The Sensex rose 362.57 points to close at 76,515.43 and the Nifty 50 gained 24.25 points to end at 23,897.70 on Friday, 4 September 2026, snapping a four day losing streak as global equities rose on subsiding US rate hike fears.
Nifty Metal rose over 1% to outperform while Nifty Realty declined the most, with HCLTech, Bharti Airtel and Maruti Suzuki the top Nifty losers.
Polycab fell as much as 7% on UltraTech’s Ultravolt launch even as JPMorgan kept a ₹10,000 target, while PC Jeweller surged 11.3% to a nine month high on its debt free plan.
Tata Steel, Hindustan Zinc and APL Apollo led the metals rally ahead of the US payrolls report, and Brent crude rose 0.35% to $95.85.
The Sensex fell 417.49 points, or 0.55%, to close at 76,152.86, while the Nifty 50 ended 41 points, or 0.17%, lower at 23,873.45.
The broader market moved the other way. The Nifty MidCap rose 0.37% and the Nifty SmallCap gained a strong 1.2%, a sharp divergence from the benchmark weakness.
Impact on the stock market
Sectoral gainers: The Nifty Metal index rose over 1% to outperform all sectors, trading 1.5% higher during the session at 13,375 as rate hold hopes lifted the pack.
Sectoral losers: The Nifty Realty index declined the most, giving back part of Thursday’s 2% surge, while the MidCap’s 0.25% dip showed some profit taking in the broader market.
| Sector/Index | Performance |
| IT & BPM sector | -0.47% |
| Healthcare sector | -0.87% |
| Oil & Gas sector | 0.21% |
| Real estate sector | -0.90% |
| PSU Bank in India | -0.44% |
Top gainers today
| Company | Share Price (in ₹) | Change % |
| SBI Life Insurance | 1,775.00 | 3.50 |
| Tata Steel | 188.79 | 2.49 |
| HDFC Life | 546.40 | 2.42 |
| Reliance | 1,322.00 | 1.50 |
| Trent | 2,853.00 | 1.33 |
Top losers today
| Company | Share Price (in ₹) | Change % |
| HCL Tech | 1,293.40 | -1.94 |
| Bharti Airtel | 1,840.00 | -1.55 |
| Maruti Suzuki | 12,694.00 | -1.27 |
| Coal India | 415.35 | -1.12 |
| Bajaj Finserv | 1,970.00 | -1.11 |
Market aftermath: Impact on stocks
Polycab: Down 7% on UltraTech’s Ultravolt Launch, but JPMorgan Stays at ₹10,000
Polycab India fell as much as 7% to an intraday low of ₹8,250 after UltraTech Cement officially launched its Ultravolt wires and cables brand on Thursday, three months ahead of its December schedule. Analysts called the fall sentiment driven rather than fundamental, but the sector worry is real: Nuvama warned the aggressive entry could cause a near term de-rating, with an impact of 150 to 250 basis points possible against its earlier 100 to 150 estimate.
JPMorgan took the other side, retaining its Overweight rating with a ₹10,000 target, implying nearly 14% upside. It noted UltraTech has committed only ₹888 crore of the approved ₹1,800 crore so far, and that residential wires, UltraTech’s primary focus, account for around 30% of Polycab and KEI’s revenue mix, limiting the medium term impact. Polycab’s own numbers back the resilience case: first quarter revenue rose 39% to ₹8,210 crore with profit up 33% to nearly ₹797 crore, and the balance sheet holds net cash of about ₹4,000 crore. On the charts, Swastika Investmart’s Pravesh Gour flagged the ₹8,200 to ₹8,300 zone as key support, with a hold opening room towards ₹8,600 to ₹8,800 and a break risking ₹7,900 to ₹8,000. The advice from analysts converged: existing investors can hold, fresh buyers should stagger entries and watch UltraTech’s pricing and channel incentives over the coming weeks.
Nifty Metal: A 1.5% Rally as Traders Bet on a Fed Hold
The Nifty Metal index rose 1.5% to 13,375 during the session as attention turned to the US payrolls data for clues on the Federal Reserve’s next move. APL Apollo led with a 4% gain, followed by Tata Steel at 3% and Hindustan Zinc at 2%.
The rally is a direct play on rates. Traders are pricing roughly a 50% chance of a Fed hike this month, and Governor Waller’s suggestion that he would favour holding rates steady if disinflation continues gave metals, which suffer when rates rise and the dollar strengthens, a reason to bounce. The unemployment rate is expected to hold at 4.1%, and as XS.com’s Linh Tran framed it, the market needs a number weak enough to keep the Fed on hold but not so weak that recession fears take over. For a sector that fell 2.45% on rate hike talk only days ago, Friday was the mirror image.
PC Jeweller: An 11% Surge to a Nine Month High on the Debt Free Countdown
PC Jeweller surged 11.3% to ₹11.71 in afternoon trade, its highest level in around nine months, after saying it had repaid debt owed to one more lender and remains on track to become debt free this month. The stock had gained 3.3% in the previous session, and the market value now stands at about ₹11,250 crore.
The progress is methodical. Under its September 2024 one time settlement with a 14 bank consortium led by State Bank of India, covering a stressed loan book of nearly ₹4,100 crore as of March 2024, the company has now cleared all dues to nine of the 14 banks, all ahead of schedule, and discharged more than 96% of the amount owed to the remaining five. Less than 4% remains, with debt free status expected during September. The stock is up about 25% in 2026 against an 8.4% decline in the Nifty 50, a reminder of how powerfully the market rewards a genuine balance sheet repair story.
Crude Oil: Higher as Vance Declines to Put a Timeline on the Conflict
Crude oil futures traded higher on Friday morning after US Vice President JD Vance declined to give a timeline for ending the US Iran conflict. November Brent futures were at $95.85, up 0.35%, and October WTI futures rose 0.60% to $91.85. On the MCX, September crude futures gained 0.29% to ₹8,668, with oil heading for its steepest weekly gain since mid July.
Vance said major combat operations have ended and there is no active shooting right now, but an end to the conflict requires Iran to stop targeting commercial shipping, and there would be no negotiations while that continues. ING noted that escalation is propping up crude, but the rally may lose traction if Hormuz shipments keep moving: Iraq exported 2.35 million barrels a day in August, its highest since the war began, and Saudi Arabia kept its Arab Light selling price unchanged at a $2 discount for October when an increase was expected, suggesting the market is not as tight as feared. Elsewhere, mentha oil rose 0.45% to ₹1,225.80 on the MCX, while cottonseed oilcake gained 1.08% to ₹2,902 and turmeric added 0.40% to ₹20,324 on the NCDEX.
Conclusion
Friday ended the four day slide and closed a bruising week on a hopeful note, with the Sensex at 76,515 and metals leading on Fed hold hopes. The Polycab fight showed how a single competitor announcement can reprice a sector twice in one week, while PC Jeweller’s rally proved the market still pays up for balance sheet repair. Everything now runs through two numbers: the US payrolls print, which decides whether the rate relief holds, and the oil price, with Brent at $95.85 and no timeline for peace. A friendly jobs number plus smooth Hormuz shipments could finally give this market a floor. Watch both, and keep the seatbelt on.
