Infosys, Bharti Airtel hit 5-week lows as Nifty falls for fifth day

Indian equities opened lower for a fifth straight session on Tuesday, August 18, as a spike in Brent crude above $91 and the collapse of the U.S.-Iran ceasefire pushed benchmark indices toward key technical supports. The Nifty 50 lost 50 points to 24,238 in early trade, its fifth consecutive decline. At 77,466 the Sensex was down 262 points.

Brent crude climbed past $91 a barrel after U.S. President Donald Trump declined to extend the 60-day U.S.-Iran ceasefire and threatened Oman – a key mediator in Strait of Hormuz negotiations – raising supply-disruption risks through the world's busiest oil shipping lane. A senior Iranian official confirmed Tehran had shifted its posture from defensive to "fully offensive." WTI topped $85.

The crude move pushed long-end U.S. Treasury yields higher, adding pressure on foreign institutional flows into emerging markets. The 10-year U.S. yield rose to 4.73 percent while the 30-year hit 5.31 percent, its highest since mid-2007. FIIs were net sellers of ₹2,535 crore on Monday, extending their selloff after a brief period of net inflows in July and early August. DIIs countered with a fifth straight session of buying, pumping in ₹5,100 crore.

"Brent crude has again spiked above $91 on escalation of tensions between Iran and the U.S.," Geojit Investments chief investment strategist V.K. Vijayakumar said. "The U.S. 10-year bond yield has increased to 4.73 percent and this is negative for FII inflows."

Infosys was the worst performer among Nifty 50 constituents, falling 1.47 percent to ₹1,123.10, its lowest in five weeks. The decline reflected broader weakness in technology stocks – the Nifty IT index had shed nearly 2 percent on Monday. Bharti Airtel dropped 1.21 percent to ₹1,945.40. Jio Financial Services slid 1.14 percent, Asian Paints lost 1.13 percent, and IndiGo fell 1.12 percent.

On the gainers side, Zomato parent Eternal led with a 0.69 percent rise to ₹320.20. State-run oil producer ONGC rose 0.68 percent to ₹240.10 – a beneficiary of the crude spike. Two-wheeler maker Bajaj Auto gained 0.63 percent to ₹11,736.

Technically, Monday's close below the 20-day simple moving average opened the door for further downside, Kotak Securities head of equity research Shrikant Chouhan said. He placed Nifty resistance at 24,400 and support at 24,200. For the Sensex, resistance held at 78,000 with support at 77,500.

The ON stock page carries an Alpha Score of 31/100, the weakest in our Technology coverage. Infosys scores 57/100.

Globally, Wall Street's major indices closed lower – the Dow fell 272 points, the S&P 500 dropped 0.5 percent – but the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index entered bull market territory, closing 20 percent above its late-July low in just 21 sessions. Asian markets were mixed, with South Korea's Kospi rallying over 3 percent on semiconductor strength while Japan's Nikkei edged lower.

Choice Broking technical research analyst Hitesh Tailor summed up the near-term setup: "Strong domestic institutional buying could provide some downside cushion, keeping the session volatile and stock-specific."

India's merchandise trade deficit widened to $32 billion in July 2026, with the Q1FY27 deficit reaching $86.6 billion. Headline CPI rose to a 19-month high of 4.5 percent in July, with WPI remaining above 9 percent, driven by elevated crude and mineral oil prices. The rupee weakened 17 paise on Monday to close at 95.60 per dollar.

Weekly derivatives expiry is scheduled for Wednesday.