Stock Market Opens Green: Nifty Starts September Series Strong on Falling Crude Prices and PSU Bank Rally

Indian equity markets commenced the September series on an optimistic note on Wednesday, August 26, 2026. Backed by supportive macroeconomic tailwinds, favorable global cues, and a sharp decline in international crude oil prices, domestic indices opened with notable gains. Investor buying was predominantly led by public sector banking stocks, setting an upbeat tone for the trading session.

Strong Opening for Benchmark Indices and Sectoral Performance

At the opening bell, the benchmark Nifty50 index started strong at 24,341, while the Nifty Bank index surged 114 points to open at 57,628. Broad-based buying momentum extended across multiple sectors, with strong inflows observed in Nifty Realty, Private Banks, Financial Services, and Media counters.

Market sentiment was heavily bolstered by a 2.5% drop in global crude oil prices, bringing international benchmarks down to around $86 per barrel, alongside positive momentum across Dow futures and broader Asian equity markets.

Top Gainers, Losers, and Stocks in Action

Within the Nifty50 basket, the advance-decline ratio stood balanced at 24:26.

• Top Gainers: SBI Life, ICICI Bank, HDFC Life, Asian Paints, and IndiGo led the advance.

• Top Losers: Shriram Finance, Apollo Hospitals, Tata Steel, Bharti Airtel, and Infosys faced mild profit booking.

Additionally, several prominent corporate stocks witnessed high-volume action and remained in the spotlight, including Groww, Welspun Corp, Honasa Consumer, Cipla, UCO Bank, NBCC (India), Varun Beverages, and Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles.