Weekly Market Wrap – Tariff Jitters result in sharp losses

2 Sep 2025 , 11:44 AM

The Indian stock market had a choppy ride last week as most indices suffered heavily. The NIFTY 50 was down 1.78% while the NIFTY MIDCAP SELECT fared worse and was down 3.75%. Barring FMCG stocks, all other major indices fell. Among larger sectors, banking stocks continued to extend their losses as they fell sharply on weak sentiment and FII outflows. Only FMCG bucked the trend and gained for the week. Even in FMCG, the optimism was tempered as market breadth was weak with only 5 gainers while 10 declined.

The strong GDP growth after market close on Friday bodes well for the upcoming week. That said, US Tariff tensions are likely to persist and caution prevails.

NIFTY 50 – Reverses Gains Amid Broad-Based Declines

Weekly Performance: -1.8%

date	open	high	low	close
2025-08-29	24466.7	24572.4	24404.7	24426.8
2025-08-28	24695.8	24702.7	24481.6	24500.9
2025-08-26	24899.5	24919.7	24689.6	24712.1
2025-08-25	24949.2	25021.6	24894.3	24967.8
2025-08-22	25064.2	25084.8	24859.2	24870.1

Source: NSE

Figure: Recent performance

Source: NSE

The NIFTY 50 index ended the week with a decline of 1.78%, marking a reversal of the previous week’s gains. The index’s performance was dragged down by significant declines in heavyweight stocks such as HDFC Bank, Reliance Industries, and ICICI Bank. These stocks, which are among the top constituents of the index, contributed a combined 1.07% to the index’s decline. On the other hand, ITC, Maruti Suzuki, and Tata Consultancy Services were among the notable gainers, but their contributions were not enough to offset the losses.

Tariff led tensions have resurfaced and soured the sentiment as NIFTY almost reversed the gains  from its earlier weeks. Market breadth was also weak with 38 stocks declining and only 12 advancing. Apart from auto, the buying was selective. ITC bounced back from earlier week’s fall. Maruti, Hero and Eicher were among the top 5 gainers. Maruti was also in the news for the launch of its EV (e-Vitara).

 

NIFTY MIDCAP SELECT- A Sharp Correction

Weekly Performance: -3.8%

date	open	high	low	close
2025-08-29	12527.6	12629.1	12431.8	12450.2
2025-08-28	12690.8	12691.8	12520.3	12535.2
2025-08-26	12883.3	12913.3	12655.0	12671.8
2025-08-25	13005.4	13019.8	12944.3	12953.3
2025-08-22	12953.8	12978.0	12907.4	12935.8

Source: NSE

Figure: Recent performance

Source: NSE

NIFTY MIDCAP SELECT index closed the week at 12450, a loss of 3.75% over last week and reversed the gains of the prior weeks. BSE, Max Healthcare, Policybazaar, HDFC AMC and Idea were key drags as these five stocks contributed most to the fall in the index. On the flip side, Colgate Palmolive and Voltas bucked the trend and gained. Market breadth was poor with only 2 advances.

In addition to the overall weakness in the market, many stock specific issues also had a key impact. BSE extended its fall on concerns over regulation and bearishness in capital markets. Max Healthcare likely witnessed profit booking after last week’s rally. PB Fintech witnessed selling pressure after media reports of an insurance probe into the practices of certain healthcare insurers.

NIFTY IT – A relative outperformer

Weekly Performance: -0.7%

date	open	high	low	close
2025-08-29	35491.6	35575.2	35130.4	35181.2
2025-08-28	36017.1	36018.9	35444.2	35488.8
2025-08-26	36106.8	36324.3	35998.9	36063.2
2025-08-25	35795.5	36445.3	35795.5	36280.1
2025-08-22	35735.4	35767.1	35415.4	35440.9

Source: NSE

Figure: Recent performance

Source: NSE

The week ended in the red for the NIFTY IT index, which slipped 0.73%. Top gainers on the index were Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and Wipro, up 1.01% and 0.31%, respectively. But their  gains were negated by losses elsewhere, including Infosys, which lost 1.20% and was the biggest drag on the index. Tech Mahindra, HCL Technologies and L&T Infotech were among the other losers.

NIFTY IT has outperformed the broader NIFTY over the past three weeks. Despite the ongoing headwinds from US-India tariff tensions and FII outflows, NIFTY IT outperformed NIFTY last week too. A shifting narrative of longer term resilience (despite AI led productivity risks) and sector rotation is likely benefiting the sector.

NIFTY BANK – Underperformance persists

Weekly Performance: -2.7%

date	open	high	low	close
2025-08-29	53660.4	54086.0	53606.4	53655.6
2025-08-28	54256.0	54382.2	53768.4	53820.4
2025-08-26	54999.1	55068.9	54396.1	54450.4
2025-08-25	55147.8	55306.0	55048.4	55139.3
2025-08-22	55669.2	55745.0	55102.6	55149.4

Source: NSE

Figure: Recent performance

Source: NSE

The NIFTY BANK index ended the week down by 2.71% and significantly underperformed the broader markets. The index has been in decline in the recent past, with gains in just one week out of the past five weeks. The major drags on the index were HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank and Axis Bank, which together contributed more than half of the index’s losses. Kotak Mahindra Bank and State Bank of India were relative outperformers. Sentiment was downbeat and the declines were broadbased, as all 12 members of the index ended the week in red.

