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Key gauges end lower for second consecutive session
Oct-21-2026

Indian equity benchmarks surrendered their early gains and ended lower for the second consecutive session on Wednesday as elevated crude prices and continued FII selling overshadowed optimism surrounding India-US trade negotiations.  

Both Sensex and Nifty ended in red, but the indices showed a divergence in losses. Nifty underperformed Sensex by losing over 0.30%, while Sensex ended lower by around 0.20% amid broad-based selling in heavyweight stocks. Capital Goods, Industrials and Power stocks came under heavy selling pressure, dragging the headline indices lower. However, IT stocks showed relative resilience amid improving earnings visibility and renewed investor appetite for the sector. 

Some of the important factors in trade:

India growing at 7.8% even as several major economies face slowdown due to West Asia conflict: Highlighting India’s growth trajectory, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has said that India contributes more than 16% to global economic growth and is growing at around 7.8%, even as several major economies face a slowdown due to the conflict in West Asia. 

India’s engineering exports likely to hit all-time high of $150 billion in FY27: The Engineering Export Promotion Council (EEPC) Chairman Pankaj Chadha has said that India’s engineering exports are expected to touch an all-time high of $150 billion in the current fiscal (FY27).

India, US have ‘extraordinary alignment’ on core issues: At a time when India-US relation hit rough patch, the US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said that India and US have ‘extraordinary alignment’ on the core issues that matter even though there can be disagreements on some others. 

Govt set to review National Mineral Policy 2019: In a bid to address emerging requirements in the mining sector, the government is reportedly set to undertake a comprehensive review of the National Mineral Policy, 2019, with a focus on key priorities such as critical minerals, recycling, and deep-sea resources. 

Global front: European markets were trading higher as investors digested U.K. inflation data and awaited a raft of earnings for direction. Asian stock markets ended mostly higher following reports of progress towards renewed U.S.-Iran negotiations. 

Finally, the BSE Sensex fell 143.21 points or 0.19% to 73,709.69 and the CNX Nifty was down by 77.60 points or 0.34% to 22,811.35.

The BSE Sensex touched high and low of 74,682.19 and 73,229.45, respectively. There were 11 stocks advancing against 19 stocks declining on the index.

The few gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were IT up by 2.46% and TECK up by 1.89%, while Capital Goods down by 2.90%, Industrials down by 2.44%, Power down by 2.23%, Consumer Discretionary down by 1.92% and Utilities down by 1.76% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Infosys up by 2.95%, Tech Mahindra up by 2.70%, TCS up by 2.08%, HCL Technologies up by 2.05% and Ultratech Cement up by 1.75%. On the flip side, Eternal down by 4.45%, Bajaj Finance down by 3.73%, Maruti Suzuki India down by 2.60%, Trent down by 2.43% and NTPC down by 2.38% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, highlighting India’s growth trajectory, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has said that India contributes more than 16% to global economic growth and is growing at approximately 7.8%, even as several major economies face a slowdown due to the conflict in West Asia. The minister, who is in Tajikistan on a two-day official visit to attend a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), made these remarks while addressing the Indian diaspora. 

Referring to the changing global trade landscape, the minister said India has entered into free trade agreements with 38 countries, opening new markets for Indian manufacturers and producers. He said the India-UK and India-EU trade agreements, which are expected to eliminate tariffs on 99% of Indian exports, would strengthen the country’s trade prospects and global economic partnerships. Guided by the philosophy of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, India aspires to become a nation that combines prosperity, knowledge & strength with a commitment to global peace and the well-being of humanity. He emphasised that India’s economic transformation, reform-driven governance, technological advancement and growing global stature under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership are paving the way towards the realisation of this vision.

On the transformation in governance and policymaking over the last decade, Singh stated that ‘India has moved from an era of ‘policy paralysis’ to a ‘reform express’ driven by a clear policy direction. For us, reforms are not a compulsion; they are a conviction.’ He noted that the current account deficit, which exceeded 4% of GDP 12-13 years ago, declined to 0.61% in the previous financial year. India’s foreign exchange reserves have crossed $700 billion, while the banking system is in its strongest-ever position.

Highlighting India’s progress in defence manufacturing, he said that defence exports have reached a record Rs 38,424 crore, with defence production surging to Rs 1.80 lakh crore. He underlined that the number of start-ups has grown from a few hundred before 2014 to more than 2.5 lakh, and nearly half of these start-ups originate from smaller cities and towns, while more than 45% have at least one woman director or partner. He said that affordable mobile data and wider connectivity have enabled more Indians to access opportunities, encouraging innovation, nurturing new talent and generating fresh solutions. He also highlighted the impact of inclusive development, stating that approximately 25 crore people have been lifted out of poverty over the past decade.

CNX Nifty touched high and low of 23,120.90 and 22,649.90, respectively. There were 16 stocks advancing against 34 stocks declining on the index. 

The top gainers on Nifty were Infosys up by 3.30%, HCL Technologies up by 3.21%, Tech Mahindra up by 3.13%, TCS up by 2.77% and Ultratech Cement up by 1.87%. On the flip side, Bajaj Finance down by 3.27%, BSE down by 2.63%, Eternal down by 2.45%, Eicher Motors down by 2.43% and Trent down by 2.41% were the top losers. 

European markets were trading higher; UK’s FTSE 100 increased 2.22 points or 0.02% to 10,735.22, France’s CAC rose 45.01 points or 0.57% to 7,883.50 and Germany’s DAX gained 175.18 points or 0.69% to 25,479.60.

Asian markets ended mostly higher on Wednesday, supported by better-than-expected corporate earnings on Wall Street. South Korea’s Kospi index rallied over 3% as concerns over artificial intelligence spending and investments eased. Separate data showed South Korea's producer prices rose 7.7% year-on-year in September, down from a 7.9% increase in August. Japanese market gained after data showed Japan's exports rose 16.7% year-on-year in September, extending growth to a 13th straight month but falling below the median market forecast of 20.1%. While the US Federal Reserve is widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged next week, markets still anticipate a possible rate hike in December 2026. However, rising US Treasury yields and higher oil prices limited further gains. Meanwhile, Chinese and Hong Kong markets dropped after CATL, the world's largest electric vehicle battery maker, reported third-quarter results that fell short of market expectations. 

Asian Indices

Last Trade            

Change in Points

Change in %      

Shanghai Composite

3,713.03

-22.34

-0.60

Hang Seng

23,651.87

-215.87

-0.90

Jakarta Composite

5,328.36

49.47

0.93

KLSE Composite

1,602.27

2.69

0.17

Nikkei 225

64,621.24

545.82

0.85

Straits Times

5,437.99

33.97

0.63

KOSPI Composite

5,735.66

182.92

3.29

Taiwan Weighted

46,887.77

594.84

1.28
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