Market Opening Bell: Sensex flat, Nifty holds 24,900, Reliance, Bharti Airtel gain in early trade

A day after opening with a strong gap-up, the Indian equity benchmark indices, the Sensex and Nifty, began the day flat on Tuesday, August 19, 2025, amid mixed global cues. The 30-share BSE Sensex gained 45.36 points to start the session at 81,319.11; the Nifty added 14.4 points to open at 24,891.35. In the last trading session, the Sensex closed at 80,597.66 and the Nifty 50 at 24,876.95. Similarly, the broader indices traded flat in the opening session. While the BSE Midcap was up by 61.69 points in the early trading session, the BSE Smallcap index gained 124.73 points or 0.24 per cent to trade at 52,635.27. 

From the Sensex pack, Reliance, NTPC, Adani Ports, Bharati Airtel and Trent were among the major gainers, with Reliance leading the pack by adding 1.54 per cent in the early trade today. On the other hand, HCL Tech, Power Grid, Axis Bank, Sun Pharma, and Tata Motors were among the laggards, with HCL Tech falling 0.83 per cent in the opening trade. 

In early trade, 1,299 stocks in the Nifty pack were trading in the green, while 769 were trading in the red. One hundred fifteen stocks remained unchanged.  

“The policy initiatives from the Government on the GST front with indications of next generation reforms have improved market sentiments significantly. However, the fundamentals (earnings growth) will take time to respond. A sustained rally in the market will happen only when we have indications of earnings revival,” said Dr VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments Limited.

Meanwhile, Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) turned buyers after four days of selling, purchasing equities worth Rs 550 crore on August 18. Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) remained buyers, purchasing equities worth Rs 4,103 crore.

What did Gift Nifty indicate?

Gift Nifty, an early indicator for the Nifty 50, indicated a positive start as it opened 52.5 points higher at 25,015.50, compared to the previous close of 24,963. 

Asian Markets Today

Meanwhile, Asian markets edged lower on Tuesday, with Nikkei 225 falling 135.31 points, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dipped 41.85 points or 0.17 per cent. Similarly, South Korea’s Kospi traded in the red with a fall of 10.70 points. On the other hand, Shanghai’s SSE Composite index was up by 11.23 points or 1.18 per cent. Wall Street managed to hold near its record heights on Monday. The S&P 500 fell by less than 0.1 per cent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 33 points and the Nasdaq composite edged up by less than 0.1 per cent. 

How did individual sectors perform?

Most Nifty sectoral indices traded in the red today, with the Nifty Auto index shedding 0.10 per cent. While the Nifty IT index was down 0.12 per cent in the opening session, the Nifty Realty index fell 0.18 per cent. On the other hand, the Nifty Metal was up by 0.06 per cent.