The Nifty fell for the second straight session Thursday, holding just above the psychological 24,000 level, and is on course for a third straight weekly loss. The BSE Sensex briefly plunged about 3% during a 20-minute closing auction, heightening scrutiny of the newly introduced auction-based mechanism for determining closing prices for over 200 stocks. While sentiment remains weak, some investors are turning positive on the outlook for large-cap stocks.

Globally, all eyes are on Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh’s Jackson Hole speech, which may offer clues on the path of US interest rates. On Thursday, Nvidia added $442 billion to its market value — the second-largest one-day gain by any stock in history — after a robust forecast reassured investors that AI-related growth remains strong. India’s biggest companies are showing a pick-up in earnings growth as foreign inflows have revived.

Large-cap firms, excluding oil-marketing companies, posted 20% year-on-year earnings growth in the June quarter, the fastest pace in 10 quarters, according to Motilal Oswal Financial Services. The Nifty has lagged both mid- and small-cap gauges by more than 10 percentage points this year, as investors moved down the market-cap ladder in search of better returns across areas such as consumer tech, healthcare, defense and space-related supply chains. That trade may be starting to turn.