Market extends fall as Nifty hits 52 week low; investors lose nearly Rs 13 lakh crore in two days - BusinessToday

Indian equity benchmarks extended their decline on Thursday, with Nifty50 hitting a fresh 52-week low, as elevated crude oil prices, high global bond yields and persistent foreign fund outflows weighed on market sentiment.

The 30-share BSE Sensex pack fell 1,045.46 points or 1.44 per cent to settle at 71,593.24. The combined market capitalisation (m-cap) of BSE-listed companies declined to Rs 460.97 lakh crore from Rs 470.98 lakh crore in the previous session, marking a fall of around Rs 10.01 lakh crore in a single session.

Over the past two sessions, BSE-listed companies' m-cap has declined by around Rs 12.64 lakh crore from Rs 473.61 lakh crore on Tuesday, October 6.

The NSE Nifty50 index dropped to a 52-week low of 22,179.90 before ending 371.25 points or 1.64 per cent lower at 22,231.80.

Selling was broad-based across sectors, with metal, realty and energy stocks among the major laggards. The IT index was the only sector that showed relative resilience. The broader market also witnessed heavy selling, with both midcap and smallcap indices declining more than 2 per cent.

Ajit Mishra, SVP – Research, Religare Broking, said, "Markets came under heavy selling pressure on Thursday, extending the prevailing corrective trend. After a weak opening, the benchmark indices remained under pressure through most of the session and eventually settled close to the day’s lows, reflecting sustained selling pressure across the board."

Mishra added, "Domestic and global macro concerns continued to weigh heavily on sentiment. RBI's decision to raise the repo rate by 25 basis points (bps) to 5.50 per cent and shift its stance towards calibrated tightening has raised concerns over tighter financial conditions. At the same time, Brent crude moved above the $102–103 a barrel mark amid geopolitical tensions and supply concerns, while the US 10-year Treasury yield remained elevated around 5.3 per cent. Caution ahead of TCS' quarterly results also added to the nervousness, particularly in the IT segment."

Ankur Punj, Managing Director at Equirus Wealth, noted, "Global markets sell-off had a bearing on Indian equity indices as soaring US bond yields coupled with a sharp spike in international crude oil prices to over $102 a barrel, pushed the benchmark Nifty to a fresh 52-week low."

He also stated that intense FII selling of domestic shares and anticipated further rate hikes by the RBI are also sending jitters to local investors, as higher interest rates will hurt long-term growth prospects.

Meanwhile, IT bellwether Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) reported a 14.86 per cent year-on-year (YoY) rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 13,934 crore for the second quarter of financial year 2026-27 (Q2 FY27), compared with Rs 12,131 crore in the corresponding quarter last year.

Revenue from operations increased 11.22 per cent YoY to Rs 73,188 crore in Q2 FY27, from Rs 65,799 crore in the year-ago period. The company also announced a dividend of Rs 12 per equity share.

Nandish Shah, Deputy Vice-President, HDFC Securities, said the next support for Nifty is placed near 21,750, while 22,400 and 22,600 are likely to act as immediate resistance levels.