Nifty 50 Today: Midday Breadth Weakens as Select Stocks Rise

Quick market takeaways

• At 25 August 2026 at 12:30:00 PM IST, Nifty 50 Today showed a selective mid-session market, with 14 stocks advancing and 36 declining among the 50 tracked constituents.
• Trading, logistics and retailing led the positive side, while diversified, mining, chemicals, power and iron & steel groups lagged.
• Adani Enterprises rose 1.09%, while Grasim Industries declined 1.84%; HCL Technologies, Coal India, Cipla and Tech Mahindra also featured among the key losers.
• The advance-decline ratio of 0.39 and softer equal-weighted reading point to weak participation, making breadth and heavyweight leadership important to watch into the next session.

Market summary

The market was under pressure at midday on 25 August, even as a handful of large stocks held firm. Of the 50 constituents tracked, 14 moved higher and 36 moved lower, showing that gains were concentrated rather than widespread. For a normal retail investor, the key takeaway is that select leaders were resilient, but the wider stock basket remained weaker.

The equal-weighted constituent change was down 0.38%, compared with a smaller 0.23% decline in the market-cap-weighted constituent measure. This gap indicates that larger companies offered relatively better support than the average constituent. Total volume stood at 11.29 crore shares, with estimated turnover of Rs 8,425.24 crore across the tracked basket. The represented market capitalisation was Rs 195.99 lakh crore, underlining the significance of how heavyweight stocks behaved through the session.

Among the better-performing names, Adani Enterprises, Adani Ports, Eternal and Trent advanced. On the weaker side, Grasim Industries, HCL Technologies, Coal India, Cipla and Tech Mahindra shaped the softer market tone. The latest intraday reading is available through Univest Market View.

Why did the market move?

The available price action shows a market split between a few areas of strength and widespread selling elsewhere. Trading was the best-performing listed category, led by Adani Enterprises at 1.09%. Logistics followed, with Adani Ports gaining 0.68%. These are single-constituent categories in this tracked set, so their gains reflect stock-specific leadership within the basket rather than broad sector participation.

Retailing offered the clearest positive multi-stock signal. The two-stock group rose 0.66%, with Eternal up 0.67% and Trent up 0.63%. Eternal also recorded turnover of Rs 531.53 crore, the highest among the five leading gainers listed here, indicating active trading interest. Both retail names were higher, which gave this group a more internally consistent positive showing.

Banking support was visible through ICICI Bank, which gained 0.49% and traded near its day high. Financials as a four-stock group were almost flat at 0.04%, however, with two advances and two declines. Shriram Finance and Bajaj Finance were higher, while Bajaj Finserv and Jio Financial Services were lower. This makes the financial picture mixed rather than a decisive broad-based upswing.

IT was a notable drag through HCL Technologies, down 1.77%, and Tech Mahindra, down 1.14%. Weakness also extended to Grasim, Coal India, Asian Paints, Hindalco, NTPC, Power Grid, Tata Steel and JSW Steel. The pattern indicates that the selling was spread across several economically important groups, while leadership remained concentrated in a smaller set of stocks.

Overall, the midday move reflected selective buying in retailing, logistics, trading and parts of banking, offset by broader declines in IT, materials-linked groups and power.

Market breadth analysis

Market breadth remained clearly negative: 36 of the 50 constituents declined, against 14 advances, producing an advance-decline ratio of 0.39. In practical terms, there was roughly one advancing stock for every 2.6 declining stocks. This is a narrow participation backdrop, because the positive action was not shared by most constituents.

The 0.38% fall in the equal-weighted measure was deeper than the 0.23% decline in the market-cap-weighted measure. That difference suggests larger stocks, including ICICI Bank and Bharti Airtel, were relatively steadier than the average member of the basket. It does not change the weak breadth reading, but it shows that declines in the broad list were more pronounced than the movement implied by heavyweight influence alone.

For the remainder of the session, a recovery in the number of advancers would matter more than isolated moves in a few leaders. Continued concentration in a small group of gainers alongside a low advance-decline ratio would keep the intraday backdrop selective.

