Nifty 50 Today: Midday Breadth, Top Gainers and Losers

Quick market takeaways

• At 12:30:00 PM IST on 18 August 2026, Nifty 50 Today showed a softer mid-session tone, with 16 stocks advancing, 32 declining and 2 unchanged among 50 constituents.
• The represented basket was down 0.29% on both equal-weighted and market-cap-weighted measures, indicating that weakness was visible across the constituent set as well as in larger companies.
• Diversified, trading, crude oil and power names led the positive side, while IT was the clearest multi-stock laggard; Grasim, M&M and Bajaj Finance were the leading gainers.
• Infosys, Asian Paints, HCL Technologies, Tech Mahindra and Tata Motors were the principal losers. The next-session watch point is whether leadership in energy, power, finance and select autos can widen beyond a limited set of stocks.

Market summary

The market was under pressure at midday, with declining stocks outnumbering advancing stocks by a clear margin. For a normal retail investor, the key takeaway is that the softer tone was not limited to a handful of companies: weakness was spread across much of the 50-stock basket, even as select heavyweight and sectoral pockets stayed firm.

At the latest update from Univest Market View, 16 constituents advanced, 32 declined and 2 were unchanged. The advance-decline ratio stood at 0.50. The equal-weighted constituent estimate was down 0.29%, while the market-cap-weighted constituent estimate was also down 0.29%. Total volume stood at 11.30 crore shares and estimated turnover was Rs 9,272.64 crore. The represented market capitalisation was Rs 197.49 lakh crore. This alignment between the two change measures suggests that the day’s pressure was shared by both broader participation and larger companies rather than being driven only by a narrow set of heavyweight stocks.

There were nevertheless clear pockets of resilience. Grasim Industries rose 1.18%, Mahindra & Mahindra gained 1.14%, Bajaj Finance added 0.94%, Axis Bank advanced 0.91% and Adani Enterprises moved up 0.90%. On the other side, IT stocks were particularly weak, led by Infosys, HCL Technologies and Tech Mahindra.

Why did the market move?

The available price action points to a session of selective buying rather than a uniform recovery. Diversified and trading were positive through Grasim Industries and Adani Enterprises respectively, while crude oil gained 0.62% with Reliance Industries up 0.69% and ONGC up 0.23%. Power also held firm, rising 0.38%, led by NTPC at 0.43% and Power Grid at 0.32%.

Financial and bank participation provided another supportive pocket. Bajaj Finance rose 0.94%, while Axis Bank gained 0.91%. Finance as a group was up 0.29%, though participation within it was mixed, with two advancers and two decliners. Automobile & Ancillaries also rose 0.30%, but its six stocks were evenly split between three gainers and three losers. M&M’s 1.14% gain and Maruti Suzuki’s 0.42% rise contrasted with Tata Motors’ 1.62% decline.

In contrast, IT fell 1.68% with all five represented constituents declining. Infosys fell 2.25%, HCL Technologies lost 2.08%, Tech Mahindra declined 1.64%, Wipro fell 1.41% and TCS slipped 1.26%. This concentrated weakness in a five-stock group materially shaped the broader market tone. Chemicals also fell 2.24% through Asian Paints, while telecom declined 1.38% through Bharti Airtel.

Overall, leadership in energy, utilities, selected financials and individual industrial-facing names was insufficient to offset the broader drag from IT and other lagging pockets.

Market breadth analysis

Market breadth remained negative at midday. With 16 advancers against 32 decliners, losers were exactly twice the number of gainers, producing an advance-decline ratio of 0.50. That ratio signals narrow positive participation: gains were present, but they were not widely distributed across the 50 constituents.

The equal-weighted and market-cap-weighted constituent measures each stood at minus 0.29%. When these two measures are identical, it indicates that the market’s direction was broadly consistent across the basket and not meaningfully masked by a few very large companies. For traders, this makes sustained improvement in the advance-decline ratio especially important during the rest of the session and into the next session.

Sector snapshot

Positive multi-stock groups

Crude oil was the strongest broad positive group among sectors with more than one constituent, up 0.62% with both Reliance Industries and ONGC advancing. Power followed with a 0.38% gain and full positive participation from NTPC and Power Grid. Automobile & Ancillaries gained 0.30%, although its internal split was balanced. Finance added 0.29%, supported by Bajaj Finance and Bajaj Finserv, while JIO Financial Services and Shriram Finance declined.

