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Persistent geopolitical uncertainty, elevated crude prices drag markets lower for the week
Aug-14-2026

Indian equity benchmarks snapped their two-week gaining streak and ended lower in the passing week, declining by more than half a percent each, as investors remained cautious amid persistent geopolitical uncertainty in West Asia, elevated crude oil prices, and mixed global signals. A rise in India’s retail inflation in July also weighed on market sentiment.

Some of the major developments during the week are:

Retail inflation rises to 4.45% in July: Retail inflation, measured by Consumer Price Index (CPI) with the base year 2024, rose to 4.45% (Provisional) in July 2026 from 4.38% (Final) in June 2026, as food prices remained elevated. The latest reading marks the sixth consecutive monthly increase in inflation.

Fitch Ratings affirms India’s ‘BBB-’ long-term rating with stable outlook: Fitch Ratings has reaffirmed India's Long-Term Issuer Default Ratings (IDRs) at ‘BBB-’ with a stable outlook. India's rating has remained unchanged at ‘BBB-’, the lowest investment grade, since 2006.

India’s net direct tax collection rises 23% to Rs 8.11 lakh crore as of August 10 in FY27: The government in its data has said that India’s net direct tax collections rose by 23.09 per cent to over Rs 8.11 lakh crore as of August 10 in the current fiscal year (FY27).

India's exports jump 19.6% in July: The commerce ministry data showed that India’s merchandise exports rose by 19.63% Y-o-Y to $44.24 billion in July 2026, driven by a jump in shipments of petroleum products. Imports grew by 17.51% Y-o-Y to $76.22 billion, while trade deficit widened to $31.98 billion in July.

India’s wholesale inflation shows mild cooling at 9.78% in July: India's wholesale price index (WPI) inflation showed a mild cooling in July 2026, with inflation easing to 9.78% from 9.87% in June 2026. The index for All Commodities also declined slightly to 110.0 in July 2026 from 110.2 in June 2026.

BSE movement for the week

The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) Sensex slipped 489.92 points or 0.62% to 78,009.25 during the week ended August 14, 2026. On the sectoral front, S&P BSE Metal was down by 605.39 points or 1.44% to 41,547.74, S&P BSE Fast Moving Consumer Goods was down by 180.49 points or 0.98% to 18,293.25 and S&P BSE PSU was down by 192.45 points or 0.91% to 20,903.50 were the top losers, while S&P BSE Realty was up by 86.34 points or 1.25% to 6,997.73, S&P BSE Consumer Durables was up by 729.84 points or 1.12% to 65,702.75 and S&P BSE Capital Goods was up by 837.29 points or 1.06% to 80,120.02 were the few gainers on the BSE.

NSE movement for the week

The Nifty slipped 204.65 points or 0.83% to 24,366.00. On the National Stock Exchange (NSE), Nifty IT was down by 189.95 points or 0.60% to 31,357.75, Bank Nifty was down by 255.35 points or 0.44% to 57,491.10, and Nifty Next 50 lost 211.00 points or 0.28% to 74,486.55, while Nifty Mid Cap 100 increased 318.60 points or 0.50% to 63,782.15.

FII transactions during the week

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net buyers in equity segment in the week, with gross purchases of Rs 76,301.54 crore and gross sales of Rs 72,601.66 crore, leading to a net inflow of Rs 3,699.88 crore. They also stood as net buyers in the debt segment with gross purchases of Rs 8,613.38 crore against gross sales of Rs 7,995.07 crore, resulting in a net inflow of Rs 618.31 crore. In hybrid segment, FIIs stood as net sellers, with gross purchases of Rs 81.60 crore and gross sales of Rs 159.86 crore, leading to a net outflow of Rs 78.26 crore.

Industry and Economy

Expressing optimism over India’s growth prospects, SBI Research in its latest report has said that the country’s GDP growth is likely to rise to 8% in the Q1FY27, higher than the RBI’s 7% growth projection. It noted that the underlying momentum remains broad-based. It said that, of the more than 50 leading indicators across consumption and demand, agriculture, industry, services and other sectors that it tracks, around 86% are showing acceleration in Q1FY27, compared with 69% in Q1FY26. It said consumption and demand remain resilient. It further said that monsoon conditions have improved, with a nearly 40% rainfall deficit in June partly offset by surplus rainfall in July and normal rains in August, bringing the overall deficit down to around 12%.

Outlook for the coming week

Indian benchmarks ended the passing week in red amid persistent geopolitical uncertainty. Crude oil prices continued to trade higher amid tensions between the United States and Iran and concerns over potential disruptions to oil supplies. The United States threatened to impose an indefinite naval blockade on Iran.

In the coming week, on the economy front, traders will be eyeing unemployment rate on August 17. Investors will be looking for infrastructure output data on August 20. Besides, HSBC Manufacturing, Services and Composite PMI Flash figures, Bank deposit & advance, and foreign exchange reserves data are going to be out on August 21.

On the global front, investors would be eyeing economic data from United States (US) starting with NAHB Housing Market Index on August 17, followed by Redbook, Housing Starts, Export & Import, Industrial Production, Pending Home Sales on August 18, API & EIA Crude Oil Stock, FOMC Minutes on August 19, Initial Jobless Claims on August 20, and S&P Global Composite PMI Flash and Baker Hughes Oil Rig Count on August 21.

