Nifty slips 0.12% in week as oil, earnings and profit-taking weigh

Indian equities ended the week broadly flat, but the internal picture was more defensive. Profit-taking in large constituents and sensitivity to crude kept the headline market contained, while the broader market saw weaker participation. Banks lagged, adding to the pressure on Bank Nifty, even as selective buying in telecom, healthcare and infrastructure-related names provided support.

Bharti Airtel and Apollo Hospitals were among the notable gainers in the final session. Adani Enterprises and Adani Ports also featured among the stronger index names. Traders attributed telecom strength partly to buying in Bharti Airtel and continued attention on Vodafone Idea’s operating improvement, while healthcare was supported by Apollo Hospitals and better pharmaceutical results.

The weaker pockets reflected a combination of company-specific earnings reactions and commodity concerns. Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles, Jio Financial Services, ONGC and Hindalco were among the notable drags on Friday. The metals segment was pressured by weaker aluminium-related sentiment, while oil and energy stocks remained exposed to elevated crude and geopolitical uncertainty. Cement and materials names also faced profit-taking, with UltraTech Cement among the weaker weekly constituents.

Telecom and internet stocks led the sectoral performance as Bharti Airtel attracted buying and Vodafone Idea’s quarterly revenue improved year-on-year, although the latter remained loss-making. Infrastructure and industrial names benefited from order-related activity, including Black Box’s $131 million order from a US-based global Tier-1 hyperscaler for a data-centre project. That order was reported as approximately Rs 1,240 crore.

Healthcare was supported by Apollo Hospitals and a stronger earnings read from parts of the pharmaceutical sector. Gland Pharma’s profit rose to Rs 317 crore in the June quarter from Rs 215 crore a year earlier, while revenue increased to Rs 1,800 crore from Rs 1,506 crore and EBITDA margin widened to 27.2% from 24.4%.

The lagging sectors had less uniform support from company results. Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles reported a consolidated June-quarter profit of Rs 775 crore, down 80.25% year-on-year from Rs 3,924 crore, despite revenue rising 9.26% to Rs 95,799 crore. In metals, the market also reacted to weaker aluminium-price sentiment and earnings disappointments at selected companies.

The July CPI print kept the RBI’s policy dilemma in view. Consumer inflation rose to 4.45% year-on-year from 4.38% in June, with food inflation increasing to 5.52% from 5.32%. Headline inflation therefore remained above the RBI’s 4% target for a second consecutive month, although core inflation was reported at 3.9%, indicating limited demand-side pressure.

The July WPI reading eased to 9.78% from 9.87% in June but remained above 9% for a third consecutive month. Fuel and power inflation moderated to 20.05% from 27.41%, while food inflation based on the WPI increased to 6.65% from 6.14%. The combination leaves the rate outlook sensitive to food and energy prices, even as the softer core reading gives the RBI room to remain on hold.

SEBI said it had not observed manipulation in the new closing auction session and was monitoring the mechanism. SEBI Chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey also said mutual-fund participation in the closing auction had risen to 25% from 5-7%. Separately, the regulator listed modifications to the framework for online bond-platform providers and a framework for calculating net distributable cash flows for InvITs. The Finance Ministry was considering changes to the UPI incentive structure, including tiered MDR or a phased reduction in subsidies for certain high-value transactions.

Global cues were mixed. Softer US inflation reduced expectations of an imminent Federal Reserve rate increase and supported the technology and artificial-intelligence trade during the week. US equities nevertheless ended Friday lower after weaker retail-sales and consumer-sentiment data, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq still recorded weekly gains and the Dow declined for the week.

Asian markets were also uneven. South Korea’s Kospi extended its technology-led advance and Japan’s Nikkei gained, while Hong Kong lagged. The divergence mattered for India because a supportive global technology backdrop helped selective telecom, internet and IT-linked names, but higher crude and Middle East uncertainty continued to weigh on energy-sensitive sectors and the rupee.

Foreign institutional investors were net buyers of Rs 1,228.24 crore in Indian equities over the five sessions, based on provisional exchange data. Domestic institutions were net buyers of Rs 9,285.63 crore. The domestic flow cushion was strongest on August 12 and August 13, when DII purchases exceeded FII selling. Participants nevertheless remained attentive to oil-related currency pressure: the rupee ended the week at Rs 95.44 per dollar, while Brent remained near $87 a barrel.

The corporate reporting season produced both operating improvements and sharp accounting comparisons. Vodafone Idea’s June-quarter net loss was Rs 3,754 crore, compared with a profit of Rs 51,970 crore in the previous quarter; that earlier profit included an exceptional gain of Rs 57,491 crore. The company recorded an exceptional gain of Rs 1,611 crore in the latest quarter. On a year-on-year basis, the loss narrowed from Rs 6,608 crore and revenue rose 6% to Rs 11,689 crore, which was reported as ahead of estimates.

Ipca Laboratories beat the available consensus comparison. June-quarter EPS was Rs 15.84 against an estimate of Rs 12.43, while revenue was Rs 2,788 crore against a forecast of Rs 2,589 crore. Management raised FY27 revenue-growth guidance to 14-16% from 12-13% and gave EBITDA-margin guidance of 23%.

Astral’s profit rose 52% year-on-year to Rs 120 crore against an estimate of Rs 116 crore. Revenue was Rs 1,578 crore, slightly below the Rs 1,588 crore estimate, while EBITDA margin expanded to 14.81% from 13.58% a year earlier and exceeded the 14.58% estimate. By contrast, PNC Infratech maintained its full-year standalone revenue guidance of Rs 6,000 crore for FY27 and Rs 7,500 crore for FY28, with a 12% EBITDA-margin target, despite an earnings miss against consensus.

The primary market remained active, with five mainboard IPOs and four SME issues opening during the week. The five mainboard offers together sought roughly Rs 7,479 crore, while the SME issues added about Rs 200 crore. Dhoot Transmission and Molbio Diagnostics opened on August 10, Milky Mist Dairy Food on August 11, and Shiprocket and Behari Lal Engineering on August 12.

The activity was accompanied by several listings. Ardee Industries was scheduled to debut on August 12, while Technocraft Ventures and LEAP India were scheduled for August 14. The volume of issuance kept primary-market demand in focus even as secondary-market participation became more selective.

The immediate market watch is likely to remain centred on the interaction between crude, the rupee and domestic inflation. The July CPI and WPI readings do not by themselves establish a change in RBI policy, but they leave food, fuel and geopolitical developments important for rate expectations and bond-market positioning.

On equities, the next test is whether earnings upgrades in healthcare, telecom and infrastructure can offset weaker results in autos, metals and selected financial names. The week’s institutional data showed strong domestic support, but the flat market performance also indicated that flows were not sufficient to remove the pressure from profit-taking and commodity-sensitive sectors.