The Prime Weekly: 10 August 2026

Major U.S. stock indexes posted significant weekly gains, highlighted by the S&P 500 securing a fresh historic closing record, up 3.6% for the week. The technology-heavy Nasdaq surged 5.2%, its best week since April, though it remained 1.5% shy of the historic peak reached more than two months earlier. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lagged but still added roughly 3%.

A strong corporate earnings season, cooling labour market conditions that alleviated fears of aggressive Federal Reserve rate hikes, and the reopening of corporate share buyback windows drove a broad-based rally on Wall Street through the week.

The key catalyst was Friday’s July employment report – nonfarm payrolls unexpectedly contracted by 23,000, against consensus expectations for a gain of roughly 90,000, with initial May and June estimates revised down by a combined 103,000 jobs. Factoring in the latest figures, the three-month average fell to 20,000 jobs per month, a sharp turnaround from March, when the economy added 214,000. The soft print sent hike probabilities falling, with rate futures implying a roughly 42% probability that the Fed would lift its benchmark rate by a quarter-point at the September meeting, down from about 67% a week earlier.

U.S. Treasuries generated positive returns for the week as declining oil prices and softer employment data drove yields lower across most maturities, with the 10-year falling to 4.64% and the 2-year settling around 4.20%. The weakening dollar index fueled a reciprocal surge in gold prices, which recorded an impressive weekly gain of nearly 7%.

Indian equities closed the first week of August 2026 with modest net gains after a volatile, range-bound week, as constructive domestic policy signals and strong Q1 FY27 earnings offset global trade headwinds and crude oil fluctuations. The Nifty advanced 0.8% to close near 24,570, while the Sensex added 0.5% to finish around 78,500.

The primary domestic driver was the RBI Monetary Policy Committee, which unanimously held the repo rate at 5.25% while retaining its neutral stance. The central bank’s balanced outlook — an upgraded FY27 real GDP growth projection of 6.7% alongside a downward revision to FY27 inflation to 5.0% — reassured markets on rate stability and lent particular support to public sector banking shares.

Strong Q1 FY27 earnings from large-cap auto and technology names further cushioned downside risk.

Markets also absorbed a structural shift, with the exchanges rolling out their new Closing Auction Session, replacing the prior 3:30 PM closing protocol for derivatives-eligible stocks. The new price-discovery mechanism drove sharp afternoon index swings during the transition before trading ranges normalised.

PSU Banks led with a gain of over 5%, followed by Defence (+4.3%), Metals (+3.7%), Auto (+3.1%), and IT (+2.7%). Media (-3.9%), Capital Markets (-1.9%), and Realty (-1.7%) were the major laggards.

Institutional flows turned decisively positive, with FIIs returning to net buying after months of profit-booking and DIIs sustaining steady inflows via mutual fund SIPs. Combined, institutions pumped in roughly Rs 10,500 crore over the week.

The U.S. Senate has passed a bill authorising President Trump to impose tariffs of up to 100% on imports from India over continued Russian-oil purchases; however, this is not yet an imposed tariff. The bill must clear the House—expected to take it up after 31 August—and be signed into law; if enacted, the measure could apply 30 days later, subject to Trump’s discretion.

Nifty has remained in a consolidation phase between 24,400 and 24,700 over the past week, forming lower highs and higher lows on a daily basis. The primary trend remains bullish, as the index continues to trade above all key moving averages.

On the upside, 24,770 and 25,000 are likely to act as resistance levels, while the 24,430–24,380 zone may provide support on declines.