sun Pharma, Bajaj Finserv, State Bank of India, Jio Financial Services and Apollo Hospitals also fell between 1.6% and 3.9%.

On the flip side, ITC surged 4.34% after the company announced that its subsidiary will merge with Bengaluru-based Happiest Minds Technologies to create an AI-first enterprise with a $1 billion turnover by FY28.

As a precursor to the merger, ITC Infotech will acquire a 22.106% stake from Happiest Minds promoter Ashok Soota and Ashok Soota Medical Research LLP, according to regulatory filings.

Bharti Airtel, Adani Ports, HCL Tech, Reliance Industries, ONGC, Infosys, Bajaj Auto, Dr Reddy's Labs, Hindustan Unilever and Kotak Mahindra Bank were also among top gainers in the NIFTY50 index.

The overall market breadth was negative as 2,196 shares ended lower while 1,345 ended higher on the NSE.