Sensex tanks 493 points; Nifty falls for 6th day as crude oil jumps to $91/barrel

Market benchmark indices ended lower on Tuesday (August 18, 2026), with the Sensex falling 493 points and the Nifty dropping to 24,154.90 level. During the fag-end of trade, it tanked 493.8 points, or 0.63%, to 77,234.36.

From the Sensex pack, Asian Paints, Infosys, HCL Tech, Bharti Airtel, Tata Consultancy Services, and Hindustan Unilever were among the major laggards.

Axis Bank, Power Grid, Mahindra & Mahindra, and Bajaj Finance were among the winners.

While SmallCap Select index was up 0.24%, the BSE MidCap Select index declined 0.46%.

Among sectoral indices, Focused IT tanked 1.84%, ITechnology Realty (1.28%), PSU Bank (1.04%), Consumer Durables (0.81%), FMCG (0.67%), Metal (0.47%), and Capital Goods (0.47%).

MidSmall Private Banks Quality Tilt, MidSmall Private Banks, Hospitals and Healthcare were the winners.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, went up 0.17% to $91.02 per barrel.

While rising U.S. bond yields and weak global cues prolonged the risk-off trend in Indian equities, “Crude oil remained the primary drag on market sentiment. Investor anxiety increased as hopes for a Middle East resolution faded after the expiration of the temporary U.S.-Iran ceasefire, heightening concerns concerning renewed inflation,” Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Ltd., said.

Elevated U.S. yields further reduced the attractiveness of emerging markets, and IT stocks-led losses amid fears that persistently high interest rates could dampen global technology spending, he went on.

Among the Tata Group stocks, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles was down 2.28%, Tata Chemicals slipped 1.63%, TCS dipped 1.47%. Tata Consumer Products fell 1.25%, Voltas edged lower by 1.10%, Tata Communications declined 1%, Tata Investment Corporation skidded 0.94%, Tata Steel lost 0.48%, Titan (0.39%), Tata Power (0.24%) and Trent (0.24%) on the BSE.

A key annual general meeting of Tata Sons, the holding business of the salt-to-software conglomerate, had to be adjourned on Tuesday (August 18, 2026) due to lack of quorum, sources said.

The meeting had to be adjourned as Sir Dorabji Tata Trust (SDTT) and Sir Ratan Tata Trust (SRTT). It jointly nominate a representative, could not be present, they said.

The AGM was considered key because it comes within a week of current Tata Sons chairman N. Chandrasekaran opting out of reappointment after his term ends next February.

While Shanghai’s SSE Composite index and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index ended marginally higher, in Asian markets, South Korea’s Kospi and Japan’s Nikkei 225 settled lower.

Markets in Europe were trading on a mixed note.

U.S. markets ended in negative territory on Monday (August 17, 2026).

“Indian equity markets extended their losing streak to a sixth consecutive session on Tuesday, tracking weakness across global markets as rising crude oil costs and a sharp sell-off in U.S. Treasuries weighed on investor sentiment,” R. Ponmudi, CEO of Enrich Money, an online trading and wealth tech firm, stated.

Fading hopes of a diplomatic breakthrough in the Middle East dampened risk appetite, he added.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth ₹2,535.10 crore on Monday (August 17, 2026), according to exchange data.

On Monday (August 17, 2026), the Sensex declined 281.09 points, or 0.36%, to settle at 77,728.16. The Nifty was down 78.35 points, or 0.32%, to end at 24,287.65, taking the losses to the fifth day.