Nifty 50 Today: Autos Lead as IT Stocks Weigh on Opening Bell
- August 18, 2026
- Posted by: Harsh Piplani
- Category: News
Quick market takeaways
- At 9:30:00 AM IST on 18 August 2026, Nifty 50 Today showed a mixed early-session picture, with 26 advancing stocks and 24 declining stocks among the 50 tracked constituents.
- Automobile & Ancillaries led the opening trade, rising 0.62% with all six tracked constituents advancing; Crude Oil and Iron & Steel also moved higher.
- IT was the principal weak pocket, down 1.15% with all five tracked constituents declining. Infosys, Wipro and Tech Mahindra were among the largest early losers.
- ONGC rose 0.99% to lead individual gainers, while Infosys fell 1.75%. The next-session watch point is whether auto and commodity-linked leadership can broaden beyond a near-even market breadth.
Market summary
The early market tone was mixed rather than decisively positive or negative. Slightly more stocks were up than down, but weakness in some large companies kept the overall picture restrained for retail investors. This means stock and sector selection mattered more than a simple count of green versus red names in the opening phase.
Among the 50 constituents tracked by Univest Market View, 26 advanced and 24 declined, with no stocks unchanged. The equal-weighted constituent change was -0.10%, while the market-cap-weighted constituent change was -0.14%. Total volume stood at 21,700,452 shares and estimated turnover was Rs 1,621.19 crore. The tracked basket represented market capitalisation of Rs 197.49 lakh crore. For normal investors, the small gap between the two measures indicates that declines in larger companies had a modestly greater effect than the average constituent move.
The opening leadership came from automobiles, oil and metals, while IT and telecom dragged. Mahindra & Mahindra, Maruti Suzuki and Bajaj Auto featured among the five leading stocks. On the other side, Infosys, Wipro, Bharti Airtel, Tech Mahindra and JIO Financial Services were the largest percentage decliners in the early data.
Why did the market move?
The clearest positive influence within the tracked basket was broad participation in Automobile & Ancillaries. All six constituents in the group advanced, lifting the sector by 0.62%. Mahindra & Mahindra gained 0.87%, Maruti Suzuki added 0.83%, and Bajaj Auto rose 0.67%. Eicher Motors and Hero MotoCorp were also higher, while Tata Motors was marginally positive. This complete sector-wide participation made autos the strongest multi-stock leadership group at the opening bell.
Commodity-linked strength added support. Crude Oil rose 0.56%, led by ONGC’s 0.99% gain and Reliance Industries’ 0.49% advance. Iron & Steel gained 0.48%, with Tata Steel up 0.54% and JSW Steel up 0.43%. Coal India lifted Mining by 0.58%, though that category contains one tracked constituent and therefore should be read as a stock-specific move rather than broad sector participation.
The counterweight was concentrated selling in IT. All five tracked IT names declined, pulling the group down 1.15%. Infosys fell 1.75%, Wipro lost 1.48%, Tech Mahindra declined 1.40%, HCL Technologies dropped 1.03% and TCS was down 0.76%. Telecom also weakened as Bharti Airtel fell 1.41%. Banking had a more constructive individual move through IndusInd Bank, which rose 0.71%, while JIO Financial Services declined 1.26% in finance.
Overall, early strength in autos, crude oil and steel was meaningful, but the all-round IT decline and weakness in select large stocks kept the market’s aggregate movement mildly negative.
Market breadth analysis
The advance-decline ratio was 1.08, based on 26 gainers against 24 losers. That is positive breadth, but only marginally so. It points to participation that was balanced rather than emphatically broad. The absence of unchanged constituents also shows that all tracked stocks were active on one side of the opening move.
The equal-weighted change of -0.10% and market-cap-weighted change of -0.14% both remained mildly negative despite the higher number of advancing stocks. This contrast is important: more stocks rose, yet the average performance and the influence of larger constituents remained slightly lower. The 0.04 percentage-point difference between the two estimates suggests modest pressure from larger-cap names, rather than a sharp concentration-driven sell-off.
For Nifty 50 Today, the breadth setup asks whether positive participation in autos and commodity-linked stocks can extend into more groups during the session. A sustained improvement would require the positive list to widen, while continued IT weakness could keep the market tone uneven.
Sector snapshot
Leading multi-stock groups
Automobile & Ancillaries was the standout group, up 0.62% with six advances and no declines. The gains were distributed across Mahindra & Mahindra, Maruti Suzuki, Bajaj Auto, Eicher Motors, Hero MotoCorp and Tata Motors. Crude Oil rose 0.56% as ONGC and Reliance Industries both advanced. Iron & Steel added 0.48%, supported by gains in Tata Steel and JSW Steel. This combination showed early leadership across consumer-facing auto names and commodity-linked companies.
Weak multi-stock groups
IT was the weakest broad group, falling 1.15% as all five tracked stocks declined. Its complete negative participation made the group more consequential than the one-stock declines in Telecom, Chemicals, Construction Materials, Infrastructure and Logistics. Among these individual categories, Bharti Airtel fell 1.41%, Asian Paints declined 1.04%, UltraTech Cement lost 0.74%, Larsen & Toubro was down 0.70%, and Adani Ports declined 0.60%.
