Indian equity markets opened lower on Tuesday, August 18, 2026, with selling pressure increasing in early trade. Amid mixed global market cues, investors sold IT stocks and some heavyweight shares, pushing both the Sensex and Nifty into negative territory.
At the open, the BSE Sensex was trading 256.73 points, or about 0.33%, lower at 77,461.43. The NSE Nifty fell 73.55 points, or approximately 0.30%, to 24,214.10. Selling pressure increased as early trading progressed, deepening the weakness in both benchmark indices.
The broader market, however, did not show a uniform decline. According to early trading data, around 1,338 stocks were advancing, while 977 were declining. About 203 stocks showed little change.
IT stocks faced the highest selling pressure in early Tuesday trading. Selling in major IT companies added to the weakness in the broader market. Infosys was down about 1.41%, while HCL Technologies declined approximately 0.91%. TCS fell about 0.78%, Tech Mahindra declined around 0.66%, and LTIMindtree was down about 0.44%.
Factors such as sentiment in the global technology sector, valuations and caution over risk in the broader market could be important factors behind the decline in IT stocks. However, the direction of these stocks could change during the full trading session.
Despite the decline in the broader market, some major stocks saw buying interest. ONGC was among the top-performing stocks in early trade, gaining about 0.75%. Bajaj Auto rose 0.62%, Nestle India gained 0.59%, Grasim advanced 0.55%, and Maruti rose about 0.47%.
SBI, Axis Bank, Sun Pharma, NTPC, Mahindra & Mahindra and Power Grid also showed strength in early trading.
Bharti Airtel was down about 1.34% in early trade. IndiGo declined approximately 1.28%, while Max Healthcare fell around 1.15%. Infosys, Asian Paints and Jio Financial Services also remained under pressure. Asian Paints was down about 1.37%, while Jio Financial was trading approximately 0.74% lower.
The future direction of the Indian equity market may depend on global market trends, foreign investor activity, crude oil prices and buying and selling in shares of major companies. Continued pressure on IT stocks will also remain an important market factor.
