Indian equities fell sharply in early trading on Thursday, October 22, as rising crude prices and fresh tensions in West Asia weighed on sentiment. The Nifty 50 dropped 1.01% to 22,580.45, while the Sensex was down 691.03 points, or 0.94%, at 73,018.66 at 9:35 a.m.
Key Takeaways
- Only Eternal and Infosys were positive among Nifty 50 stocks in the reported early-session snapshot.
- Brent crude rose 1.72% to $110.69 a barrel.
- The selloff followed Wednesday’s institutional buying, while analysts pointed to elevated oil prices and US bond yields as headwinds.
Table of Contents
- Nifty decline deepens after a weak opening
- Oil and bond yields weigh on sentiment
- Regional weakness follows gains on Wall Street
- Institutional purchases fail to prevent selling
Nifty decline deepens after a weak opening
Both benchmarks extended their losses after opening below Wednesday’s closing levels. The Nifty opened at 22,687.75 against its previous close of 22,811.35. The Sensex opened at 73,343.33, down from 73,709.69.
Coal India led the Nifty losers, falling 2.82% to ₹396. Power Grid Corporation declined 2.58%, Nestle India lost 2.55%, BEL fell 2.40% and Hindalco Industries dropped 2.37%.
Eternal gained 1.90% to ₹318.30, while Infosys edged up 0.09% to ₹1,169.05. The IT sector had risen 2.88% in the previous session, but chemical, metal, auto, realty and defense stocks remained under pressure.
Oil and bond yields weigh on sentiment
Brent crude traded at $110.69 a barrel, up 1.72%, while WTI rose 1.41% to $98.52. On India’s Multi Commodity Exchange, November crude futures advanced 1.47% to ₹9,343 and December contracts gained 1.41% to ₹9,195.
The United States ordered its diplomats to leave Saudi Arabia. The US 10-year Treasury yield stood at 5.123%.
Geojit Investments chief investment strategist Dr. V K Vijayakumar said elevated crude prices and high US bond yields were encouraging bearish short positions. HST Wealth founder and CEO Hariselvan Radhakrishnan cautioned that, without meaningful declines in both indicators, buying after opening losses could remain tactical rather than mark a durable reversal.
Regional weakness follows gains on Wall Street
Asian markets also retreated in the reported snapshot: South Korea’s KOSPI fell 2.1%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 2% and Japan’s Nikkei 225 declined 0.7%, slipping below 64,000.
The weakness contrasted with Wednesday’s US session, when the S&P 500 gained 0.58%, the Dow rose 0.69% and the Nasdaq advanced 1.05%. US stock futures were nevertheless lower ahead of Thursday’s open.
Institutional purchases fail to prevent selling
Foreign institutional investors bought a net ₹1,022 crore of Indian equities on Wednesday, while domestic institutions purchased a net ₹1,614 crore. The rupee also strengthened for an eighth consecutive session, gaining 47 paise to close at 94.46, a four-month high.
Broader shares had already weakened on Wednesday: the Nifty Midcap 100 fell 1.60% to a six-month low, and the Nifty Smallcap 100 dropped 2.40% to a four-month low.
Results from companies including Adani Enterprises, Colgate, Havells, HPCL and Swiggy were due during Thursday’s session.
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