Indian equity benchmark indices witnessed substantial fluctuations during the third trading session of the week on Wednesday, 5 August 2026. Despite a robust opening call that boosted investor sentiment early in the morning, the domestic stock market struggled to hold on to its higher levels as profit booking surfaced in later hours. After going through intense intraday movement, both key stock exchanges managed to settle in the green with minimal gains by the closing bell. The session highlighted caution among traders as initial morning optimism faded under selective selling pressure.
Closing Figures for Sensex and Nifty
By the end of the session, the 30-stock BSE Sensex index settled 152.05 points higher, representing a modest increase of 0.19 percent, to close at 78,581.00 points. Simultaneously, the broader 50-stock NSE Nifty 50 index concluded trading with a nominal gain of 9.75 points, or 0.04 percent, finishing at 24,624.65 points. The quiet closing stood in sharp contrast to the strong opening session, where the Sensex had surged by 626.43 points at the bell and the Nifty 50 had initiated trading with a solid head start of 54.30 points.
Market Breadth across Sensex and Nifty 50
Market breadth across the benchmark indices showed a mixed outcome at the end of the day. Out of the 30 constituents of the BSE Sensex, 17 stocks managed to conclude in positive territory, while 12 stocks registered losses to end in the red. A single component, Eternal, closed unchanged from its previous session. On the National Stock Exchange, 26 out of the 50 stocks in the Nifty 50 index closed higher in the green zone, 22 stocks ended lower with losses, and 2 components remained flat with zero net change.
Top Gainers and Losers: UltraTech Cement Leads, TCS Lags
Looking at individual corporate performances within the 30-share Sensex basket, cement manufacturer UltraTech Cement emerged as the top performer, rallying 2.04 percent by the end of the day. Conversely, IT major Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) suffered the steepest decline among benchmark constituents, falling 1.23 percent to take the bottom spot on the Sensex scoreboard.
Stocks Closing in the Green Zone
Joining UltraTech Cement on the gaining side, several major stocks posted positive closing numbers. Power sector giant NTPC gained 1.77 percent, closely followed by State Bank of India (SBI) with a 1.74 percent advance and Mahindra & Mahindra rising 1.73 percent. Aviation carrier IndiGo surged 1.34 percent, while Kotak Mahindra Bank climbed 1.27 percent. Additional positive contributors included Trent gaining 1.14 percent, Larsen & Toubro (L&T) moving up 1.05 percent, Infosys advancing 0.86 percent, Adani Ports edging higher by 0.83 percent, Tech Mahindra adding 0.61 percent, Axis Bank gaining 0.56 percent, Tata Steel advancing 0.55 percent, Asian Paints adding 0.41 percent, Bajaj Finserv inching up 0.40 percent, Maruti Suzuki advancing 0.35 percent, and Bharti Airtel ending 0.28 percent higher.
Stocks Under Selling Pressure
On the losing side, sell-offs hit multiple heavyweights across various sectors. Following TCS, HCL Technologies posted a drop of 1.12 percent, while market heavyweight Reliance Industries receded by 0.93 percent. Defence PSU Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) ended 0.71 percent lower, Sun Pharma fell 0.56 percent, and private lender HDFC Bank lost 0.40 percent. Furthermore, FMCG major ITC declined 0.35 percent, Bajaj Finance fell 0.26 percent, Titan dropped 0.26 percent, Hindustan Unilever shed 0.24 percent, Power Grid declined 0.18 percent, and ICICI Bank registered a minor loss of 0.07 percent.