Sector snapshot

Positive multi-stock groups

Retailing was the strongest multi-stock group, rising 0.66% with both Eternal and Trent in positive territory. Healthcare was broadly flat at minus 0.02%, but its internal picture was balanced: Sun Pharmaceutical Industries gained 0.30% and Apollo Hospitals added 0.05%, while Cipla and Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories declined. Finance was similarly mixed, up 0.04% with two gainers and two losers.

Weak multi-stock groups

Power declined 0.75%, with NTPC down 0.82% and Power Grid lower by 0.66%. Iron & Steel slipped 0.74%, as Tata Steel fell 0.87% and JSW Steel declined 0.65%. These were broad within-group declines because both tracked constituents in each group were lower. Diversified, mining, chemicals and non-ferrous metals also lagged through their respective single tracked constituents.

Top 5 gainers

Top 5 losers

Stocks to watch next session

Adani Enterprises, Adani Ports and ICICI Bank deserve attention because each was trading near its day high at midday. Eternal and Trent remain relevant for whether retailing can sustain its group-wide strength. Grasim Industries and HCL Technologies should also be watched after trading near their intraday lows, as their closing range positions may shape follow-through in their respective groups.

Technical market view: nifty 50 today

The technical market view from the available intraday data is defined by weak breadth and concentrated leadership. The 0.39 advance-decline ratio signals that selling has wider participation than buying. At the same time, Adani Enterprises, Adani Ports and ICICI Bank were near their day highs, showing strength in selected leaders. Grasim, HCL Technologies and Coal India were near their day lows, reinforcing pressure in lagging names. The less-negative market-cap-weighted result versus the equal-weighted result highlights the role of larger companies in cushioning the overall basket.

The bull case

The constructive case rests on resilient leadership in several prominent stocks and on the internally positive retailing group. Eternal and Trent both advanced, while Adani Enterprises, Adani Ports and ICICI Bank held near their intraday highs. Finance and healthcare were close to flat rather than sharply lower, with advances in Shriram Finance, Bajaj Finance, Sun Pharma and Apollo Hospitals. If these leadership pockets broaden, the breadth profile can improve.

The cautious case

The cautious case is led by the 36-to-14 decline-advance split and the deeper fall in the equal-weighted measure. IT, power and iron & steel showed meaningful pressure, while the largest loser, Grasim, remained near the bottom of its daily range. The positive side was led by a limited number of groups and stocks, so sustained improvement would require more constituents to participate rather than only a few heavyweights remaining firm.

Univest Insights

The main market driver at midday was uneven participation. Gains in trading, logistics and retailing created visible leadership, but declining stocks outnumbered advancing stocks by a wide margin. This combination kept the broader tone softer despite selected positive moves.

Retailing stood out as the strongest multi-stock area because both Eternal and Trent were higher. Heavyweight support from ICICI Bank, together with a modest gain in Bharti Airtel, helped limit the market-cap-weighted decline relative to the equal-weighted decline.

IT, power and steel-related names remain important watch areas because their weakness was shared across multiple constituents. The near-low positions of Grasim, HCL Technologies and Coal India also show where intraday pressure was most persistent at the midday mark.

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

Track the latest market movement on Univest Market View and review the Nifty 50 Today basket for evolving breadth and leadership.

Frequently asked questions

How was nifty 50 today at midday on 25 August 2026?

The tracked 50-stock basket was selective, with 14 advances and 36 declines at 12:30 PM IST.

What was the advance-decline ratio?

The advance-decline ratio was 0.39, reflecting 14 advancing stocks against 36 declining stocks.

Which multi-stock group led the market?

Retailing led the tracked multi-stock groups, rising 0.66% as Eternal and Trent both gained.

Which groups were weakest?

Power fell 0.75% and iron & steel declined 0.74%, with every tracked constituent in both groups lower.

Which stock was the top gainer?

Adani Enterprises was the top gainer, rising 1.09% to Rs 3,031.20.

Which stock was the biggest loser?

Grasim Industries was the biggest loser, declining 1.84% to Rs 3,227.60.

Published on 25 August 2026 at 12:30 PM IST