Nvidia surge lifts sentiment, but Nifty stays range-bound; HDFC Bank drags

Nvidia’s post-market results provided overnight support to sentiment.

Markets opened cautiously on Thursday, with the Nifty 50 edging up 19.45 points (0.08 per cent) to 24,227.20 after a previous close of 24,207.75, while the Sensex opened at 77,576.76 against a previous close of 77,472.94, slipping to 77,465.36, down 7.58 points (0.01 per cent), as investors weighed Nvidia’s record earnings against sticky US inflation and a weak monsoon season at home.

Among the top gainers on the Nifty 50, Bajaj Finance led with a 1.28 per cent rise to ₹1,098.90, followed by Tech Mahindra at ₹1,590.00 (up 1.21 per cent), Adani Enterprises at ₹3,147.50 (up 1.14 per cent), Kotak Mahindra Bank at ₹420.30 (up 0.86 per cent), and ONGC at ₹233.90 (up 0.73 per cent). On the losing side, HDFC Bank was the steepest decliner, falling 1.13 per cent to ₹719.00 on heavy volumes of 34.20 lakh shares worth ₹24,718.73 lakhs. Shriram Finance fell 0.53 per cent to ₹1,111.60, Hindalco dropped 0.43 per cent to ₹1,048.45, Power Grid slipped 0.34 per cent to ₹264.30, and IndiGo eased 0.28 per cent to ₹5,236.00.

Wednesday’s session had ended with the Nifty down 126.80 points (0.52 per cent) at 24,207.75, dragged by a 1.45 per cent fall in the IT index, while Metal and Private Bank indices gained over 1 per cent. Bank Nifty, however, outperformed, closing at 57,783′ up 269.55 points (0.47 per cent)’ and remained above all four key moving averages.

Nvidia support

Nvidia’s post-market results provided overnight support to sentiment. The chipmaker reported Q2 FY27 revenue of $96.2 billion, up 106 per cent year-on-year, and projected fiscal 2028 revenue growth of 70 per cent against analyst expectations of 44 per cent. “Customer forecasts point to our growth doubling next year,” CFO Kress said, though supply constraints tempered guidance. The results lifted Nasdaq futures roughly 1 per cent and propelled South Korea’s KOSPI up 1.8 per cent, with SK Hynix rising 4.4 per cent and Samsung Electronics up 2.8 per cent.

Global macro headwinds, however, remain. The US PCE index, the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge, came in slightly above expectations, pushing the 10-year Treasury yield to approximately 4.66 per cent. Markets are pricing only a 38 per cent probability of a September rate hike, with attention now on Fed Chair Kevin Warsh’s maiden Jackson Hole address on Friday. “Inflation remains elevated, boosting expectations of a Fed rate hike; dollar and Treasury yields firmed,” analysts noted.

Domestically, India faces a 13 per cent monsoon deficit heading into September due to El Niño conditions, threatening kharif crop yields and risking the lowest rainfall since 2009. The east and north-east region shows a 26.8 per cent deficiency, northwest at 10.6 per cent, and south peninsular at 22.1 per cent, with only central India recording normal rainfall.

Institutional flows offered a silver lining. Foreign Institutional Investors bought a net ₹502.63 crore on Wednesday’ their third consecutive session of net buying’ while Domestic Institutional Investors purchased ₹6,425.16 crore, roughly three times their recent daily average. “Three consecutive sessions of FII buying after an extended period of selling suggest that the intensity of foreign outflows may be beginning to ease,” said Hariselvan Radhakrishnan, Founder and CEO of HST Wealth.

Challenges persist

The broader market context, however, remains challenging. The Sensex has now gone 697 days without hitting a new all-time high. In 2026, 37 per cent of Sensex trading days have ended with negative two-year returns’ the highest proportion since 2012. India’s weight in the MSCI Emerging Markets index has fallen to approximately 11.7 per cent from 20 per cent in 2024, with FIIs holding their lowest stake in Indian companies in over a decade.

On crude, Brent is trading in the $86–87 per barrel range, its lowest since August 13, easing pressure on India’s inflation outlook and the rupee. “Rupee remains steady; RBI FX intervention and lower oil offset dollar pressure,” analysts noted, though foreign investors remain cautious on equities.

Technically, the market’s near-term fate hinges on two levels. “Above 24,350, the rally could continue till 24,500–24,550,” said Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Equity Research at Kotak Securities, while “a fresh selloff is possible only after the dismissal of 24,000.” Dr. V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Investments, cautioned that “valuations in SMIDs are getting stretched” even as the midcap index trades near record highs. “Investors should look for stocks with good growth prospects but reasonable valuations’ this combination is very rare,” he added.

Published on August 27, 2026