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Sensex falls 183 points, Nifty closes below 24,250 as market erases all morning gains. What lies ahead?

By Sohail Khan 26 August 2026, 3:41 pm

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Business News›Markets›Stocks›News›Sensex falls 183 points, Nifty closes below 24,250 as market erases all morning gains. What lies ahead?

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Sensex falls 183 points, Nifty closes below 24,250 as market erases all morning gains. What lies ahead?
Synopsis

The Indian stock markets experienced a shift, dropping from earlier gains with both Sensex and Nifty closing lower. Key decliners included Infosys, Bharti Airtel, and L&T. Meanwhile, Kotak Mahindra Bank's shares surged over three percent, contrasting with the mixed performance of broader markets, where small caps thrived while mid caps faced challenges. Interestingly, despite the main indices' downturn, the market breadth showed a favor for advancing stocks.

Broader markets ended mixed, with Nifty Smallcap 100 rising 0.8% while Nifty Midcap slipped into the red.<br> — Broader markets ended mixed, with Nifty Smallcap 100 rising 0.8% while Nifty Midcap slipped into the red. (AI Photo)

The Indian stock market erased all morning gains, with Sensex and Nifty closing in the deep red even as oil prices slipped.

Sensex lost 183 points to close at around 77,473 while Nifty 50 dropped 127 points or more than half a percent to end the session below 24,208. Broader markets ended mixed, with Nifty Smallcap 100 rising 0.8% while Nifty Midcap slipped into the red.

Infosys, Bharti Airtel and L&T shares dropped around 2% each to lead losses on Sensex, while Power Grid, Tech Mahindra, NTPC, M&M and Reliance Industries shares fell over 1% each. Meanwhile, Kotak Mahindra Bank shares soared over 3.5%, while UltraTech Cement, Axis Bank and Tata Steel shares jumped 1-2%.

Among the sectors, Nifty Realty and Nifty Consumer Durables dropped around 1% each, while Nifty Metal and Nifty Private Bank soared more than 1% each. The overall market breadth favoured the bulls, with NSE seeing 1,967 advances against 1,548 declines, while 130 stocks remained unchanged.

What lies ahead for Dalal Street?

The domestic market ended lower, giving up early gains as sectoral divergence weighed on benchmarks through the session, said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Investments. He noted that inflation concerns receded on tempered US sanctions on Iran, easing domestic bond yields and lifting banking stocks, while metals gained on better realization prospects.

However, these gains were largely offset by weakness in IT stocks after the US paused visa appointments amid an immigration crackdown which rekindled margin pressure concerns, according to the analyst. “Investors now await the US Core PCE print for greater clarity on the rate trajectory. A contained core reading would indicate that the recent energy-led inflation spike is transitory, easing rate concerns and supporting flows into emerging markets,” he further said.

Technical view on Nifty

Nifty formed a dark cloud cover pattern on the daily timeframe, raising the possibility of a bearish move in the coming days, said Rupak De, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities. He however noted that the broader trend remains positive as the index continues to trade within a rising channel. Today, the index found support just above the 50 EMA.

“Overall, range-bound trading continues, with sellers emerging at higher levels. The RSI has once again entered a bearish crossover. A fall below 24,130 could trigger a serious correction, potentially dragging Nifty towards 23,900 and 23,700. On the higher end, a rock-solid resistance is placed at 24,350. Only a sustained move above 24,350 could change the current perception; until then, choppiness is likely to prevail,” according to the analyst.

(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The )

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