Opening bell: Can Sensex, Nifty extend gains for 5th straight session? Here’s what trends suggest

Indian equity benchmarks, BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty, are set to open lower on Wednesday, mirroring weakness in global markets as investors look for clarity on the U.S. Federal Reserve’s policy outlook. Market participants are awaiting the minutes of the Fed’s July meeting, due later in the day, and Chair Jerome Powell’s speech at the Jackson Hole Symposium on Friday. In addition, investors are closely tracking developments around U.S.-India trade talks.

At 8:20 a.m., GIFT Nifty futures were down 48 points at 24,963, indicating a gap-down opening for the Sensex and Nifty.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in the red, tracking the negative closing on Wall Street overnight, as investors digested Japan’s trade data and awaited China’s loan prime rate decision. The Dow ended higher by 0.02%, while the broad S&P 500 slipped 0.59%, and the tech-laden Nasdaq plunged 1.46%.

Back home, Indian share markets extended their gaining streak for the fourth straight session on Tuesday amid renewed optimism over hopes of Goods and Services Tax (GST) rationalisation and a recent upgrade in India’s credit rating.

The BSE Sensex closed at 81,644, up 371 points, or 0.5%, and the NSE Nifty settled 104 points higher at 24,981. Outperforming the benchmark indices, the broader market ended on a solid note, with both BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices adding 1% each.

Foreign investors (FIIs/FPIs) turned net sellers on Tuesday, offloading Indian equities worth ₹634 crore. In contrast, domestic institutional investors (DIIs) continued to provide strong support with a net buying of ₹2,261 crore, as per the exchange data.

Stocks to watch today:

Gaming stocks: Shares of gaming companies will be in focus today after the Union Cabinet on Tuesday approved the online gaming bill.

Aditya Infotech: The country’s largest provider of video security and surveillance products reported a strong performance in the first quarter, with consolidated profit surging 46.1% year-on-year (YoY) to ₹32.9 crore, compared to ₹22.5 crore in Q1 FY25. The company’s revenue rose 16.4% to ₹740 crore from ₹636 crore.

GNG Electronics: The newly listed company posted a 52.4% YoY jump in consolidated profit for Q1FY26 at ₹18.5 crore, against ₹12.1 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous year. Revenue for the quarter climbed 22.3% to ₹312.3 crore from ₹255.3 crore a year ago.

One 97 Communications (Paytm) : Motilal Oswal AMC has increased its stake in Paytm to 5.16% from 4.75% after purchasing an additional 26.31 lakh shares.

NTPC Green Energy: The company has declared commercial operations of a 212.5 MW capacity under the 1,255 MW Khavda-I Solar PV project in Gujarat

Lloyds Metals & Energy : The company has won the bid for the Tandsi-III and Tandsi-III Extension coking coal mine, located on the Madhya Pradesh–Maharashtra border, with a premium of 10.5%.

CCL Products (India) : The company will acquire a 26% stake in Mukkonda Renewables, a subsidiary of Ecoren Energy India, for ₹9.57 crore.

Phoenix Mills : The Competition Commission of India has cleared CPP Investments’ exit from its 49% stake in Island Star Mall Development, a subsidiary of the company, subject to shareholder and regulatory approvals.

Endurance Technologies : The company has approved a ₹135.6 crore capacity expansion in ABS, disc brake systems, and brake disc segments.

GMR Power and Urban Infra : The board will meet on August 22 to consider a fundraise plan.

SRF : The company has entered into a strategic agreement with The Chemours Company to manufacture and market advanced fluoropolymers and fluoroelastomers.

Share India Securities : The board has approved an investment of up to ₹28 crore in NCDEX for acquiring 14.19 lakh shares, representing a 1.58% stake, at ₹197.34 per share.

SML Isuzu : The board has approved changing the company’s name from SML Isuzu Ltd to SML Mahindra Ltd, subject to regulatory approvals.

IPO Listing: Regaal Resources is set to debut on the BSE and NSE today.

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