After starting deep in the red and bleeding through the morning session on August 25, benchmark indices staged a powerful late-session reversal to end near the day’s high, snapping a two-day losing run.
The BSE Sensex closed at 77,656.09, up 286.98 points or 0.37% at 3:32 pm IST, while the NSE Nifty 50 ended at 24,334.55, up 115.50 points or 0.48% at 3:31 pm IST, as per your Google Finance screenshots. Both closed at their intraday highs — a strong bullish signal.
Chart Check: The 500-Point Turnaround
The charts you shared capture the volatility perfectly.
Nifty 50: Opened at 24,175.75 against previous close of 24,219.05, cracked to a low of 24,115.45, and then powered to a high of 24,334.55 — a 219-point swing. 52-week range: 22,182.55 to 26,373.20.
BSE Sensex: Opened at 77,295.49 vs prev close 77,369.11, slipped to 77,125.91, and rallied to 77,666.39 — a 540-point recovery from the low. 52-week range: 76,822.89 to 79,143.15.
At 9:19 am on Tuesday, the picture was grim. Sensex was down 85.59 points at 77,283.52 and Nifty down 51.95 points at 24,172.30. Financial Express reported Nifty Metal down 1.15%, Energy down 0.68%. GIFT Nifty was indicating a 45-point cut.
By 3 pm, shorts were scrambling to cover.
Why The Late Surge? Expiry + Auction Effect
Tuesday was the Nifty August monthly F&O expiry — and the first monthly expiry under SEBI’s new Closing Auction Session (CAS).
“When too little volume sits in the auction book, equilibrium price can drift away from continuous trading,” said Rishabh Nahar, Partner at Qode Advisors. “That unsettled traders and caused the late spike.”
Add short-covering before expiry and hopes of a US Fed rate cut in September after Jackson Hole dovish signals, and bulls found fuel.
Business Beat: 4 Big Boardroom Moves
1. Axis Bank’s Credit Bet: India’s No.3 private lender says it will grow credit 300 bps faster than industry this fiscal. CEO Amitabh Chaudhry told Reuters demand is booming from data centres, renewable energy and gold loans. Banking credit growth hit 18.3% in June vs 9.3% a year ago. Q1 net profit rose to Rs 7,114 crore.
2. L&T’s Gulf Sweep: L&T’s renewable arm bagged a Rs 5,000-10,000 crore order for three Battery Energy Storage System projects in West Asia, lifting infra sentiment.
3. TCS x Porsche: TCS announced a new engagement with Porsche to drive digital transformation — a positive for the IT pack which outperformed on Tuesday on Fed cut hopes.
4. IPO Fever: Primary market is red-hot. Over Rs 35,000 crore IPOs are lined up — PhonePe (Rs 12,000 cr), Zepto (Rs 8,010 cr), Physics Wallah, Shiprocket — after SBI AMC’s Rs 9,813 crore issue.
Geopolitical Drag: Two Swords Hanging
A. Iran Sanctions, Oil At $92: The US launched fresh economic sanctions on Iran after the ceasefire window ended, warning of secondary sanctions on buyers of Iranian oil. Brent crude hovered at $92.25, WTI at $85.31, after falling 4% on Monday. For oil-importer India, this is a macro risk.
Rupee, however, fought back. After trading at 95.70-95.75 most of Tuesday, it closed at 95.41 per dollar, up 0.3%, as oil eased to $89.2 late and RBI likely intervened. Gold above $4,700 and silver at $69.6 hit 3-month highs as safe-haven demand surged.
B. US Tariff Shock — 50% From August 27: The biggest worry is the India-US trade standoff. A 25% tariff took effect August 7. An additional 25% penalty for India’s Russian crude purchases takes effect Wednesday, August 27 — taking total duty to 50%.
The 6th round of India-US Bilateral Trade Agreement talks scheduled for Aug 25-29 in New Delhi has been deferred. The US delegation’s visit is “likely to be rescheduled,” officials told PTI.
India’s Commerce Ministry says 45% of exports to the US — pharma, smartphones, steel — are exempt, but textiles, gems, shrimp will be hit. Morgan Stanley sees 40 bps direct GDP hit, 80 bps total. India has called the move “unfair, unjustified and unreasonable.”
Asian cues were weak too — South Korea’s Kospi fell 2.7%, Nikkei 0.9%, MSCI Asia ex-Japan down 0.5%.
What Next?
With expiry done, focus shifts to Q1 GDP on August 31, expected at 7.1%, and MSCI rejig. Geojit pegs Nifty range at 24,100-24,500.
Tuesday’s action proves bears can’t hold Dalal Street down for long — even with $92 oil and a 50% tariff clock ticking.
