Top Gainers & Losers on 14 August: NALCO, HPCL, Tata Motors PV, Netweb Tech, Hindustan Copper among top losers

The Indian stock market remained lower for the fourth straight day on Friday, August 14, tracking a sharp jump in crude oil prices as prospects of an immediate deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz faded, while renewed selling by overseas investors kept the market under pressure.

The Nifty closed 0.12% lower, while the Sensex fell 0.19% to 77,931. The broader markets also extended their losing streak, with both the Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 indices ending in the red.

In terms of sectoral performance, pharma led the losses, declining 0.90%. It was followed by metals, auto, cement, PSU banks, and Nifty Oil & Gas, all of which fell by more than 0.50%. On the gaining side, only media and consumer durables ended higher, rising 1% and 0.76%, respectively.

In the commodity market, brent crude prices surged 5% as the US prepared to impose hefty economic sanctions on Iran in an effort to isolate the country and loosen its grip on the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has used as a strategic pressure point since the conflict began in late February.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Washington would impose unprecedented economic measures while maintaining its naval blockade of Iranian ports, with further announcements expected next week, as per the media reports.

Hariselvan Radhakrishnan, Founder & CEO of HST Wealth, said, "Indian equity markets ended lower on Friday as renewed geopolitical tensions in the Middle East pushed crude oil prices higher, overshadowing the positive global cues from Wall Street's record close. A notable positive for the domestic market was the Nifty 50's ability to defend the 24,325-support zone for the second consecutive session."

NALCO leads losers; Aditya Infotech, Tata Motors PV extend losses

NALCO was the top laggard among Nifty 500 stocks, falling 6% to ₹376 apiece, while Sammaan Capital and Olectra Greentech followed closely, declining 5.9% and 5.6%, respectively.

Losses in Aditya Infotech deepened further, with the stock falling another 5% to ₹3,519 apiece, giving up part of its recent gains.

Meanwhile, a weaker-than-expected performance by Tata Motors PV dragged the stock down 4.3% to ₹334.50 apiece. HPCL shares reacted negatively to the sharp uptick in crude oil prices, falling 5% to ₹373 apiece.

Brainbees Solutions also came under profit booking, declining 4% to ₹206 apiece after a brief rally.

Other losers, including Laurus Labs, Ipca Laboratories, Redington, Netweb Technologies, REC, NBCC (India), Apar Industries, RHI Magnesita India, L&T Finance, Hindustan Zinc, Piramal Pharma, Hindustan Copper, and Paytm, fell between 2.8% and 3.5%.

Strong Q1 numbers lift LG Electronics India, Elgi Equipments; Zee gains

Very strong June-quarter numbers lifted LG Electronics India shares 9.6% to ₹1,729 apiece, marking their biggest single-day gain in recent times.

Zee Entertainment also saw renewed buying interest, surging 5.72% to ₹102 apiece after the Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) granted conditional relief in the SEBI case.

Elgi Equipments also reacted positively to its Q1 performance, rising 5.7% to ₹609.50 apiece, while Honasa Consumer shares hit a fresh all-time high of ₹503 apiece as investor demand for the stock increased following the company's upbeat June-quarter performance.

Keeping its winning momentum intact, Vodafone Idea shares gained another 4.5% to ₹14 apiece and ended the week with a double-digit gain of 11%, marking its best weekly performance in two months.

Other top performers, including Asahi India Glass, Acutaas Chemicals, Bata India, Devyani International, Bharti Hexacom, BLS International, Bharti Airtel, Welspun Living, Fortis Healthcare, Lenskart Solutions, and Voltas, rallied more than 2.5%.

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