Sensex, Nifty End Week Lower After Thursday Sell-off Wipes Out Gains

MUMBAI: Indian shares ended another week in the red, as a sharp sell-off on Thursday erased the gains of the first three sessions. The Sensex closed the week to September 25 at 73,895.74, down 399.22 points or 0.54 per cent, while the Nifty 50 finished at 23,140.50, a weekly loss of 205.90 points or 0.88 per cent.

The pattern of the week was familiar from the rest of September: hopes of an easing in the West Asia conflict lifted stocks, then rising bond yields, expensive crude and selling in financial shares pulled them back.

A firm start

The week opened on a positive note. On Monday, a dip in oil prices helped the Sensex climb 0.76 per cent to 74,858.99 and the Nifty 0.29 per cent to 23,414.30. Realty and auto stocks led, while the broader market lagged, with the Nifty Midcap 100 down 0.29 per cent. Brent crude futures traded at $101.38 a barrel.

Tuesday brought a pause. The Sensex slipped 0.44 per cent to 74,529.08 and the Nifty 0.36 per cent to 23,329, with IT shares the main drag as the Nifty IT index fell 0.86 per cent. Investors were watching for possible US–Iran talks on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. Coal India, InterGlobe Aviation, Titan and Dr Reddy's gained, while Tata Consumer, Nestlé India, Bajaj Finserv and Bajaj Finance declined.

On Wednesday, improved sentiment around a possible resolution of tensions in the Middle East pushed the Sensex up 0.40 per cent to 74,828.25 and the Nifty 0.50 per cent to 23,446.80. Metal stocks rallied, with the Nifty Metal index up 2.40 per cent, and Bajaj Finance, Hindalco, Tata Steel, Apollo Hospitals and JSW Steel led the gains. Crude fell sharply after Saudi Arabia restored pipeline flows to the Red Sea, with Brent's November contract dropping to $99.29. The same day, S&P Global raised its forecast for India's growth in 2026-27 to 7 per cent from 6.6 per cent.

Thursday's rout

The mood turned abruptly on Thursday. The Sensex fell 1,248 points to settle at 73,581, and the Nifty lost 384 points to 23,063, a decline of about 1.6 per cent. A spike in bond yields, elevated crude prices and heavy selling in banking and insurance stocks did the damage, with the pressure building through the second half of the session.

Of the 30 Sensex companies, 29 ended lower; only NTPC closed unchanged. Bajaj Finance fell 5.5 per cent, Axis Bank 4.7 per cent and Bajaj Finserv 4.1 per cent. All 28 BSE sectoral indices declined, led by mid- and small-sized private banks, down 2.8 per cent, housing finance companies, down 2.6 per cent, and financial services, down 2.3 per cent. The Nifty Midcap 100 shed 2.3 per cent. On BSE, 2,884 shares fell against 1,473 that rose.

The slide coincided with the stock market debut of the National Stock Exchange, whose shares listed on BSE that morning.

A partial recovery on Friday

Friday's session clawed back some ground. The Sensex rose 0.43 per cent and the Nifty 0.34 per cent in range-bound trade. Axis Bank, Asian Paints, Mahindra & Mahindra, Bajaj Finance and HCL Technologies led the Nifty higher, while Max Healthcare, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles, Infosys, ONGC and Trent fell. Nifty Realty gained 0.92 per cent. By the close, Brent was again trading above $100 a barrel.

Foreign selling in the background

Behind the daily swings sits a steady exit of foreign money. Foreign portfolio investors pulled ₹13,138 crore out of Indian equities in the first half of September, after selling about $24.6 billion of shares through August. Domestic institutions and retail investors, whose monthly SIP contributions have stayed above ₹30,000 crore, have absorbed most of that supply, which is why the market's fall has been gradual rather than disorderly.

Market attention now turns to the Reserve Bank of India's Monetary Policy Committee meeting from October 5 to 7, and to the September-quarter results season that begins next month.