Top Gainers 

  • Bharat Electronics up by 2.91% was the top gainer on Nifty for the week - Stocks of Bharat Electronics traded with traction as Rs 541 crore order win put investors in a buying mood. Major orders received include communication equipment, electro optics, ammunition fuzes, Chemical Biological Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) systems, spares, services etc. 
  • Dr. Reddy's Laboratories up by 2.48% was another gainer on Nifty for the week - Market participants opted to buy shares of Dr. Reddy’s at lower levels following its fall post Q1 earnings release. Besides, investors were sanguine as the company secured USFDA’s approval for its rituximab biosimilar for the U.S. market. The approval further strengthens its growing global biosimilars portfolio and advances its biosimilars business in the United States.

Top Losers 

  • Max Healthcare Institute down by 5.95% was the top loser of the week on Nifty - Max Healthcare traded under pressure post its first quarter earnings release. The company reported 4.71% rise in its consolidated net profit at Rs 322.49 crore for Q1FY27 as compared to Rs 307.97 crore for Q1FY26. The total income of increased by 16.60% at Rs 2,406.69 crore for Q1FY27 as compared to Rs 2,064.08 crore for Q1FY26.
  • Jio Financial Services down by 5.34% was another top loser of the week on Nifty - Jio Financial Services traded lower as traders opted to book profits following the gains made by the stock post its Q1 earnings. The company reported an over two-fold jump in its consolidated net profit at Rs 830.25 crore for Q1FY27 as compared to Rs 324.66 crore for Q1FY26.

Technical viewpoints

During the week, CNX Nifty touched the highest level of 24,630.40 on August 10 and lowest level of 24,265.95 on August 12. On the last trading day, the Nifty closed at 24,366.00 with weekly loss of 204.65 points or 0.83 percent. For the coming week, 24,211.17 followed by 24,056.33 are likely to be good support levels for the Nifty, while the index may face resistance at 24,575.62 and further at 24,785.23 levels.

US Market

The U.S. markets traded mostly higher during the week, amid a 0.1 percent increase in consumer prices in July, following a 0.4 percent decline in June. The uptick in consumer prices matched street estimates.

Some of the major developments during the week are:  

U.S. producer prices remain unchanged in July: Labor Department said its producer price index for final demand was unchanged in July after edging down by a revised 0.1 percent in June.

Weekly jobless claims in U.S. climb in week ended August 8: Initial jobless claims rose to 209,000, an increase of 9,000 from the previous week's revised level of 200,000.

U.S. existing home sales slump in July: The National Association of Realtors said existing home sales tumbled by 1.7 percent to an annual rate of 4.06 million in July.

Ten-year note auction attracts modestly above average demand: The Treasury Department revealed this month's sale of $42 billion worth of ten-year notes attracted modestly above average demand. 

Crude oil inventories in U.S. surge: Crude oil inventories spiked by 17.4 million barrels in the week ended August 7 after climbing by 2.5 million barrels in the previous week.

European Market

European markets remained subdued during the passing week, as concerns about U.S.-Iran conflict and continued uncertainty over the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz rendered the mood cautious.

Some of the major developments during the week are:

Eurozone industrial output stagnates: Industrial output remained flat on a monthly basis in June following a 0.3 percent rise each in April and May. Output was forecast to fall 0.1 percent.

Spain inflation rises: Consumer price inflation accelerated to 3.6 percent in July from 3.2 percent in June. A similar higher rate was last seen in May 2024. 

German inflation accelerates in July: Consumer prices grew 2.8 percent year-on-year in July, faster than the 2.3 percent increase seen in June. The rate was the highest since April when inflation stood at 2.9 percent.

Italy’s trade surplus shrinks in June: The trade surplus declined to EUR 4.23 billion in June from EUR 5.38 billion in the corresponding month last year. The expected surplus was EUR 4.74 billion.

Eurozone Sentix investor confidence turns positive: The sentix Economic Sentiment Index rose to 0.9 in August from -3.1 in July. The score was expected to improve to -0.7.

Asian Market

Asian markets traded mixed during the passing week, as tariff worries and uncertainty over efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz overshadowed easing Fed rate-hike bets.

Some of the major developments during the week are:

Japan producer prices rise 7.2% in July: Japan’s producer prices rose 7.2% year-on-year in July 2026, easing slightly from a marginally revised 7.3% increase in the prior month, which had been the fastest pace in more than three years.

Japan machine tool orders surge 50.4% in July: Japan’s machine tool orders climbed by 50.4% year-on-year to JPY 193,102 million in July 2026, following a 52.8% surge in the previous month.

Japan M2 money stock climbs annual 2.2% in July: Money Supply M2 in Japan increased to 1297007.40 JPY billion in July 2026 from 1296125 JPY billion in June of 2026.

Japan posts current account deficit in June: Japan’s current account swung to a deficit of JPY 923.0 billion in June 2026 from surplus of JPY 1,281.8 billion in same month a year earlier, missing market expectations for JPY 1,512 billion surplus.

South Korea export prices surge in July: South Korea’s export prices surged 49.1% year-on-year in July 2026, marking the largest increase since 1998 during the Asian financial crisis.
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