The Sensex rose 286.98 points to close at 77,656.09 and the Nifty 50 gained 115.50 points to end at 24,334.55 on Tuesday, 25 August 2026, erasing early losses on gains in healthcare, pharma and PSU bank stocks.
Nifty Healthcare, Pharma and PSU Bank outperformed while Private Bank and Metal lagged, with Adani Enterprises, Max Healthcare and Apollo Hospitals the top Nifty gainers.
Paytm rose 6% to ₹1,713.60, its highest level since December 2021 and up 81% from its March low, while Vodafone Idea surged over 8% on funding progress reports.
Hindustan Copper fell up to 8% after the government launched an offer for sale of up to a 6% stake at a floor price of ₹514, and MCX crude dropped ₹265 to ₹7,870.
The Sensex rose 286.98 points, or 0.37%, to close at 77,656.09, while the Nifty 50 gained 115.50 points, or 0.48%, to end at 24,334.55.
The broader market was mixed. The Nifty MidCap rose 0.54%, outpacing the benchmarks, while the Nifty SmallCap slipped 0.1%.
Impact on the stock market
Sectoral gainers: The Nifty Healthcare, Nifty Pharma and Nifty PSU Bank indices outperformed, with the defensives leading the recovery. The Nifty MidCap’s 0.54% rise added breadth.
Sectoral losers: The Nifty Private Bank and the Nifty Metal indices underperformed, with the metals weakness compounded by the supply overhang from the Hindustan Copper stake sale.
| Sector/Index | Performance |
| IT & BPM sector | 0.57% |
| Healthcare sector | 1.09% |
| Oil & Gas sector | 0.16% |
| Real estate sector | 0.08% |
| PSU Bank in India | 0.75% |
Top gainers today
| Company | Share Price (in ₹) | Change % |
| Adani Enterprises | 3,110.00 | 3.72 |
| Max Healthcare | 1,016.00 | 2.57 |
| Apollo Hospital | 8,889.00 | 2.15 |
| Interglobe Avi | 5,218.00 | 2.01 |
| Adani Ports | 1,702.70 | 1.83 |
Top losers today
| Company | Share Price (in ₹) | Change % |
| HDFC Life | 546.70 | -1.13 |
| Cipla | 1,422.00 | -1.11 |
| ONGC | 234.00 | -1.08 |
| Coal India | 404.00 | -0.71 |
| Hindalco | 1,051.05 | -0.70 |
Market aftermath: Impact on stocks
Hindustan Copper: An 8% Fall as the Government Launches a Stake Sale
Hindustan Copper shares fell up to 8% after the government launched an offer for sale of up to a 6% stake in the state owned copper producer, comprising a 3% base issue and a 3% greenshoe option. The stock hit an intraday low of ₹529.35 on the NSE, reacting to the floor price of ₹514, which sits at a discount of around 9.5% to the previous close of ₹567.90.
Analysts see the fall as mechanical rather than fundamental. Mayank Jain of Share.Market called it a standard tactical reaction as arbitrageurs realign prices closer to the discounted floor, and remained bullish given strong long term copper demand from electric mobility, power infrastructure, data centres and renewables. The company reported a 163% jump in first quarter profit to ₹352.61 crore, and holds access to around 45% of India’s copper ore reserves according to Anand Rathi estimates. On the charts, Jain sees strong support in the ₹503 to ₹514 zone, anchored by the OFS floor and the longer term moving averages, with the uptrend expected to reassert once the supply overhang clears. The government held a 66.14% stake as of June 2026. The ripple effect was immediate: Hindustan Zinc fell nearly 3% on expectations the government could pare its stake there next.
Vodafone Idea: An 8% Surge on SBI Funding Progress
Vodafone Idea shares surged more than 8% on August 25, hitting an intraday high of ₹15.24 and valuing the operator at roughly ₹1.65 lakh crore. The stock is now up about 31% in 2026, against a 7.5% decline in the Nifty 50.
The trigger was progress on funding. Reports suggest State Bank of India has agreed to sanction its share of the proposed loan after promoter companies agreed to provide guarantees, though disbursal is unlikely until Vodafone Idea secures the remaining financing from private sector banks. The company is engaging with three sets of lenders for its ₹45,000 crore three year capital expenditure programme, has already raised ₹6,400 crore in the first tranche, and has placed network orders worth around ₹9,000 crore. Tariff hopes are the other leg of the story: analysts expect Bharti Airtel’s recent prepaid changes to precede a broader round of tariff hikes around December 2026, which would matter enormously for a debt laden operator trying to improve monetisation while investing to compete with Airtel and Reliance Jio.
Paytm: Up 81% From the March Low and at Its Highest Since December 2021
Paytm’s parent, One97 Communications, rose 6% to ₹1,713.60 on the BSE, its highest level since December 1, 2021. The stock has surged 39% in the past month from ₹1,236.20 on July 24 and has bounced 81% from its 52 week low of ₹947.10 touched on March 30. Its record high of ₹1,961.05, set in November 2021, is now within sight.
The rally rests on a sharper profitability story. Founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma has set a target of generating $1 billion in free cash flow over the next three to four years, and the company’s FY26 annual report outlined four compounding engines: expanding merchant payments with a higher margin mix, structural growth in financial services distribution across merchant and consumer lending, consumer lifecycle monetisation across payments, credit and wealth, and AI driven operating leverage. The backdrop helps too, with India’s fintech market projected to grow from $51 billion in 2026 to $109 billion by 2031 and digital payments expected to triple to $10.2 trillion by FY30. One caution: JM Financial remains positive on the business, but the stock now trades above its target price of ₹1,500, so valuations are running ahead of at least some analyst expectations.
Crude Oil: A Sharp Drop as Markets Digest the Iran Sanctions
Crude finally handed the market some relief on Tuesday, with MCX crude futures falling ₹265 to ₹7,870, a decline of over 3%, as traders weighed the impact of the US sanctions on Iran. The drop capped a volatile stretch in which prices had risen for five straight sessions on escalation fears.
The supply picture is shifting in the background. Reports point to India accelerating crude supply diversification towards Venezuela as West Asia disruptions persist, the US operating a shipping corridor moving about 10 million barrels a day amid the Iran stalemate, and the UAE suspending economic ties with Iran. The standoff over the Strait of Hormuz is far from resolved, but Tuesday’s move suggests markets believe supply is finding routes around the crisis, which is exactly what equities needed to hear.
Conclusion
Tuesday delivered the combination the market has been waiting for: falling crude and rising stocks. The Sensex gained 287 points as healthcare and pharma led, Paytm marked a four year high on its profitability push, and Vodafone Idea’s funding progress kept its 31% rally for the year alive. The Hindustan Copper stake sale was the day’s reminder that supply, whether of oil or shares, sets short term prices. If crude’s ₹265 drop extends as sanctions reshape trade flows rather than choke them, the benchmarks may finally have the room to recover August’s losses. Watch the oil price and the OFS response, and keep the focus on stocks with their own stories.
