The green closing to the Indian stock markets continued to the second day in a row, with the benchmark indices gaining over 0.40%. The NSE index Nifty50 gained 103.70 points, to close at 24,980.65 and the BSE index Sensex closed at 81,644.39 with 0.45% gains i.e. 370.64 points.
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Auto surge continues
The surge in the auto stocks, led by the NIfty Auto index which gained 1.31% to close at 25,456.70. Tata Motors gained 3.58%, closing at LMP of 700.25. Following the trend, Hero Motocorp traded up by 2.69% to close at 5,118.20 and Bajaj Auto gained 2.41% to close at 8,795.
Leader led from the front
Reliance Industries Ltd, the largest stock by market cap in Indian stock market, traded with gains of 2.77%, closing at 1420.10. The spike in tariff charges of Jio telecom services seems to the reason behind the rally.
Sectoral Performance
Apart from Auto, Oil and Gas, Media, and FMCG indices surged. Nifty Oil and Gas gained 1.66%, closed at 11,200.35; Nifty Media surged 1.33% closing at 1671.50; and Nifty FMCG index closed at 55,886.65, which is 582.40 points (1.05%) higher.
The media industry ended on a high, driven by revival in consumption patterns and ad spends. On the other hand, industries such as pharmaceuticals and healthcare saw profit booking, which resulted in modest losses. This sector rotation is reflective of investors’ biases towards cyclical and consumption-oriented plays in the near term.
Top Movers and Key Stocks
Of individual stocks, Reliance and Tata Motors led the Sensex gainers list backed by sector tailwinds and strong fundamentals. Maruti Suzuki and JSW Steel hit fresh 52-week highs, reflecting renewed optimism on these blue-chip industrial counters.
Infrastructure and financial stocks such as SPML Infra and L&T Finance rose more than 3% on the back of strong order inflows and credit rating upgrades, respectively. Downside, however, came in the names of Bajaj Finserv, Power Grid Corporation, Bharat Electronics, and Trent which were among laggards, facing selling pressure and cutting overall gains.
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Market Sentiment and Outlook
The investor mood continues to be positive given hopes of large-scale government reforms, particularly the forthcoming Group of Ministers (GoM) meet on GST simplification scheduled on August 20-21, 2025. A simplified GST regime, if implemented, has the potential to drive consumption and corporate profits, leading to prolonged market momentum.
Global market conditions are also firm, with softening concerns over inflation and loosening monetary conditions supporting risk appetite. Portfolio strategists recommend keeping diversified portfolios, with emphasis on fundamentals-rich large caps and growth-driven midcaps.
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Conclusion
On Aug 19, 2025, the Indian markets displayed healthy gains driven by breadth in the sectors, robust corporate results, and favorable macroeconomic scenarios. With major policy decisions looming large and calm global cues, the market seems well-set to rally further in the short term, reflecting improving investor confidence.
