Indian Market in August: Happiest Minds-ITC Infotech Merger, One In Eight Vehicles Sold Were Electric & More

Indian markets paused their upward momentum in August, with both the Nifty 50 and Sensex snapping their two-month winning streak to close modestly in the red. While benchmark indices consolidated, broader markets showed strong resilience, with mid-cap and small-cap stocks continuing their positive momentum for the fifth consecutive month.

Global rate uncertainty, amplified by cautious commentary out of the US Fed’s Jackson Hole symposium, kept investor enthusiasm in check. Fluctuations in crude oil prices driven by geopolitical developments around the Strait of Hormuz and the newly introduced Closing Auction Session added brief bouts of volatility, though domestic inflows helped cushion the downside.

Let’s take a closer look at everything that shaped the markets in the month that went by:

Sector Radar

Top Gainers Breakdown

• Nifty Metal: A sharp recovery in global steel prices, inventory restocking, and stronger Q1 earnings commentary fueled aggressive institutional buying across major metal producers.
• Nifty PSU Bank: Value buying at key support levels, sustained credit growth momentum, and resilient asset quality metrics led to a strong rebound following July’s dip.
• Nifty Pharma: Increased defensive portfolio allocations, strong US export sales numbers, and steady domestic formulation growth boosted investor sentiment.

Top Losers Breakdown

• Nifty FMCG: Decelerating rural volume growth paired with persistent input cost volatility and crude-linked packaging inflation triggered heavy profit-taking across consumer staples.
• Nifty Media: Profit-booking following July’s sharp rally alongside lingering weakness in traditional television advertising revenues dragged the index lower.
• Nifty Infra: Seasonal monsoon disruptions slowing project execution timelines and minor delays in fresh tender awards weighed on construction and capital goods stocks.

Precious Metals

Prices as of August 31, 2026. Data shows change in one month.

Corporate Moves

INDHOTEL₹709.40 -1.20%

Tata Group’s Indian Hotels Company Ltd announced that Oriental Hotels Ltd (OHL) will be merged with it. Oriental Hotels’ shareholders will receive 25 shares of IHCL for every 117 shares they hold in OHL. This will be an all stock transaction and the merger is targeted in the second half of FY28.

TCS₹2,340.60 -1.20%

The company announced a strategic partnership with Porsche AG for enabling AI services across the mobility value chain for Porsche. TCS, through its subsidiary, will acquire 100% of MHP Management- und IT-Beratung GmbH (MHP), Porsche’s Germany-based management and IT consulting subsidiary.

LICI₹408.45 -0.90%

The state owned insurer offered its shares for sale at a discounted floor price of ₹382.00 per share and offered a further ₹10 discount to retail investors. SEBI guidelines mandate that listed companies must achieve a minimum public shareholding of at least 25%, with an interim deadline of May 16, 2027 to achieve 10%. Before the offer for sale (OFS), the government held a 96.5% share in the company.

HINDCOPPER₹519.15 -1.42%

The state run company offered to sell its shares at a discounted floor price of ₹514.00 per share. The government realised nearly ₹3,000 crore from the share sale.

MARUTI₹12,772.00 -1.37%

The carmaker has increased its capital expenditure outlay to ₹77,500 crore for the next five years for capacity expansion, new models and R&D. Managing Director and CEO Hisashi Takeuchi assured that Maruti Suzuki cars starting from production year 2008 are compatible with E20 fuel.

MILKYMIST₹244.42 +5.34%

The company reported almost a 10-fold jump in its consolidated net profit to ₹64.7 crore from ₹6.5 crore, while revenue grew 43.6% to ₹973 crore.

HDFCBANK₹704.15 -1.09%

The private lender’s share price fell after a securities lawsuit was filed in the US against ​the lender and two senior executives, Sashidhar Jagdishan and Srinivasan Vaidyanathan, trigerring fresh investor concerns.

Macro View

• India’s August rainfall was 16% below normal, taking cumulative monsoon rainfall during June–August to 603.7 mm, 14% below the long-period average.Odisha was the only state with excess rainfall.
• The RBI kept repo rates unchanged at 5.25% and maintained its neutral policy stance. It also left the standard Deposit Facility (SDF) rate unchanged at 5%, while retaining the Marginal Standing Facility (MSF) rate and the Bank Rate at 5.5%.
• India’s GDP growth accelerated to 7.8% YoY in Q1FY27 from 6.9% a year ago, driven by 9.2% manufacturing growth and an 11.9% jump in investment demand.

• The Closing Auction Session (CAS) for equity stocks with derivatives contracts came into effect on August 3, changing the way official closing prices are determined in the Indian stock market. This framework replaced the volume-weighted average price (VWAP)-based methodology.
• Electric vehicle retail sales in India reached another monthly record at 327,901 units in July, growing at 66 per cent over the same month last year, with nearly one in eight vehicles retailed now being electric, Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations said.

Global Updates

Headlines and important updates from around the world:

• The U.S. and Venezuela have agreed to a 25-year energy partnership targeting crude production of over 1.5 million barrels per day from 17 strategic oilfields.
• SpaceX’ Q2 revenue surged 92% YoY to $7.8 billion, driven by strong growth in its Starlink satellite internet and AI businesses. It also announced a data centre chip partnership with Nvidia.
• The Walt Disney Company and TikTok announced a first-of-its-kind partnership allowing TikTok creators to use Disney characters and scenes in short-form videos.
• Meta will pay up to $18 billion over 10 years to settle claims by nearly all U.S. states that Facebook and Instagram harmed and addicted young users. It has also agreed to implement teen safeguards including a default two-hour daily limit across Facebook and Instagram. It has guaranteed payment of 70% of the settlement, or roughly $12.7 billion, over a decade. Meta will pay the remaining amount, around $5 billion, only if rivals Snap, TikTok and Alphabet-owned YouTube adopt similar measures, including tighter one-hour-per-app daily limits and wider overnight blocks from 10 p.m. ​to 7 a.m.

FII vs DII Trends

Tracking India’s evolving market ownership trends

August witnessed a sharp re-acceleration of domestic capital accumulation overwhelmingly absorbing modest foreign outflows, further solidifying the structural transition in market custody.

FII Activity: Foreign Institutional Investors remained net sellers for the eighth consecutive month, with selling momentum picking up by 30.3% sequentially to -₹7,531.84 crore, though remaining far below June’s severe liquidation levels.

DII Activity: Domestic Institutional Investors aggressively re-energized their persistent buying streak, infusing ₹58,268.15 crore—a powerful 66.0% MoM rebound following July’s moderation, reflecting unyielding institutional liquidity and proactive dip-buying.

The DII-to-FII absorption ratio expanded further to an extraordinary 7.74x, yielding a substantial net institutional surplus of ₹50,736.31 crore.

IPOs In The Spotlight

The Company Behind Every IPO is Finally Going Public

The Hidden Paradox Behind the NSE IPO

IPO Watch

Mainboard IPOs — Companies That Went Public (Market Cap > ₹1,000 Cr). Current Price as of Sept 01, 2026.

That’s a wrap for August!

From sector moves to macro trends and market risks, we’ve covered what mattered.

See you next month. Till then, stay informed and invest intelligently with Share.Market.