Sensex down by 270 points, Nifty slips under 24,500; M&M, Reliance, and Infosys were major laggards in today's session

On the last day of the week’s trading session, both the Indian benchmark indices skidded down, with the BSE Sensex down by 0.34% at 79,809.65, and the NSE Nifty settling at 24,426.85. Although the market traded positively during the day, by the session’s end, the indices succumbed to late selling.

The market fell for three consecutive sessions, with the Nifty hitting a three-week low. As per available data, the 50-constituent index is down by 1.3%, while the Sensex is down by 1.5% for the month of August. 

The major laggards dragging the bourses down were Mahindra and Mahindra and Reliance Industries , falling by 2.89% and 2.16%, respectively. The automaker saw profit booking before the monthly auto sales, while Reliance saw a drop in its share price even after multiple announcements in its AGM, like Jio planning to file for an IPO in the first half of 2026, and the launch of several products. Infosys was down by 2%. 

Amongst top gainers were Shriram Finance, ITC, Bharat Electronics, Trent, and Asian Paints, rising between 1% and 2.15%. 

FMCG stocks resisted the negative sentiments in the broader markets, as news of GST rejigs on several items, such as garments and footwear could become cheaper, thereby promoting demand, got investors cheering. ITC and Trent rode the high, with each at 2.15% and 1%. Other sectoral indices that traded in the green were Nifty Media and Nifty Consumer Goods. Nifty Realty and Nifty Oil and Gas were top losers, with each trading lower by 1.33% and 1%, respectively.

Broader markets did bounce back slightly during intraday trading, but they too mirrored the performance of the benchmark indices and ended below by around half a per cent each.