Top 5 gainers
| Stock | Move | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| ONGC | +0.99% to Rs 240.84 | Led gainers and traded near the day’s high, supporting Crude Oil. |
| M&M | +0.87% to Rs 3,420 | Its advance contributed to all-round auto-sector strength. |
| Maruti Suzuki | +0.83% to Rs 13,874 | Traded near the day’s high as auto leadership remained broad. |
| IndusInd Bank | +0.71% to Rs 1,017.80 | Provided a positive individual banking counter in mixed financials. |
| Bajaj Auto | +0.67% to Rs 11,741 | Added further confirmation to the auto group’s opening strength. |
Top 5 losers
| Stock | Move | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Infosys | -1.75% to Rs 1,120 | The largest decliner and a key contributor to IT weakness. |
| Wipro | -1.48% to Rs 179.20 | Traded near the day’s low amid broad IT pressure. |
| Bharti Airtel | -1.41% to Rs 1,941.60 | Its decline weighed on the tracked Telecom category. |
| Tech Mahindra | -1.40% to Rs 1,587.50 | Stayed near the day’s low, reinforcing the IT sector trend. |
| JIO Financial Services | -1.26% to Rs 246.60 | Was near the day’s low, showing selective weakness in finance. |
Stocks to watch next session
ONGC will be watched after leading the gainers and trading near its day high. Mahindra & Mahindra and Maruti Suzuki remain important gauges of whether auto strength continues, while Bajaj Auto can add confirmation to that theme. Infosys and Tech Mahindra deserve attention after both traded near their day lows, as their direction can influence the broader IT group. Bharti Airtel is another key monitor after its 1.41% decline and high turnover of Rs 182.35 crore.
Technical market view
The available early-session technical picture is defined by breadth, intraday range positions and leadership concentration. The 1.08 advance-decline ratio is mildly positive, but the negative equal-weighted and market-cap-weighted estimates indicate incomplete upside control. Leadership is strong within autos because all six constituents are higher, while IT has the opposite setup with all five stocks lower.
Range positions sharpen the picture. ONGC, Mahindra & Mahindra, Maruti Suzuki and IndusInd Bank were near their respective day highs. Infosys was near its day low, while Wipro, Tech Mahindra and JIO Financial Services were also near lows. This split indicates clear stock-level momentum at the opening bell, but the narrow overall breadth advantage means confirmation from more sectors remains important.
The bull case
The constructive argument rests on widespread auto participation, with all six tracked constituents advancing, alongside gains in both crude oil and iron & steel names. ONGC, Mahindra & Mahindra and Maruti Suzuki traded near their intraday highs, providing evidence of early buying interest in leading stocks. With 26 stocks advancing, the market also retained a small breadth advantage despite the aggregate estimates being slightly negative.
The cautious case
The cautious argument is centred on the complete weakness in IT, where five out of five tracked names declined. Infosys, Wipro and Tech Mahindra were near their intraday lows, and the sector’s 1.15% decline was the weakest multi-stock group move. The market-cap-weighted constituent estimate of -0.14% also remained below the equal-weighted estimate of -0.10%, showing that larger stocks were not providing broad support.
Univest Insights
The main opening driver was sector rotation rather than a uniform market move. Autos delivered the strongest and broadest leadership, while crude oil and steel extended the positive side of the ledger. This strength helped lift the number of advancing constituents to 26.
However, IT created a meaningful offset. The sector’s five-for-five decline pattern, led by Infosys, Wipro and Tech Mahindra, was more than an isolated stock event within the tracked basket. Bharti Airtel’s decline added pressure from another large company, leaving the market-cap-weighted estimate slightly lower.
The most useful distinction for participants is between leadership quality and market breadth quality. Auto leadership was high quality because it was shared across six constituents. Market breadth, by contrast, was only marginally positive at 1.08, and the aggregate change estimates stayed mildly negative.
For traders and investors, the key signal to watch is…
Track live constituent moves and sector participation on Univest Market View.
Frequently asked questions
How was Nifty 50 Today positioned at the opening bell?
At 9:30:00 AM IST, 26 of the 50 tracked constituents advanced and 24 declined, producing an advance-decline ratio of 1.08.
Which sector led the early market today?
Automobile & Ancillaries led, rising 0.62% with all six tracked constituents advancing.
Which sector was weakest in the opening session?
IT was the weakest multi-stock sector, down 1.15% with all five tracked constituents declining.
Which stock was the top gainer?
ONGC was the top gainer, rising 0.99% to Rs 240.84.
Which stock was the top loser?
Infosys was the top loser, declining 1.75% to Rs 1,120.
What should investors watch next session?
Watch whether auto and commodity-linked gains broaden across more sectors, and whether the IT group stabilises after its broad opening decline.
Published on 18 August 2026 at 9:30 AM IST
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Disclaimer
Investments in securities markets are subject to market risks. Read all related documents carefully before investing. This market update is for informational and educational purposes only and is not personalized investment advice or a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security.