Weak multi-stock groups

IT was the most notable broad weak group, declining 1.68% with all five stocks in the red. Its uniform decline made it more significant than one-stock category moves. The sector’s downside was led by Infosys, HCL Technologies and Tech Mahindra. Autos remained mixed despite ending positive at the group level, highlighting stock-specific divergence within the sector.

Top 5 gainers

Top 5 losers

Stocks to watch next session

Grasim Industries, M&M, Bajaj Finance and Adani Enterprises merit attention because each was trading near its intraday high while posting gains. Axis Bank also remains relevant after its 0.91% advance. On the weak side, Infosys, HCL Technologies and Tech Mahindra should be watched for whether their near-low range positions persist or stabilise. Tata Motors is another important auto stock to monitor after its decline contrasted with M&M’s strength.

Technical market view

The available technical read is defined by breadth, intraday range position and leadership concentration. Breadth was negative, and the 0.50 advance-decline ratio reflects limited participation in gains. Several leaders were near their day highs: M&M at a 96.5% range position, Bajaj Finance at 96%, Adani Enterprises at 93.8%, Axis Bank at 91% and Grasim at 81.4%.

Conversely, Infosys, HCL Technologies and Tech Mahindra were near their day lows, with range positions of 7.8%, 5.8% and 3.6% respectively. This creates a split market structure: leadership remained firm in selected pockets, while IT selling stayed persistent. The key technical question is whether positive leadership broadens enough to improve overall participation.

The bull case

The constructive case rests on resilience in several meaningful groups despite negative overall breadth. Crude oil and power both had complete positive participation, while selected financial, bank and auto names traded close to their intraday highs. Reliance Industries, NTPC, Power Grid, M&M, Bajaj Finance and Axis Bank offered evidence that buying interest remained active in specific large-cap areas. If these leaders retain strength and more constituents join them, the current narrowness can improve.

The cautious case

The cautious case is anchored in the imbalance between gainers and losers and the complete decline across IT. A 32-to-16 loser-gainer count, combined with equal-weighted and market-cap-weighted declines of 0.29%, shows that the market tone was broadly soft. Concentrated weakness in Infosys, HCL Technologies, Tech Mahindra, Wipro and TCS, along with declines in telecom and construction materials, means leadership elsewhere needs to broaden before the market picture becomes more balanced.

Univest Insights

The main market driver at midday was the contrast between broad IT weakness and selective strength in crude oil, power, finance, banking and individual auto names. The 1.68% fall in IT was especially influential because all five represented IT stocks declined, while positive groups were generally smaller or internally mixed.

The strongest leadership areas were crude oil and power, where all represented constituents advanced. M&M, Grasim, Bajaj Finance, Axis Bank and Adani Enterprises also demonstrated intraday strength by trading near their session highs. Their performance kept the market from becoming uniformly weak.

However, the market’s internal structure remained cautious. The same minus 0.29% reading for equal-weighted and market-cap-weighted measures, alongside a 0.50 advance-decline ratio, indicates that gains in leaders had not yet translated into broad participation. Autos and finance were positive at the group level but remained divided internally.

For traders and investors, the key signal to watch is…

Track live constituent moves and sector leadership on Univest Market View and the Nifty 50 Today screener.

Frequently asked questions

How was nifty 50 today at midday on 18 August 2026?

The represented 50-stock basket was down 0.29% at 12:30:00 PM IST, with 16 advancers, 32 decliners and 2 unchanged stocks.

What was the advance-decline ratio?

The advance-decline ratio was 0.50, based on 16 advancing stocks and 32 declining stocks.

Which sector was the weakest broad group?

IT was the weakest multi-stock group, down 1.68%, with all five represented constituents declining.

Which multi-stock sectors were positive?

Crude oil rose 0.62%, power gained 0.38%, automobile and ancillaries added 0.30%, and finance advanced 0.29%.

Which stocks were the top gainers?

Grasim Industries, Mahindra & Mahindra, Bajaj Finance, Axis Bank and Adani Enterprises were the top five gainers.

Which stocks were the top losers?

Infosys, Asian Paints, HCL Technologies, Tech Mahindra and Tata Motors were the top five losers.

Published on 18 August 2026 at 12:30 PM IST