NIFTY ENERGY – Energy Stocks Fall Sharply

Weekly Performance: -2.5%

date	open	high	low	close
2025-08-29	33689.9	33862.8	33481.9	33638.6
2025-08-28	33994.6	34006.1	33616.0	33682.9
2025-08-26	34395.2	34471.7	33909.3	33955.9
2025-08-25	34576.9	34611.8	34441.2	34494.4
2025-08-22	34687.2	34729.9	34477.9	34507.6

Source: NSE

Figure: Recent performance

Source: NSE

NIFTY ENERGY ended lower by 2.52% for the week, as underperformance sustained. The index has underperformed NIFTY for 4 consecutive weeks. Last week, the pessimism was widespread, with 35 stocks ending lower, while only 4 closed higher.

Reliance Industries, Suzlon Energy, NTPC, Power Grid Corporation and Bharat Heavy Electricals were the major losers. Conversely, CG Power and Adani Power gained, but their gains were not enough to counterbalance the fall. Advance Decline ratio was firmly bearish with 35 losers to 4 gainers. The optimism in CG Power was likely driven by its OSAT facility launch. On the other hand, sentiment in Reliance soured as US-India tariff tensions assumed centre stage.

NIFTY FMCG – Britannia and ITC lead the index to a positive week

Weekly Performance: 0.7%

date	open	high	low	close
2025-08-29	55687.2	56565.0	55594.4	56141.9
2025-08-28	56595.5	56595.5	55521.3	55612.9
2025-08-26	55580.3	56425.1	55578.1	56187.0
2025-08-25	55879.4	55894.1	55541.0	55681.6
2025-08-22	56303.6	56429.0	55694.4	55737.4

Source: NSE

Figure: Recent performance

Source: NSE

NIFTY FMCG index gained sharply and extended its gains by 0.73%. The top gainers among the index stocks were ITC, Britannia, Hindustan Unilever, Colgate Palmolive and Dabur in which ITC was the highest gainer. Among the top losers were Varun Beverages, Tata Consumer Products, Emami, Godrej Consumer Products and United Spirits, wherein Varun Beverages was the top drag. While the index was positive, market breadth was weak. 10 stocks declined while only 5 advanced.

GST related optimism about consumption revival and likely sector rotation has resulted in a significant outperformance of FMCG stocks in the past few weeks. However, the weak market breadth and nearly all of the gains being due to Britannia and ITC is notable.

NIFTY AUTO – Pares gains yet outperforms

Weekly Performance: -1.5%

date	open	high	low	close
2025-08-29	25142.6	25197.5	24891.8	24960.8
2025-08-28	25589.5	25589.5	25163.4	25183.5
2025-08-26	25396.7	25521.7	25226.4	25320.3
2025-08-25	25458.7	25469.7	25244.7	25423.4
2025-08-22	25409.1	25464.8	25291.6	25329.4

Source: NSE

Figure: Recent performance

Source: NSE

The NIFTY AUTO index slipped 1.46% this week with strong gains in Maruti Suzuki and Eicher Motors being negated by losses in M&M, Balkrishna & MRF etc. Market breadth was also weak as only 5 stocks gained while 10 fell. Many auto stocks continue to witness earnings upgrades on GST reform optimism. Also, Maruti launched its EV – e-Vitara. On the other hand, tariff jitters held back many exporters.

NIFTY PHARMA – Broad-based weakness

Weekly Performance: -2.1%

date	open	high	low	close
2025-08-29	21806.3	21894.6	21696.9	21804.1
2025-08-28	22043.8	22051.8	21732.3	21808.3
2025-08-26	22292.3	22292.3	21941.2	21990.0
2025-08-25	22361.6	22394.1	22259.6	22362.8
2025-08-22	22213.2	22304.7	22171.6	22265.0

Source: NSE

Figure: Recent performance

Source: NSE

NIFTY PHARMA index closed negative at the end of the week. It was down by 2.07%. Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, Lupin and Mankind Pharma were the top drag on the index. On the flip side, Granules India was the only gainer, rising 7.36% for the week. Sentiment was overwhelmingly bearish as profit booking and US-tariff tensions came to the fore. 19 of the 20 stocks ended the week in red.

 

NIFTY REALTY – A Sharp Correction

Weekly Performance: -4.3%

date	open	high	low	close
2025-08-29	878.8	886.1	868.0	870.8
2025-08-28	896.2	896.8	879.5	882.5
2025-08-26	915.0	915.9	893.3	896.0
2025-08-25	913.5	923.7	912.2	916.5
2025-08-22	918.5	919.2	908.5	909.7

Source: NSE

Figure: Recent performance

Source: NSE

NIFTY REALTY index ended the week with a sharp loss of 4.28%. Lodha, Godrej Properties and DLF were among the top losers. None of the stocks were in the green as the market breadth was extremely weak. Realty has been amongst the worst performing sectors in the recent past. Last week’s sharp fall more than offset the gain it witnessed in the prior week.