Sensex sheds 813 pts, Nifty ends below 23,450 as crude boils

The domestic equity benchmarks ended sharply lower today, extending their decline for the third consecutive session as elevated crude oil prices heightened concerns over the macroeconomic outlook. Persistent geopolitical uncertainty, rupee weakness and renewed FII selling further weighed on investor sentiment. The ongoing IPO rush, with 10 issues open for subscription, also diverted liquidity from the secondary market. The Nifty closed below the 23,450 mark, dragged by IT and FMCG shares. However, metal and pharma shares remained in demand.

The S&P BSE Sensex tanked 813.35 points or 1.08% to 74,764.23. The Nifty 50 index tumbled 203.60 points or 0.86% to 23,431.50. Over the three consecutive sessions, the Sensex and Nifty have declined 2.29% and 1.95%, respectively.

Infosys (down 4.34%), HDFC Bank (down 2.26%) and Reliance Industries (down 1.23%) were major Nifty drags today.

In the broader market, the BSE 150 MidCap Index fell 0.33% and the BSE 250 SmallCap Index declined 0.50%.

The market breadth was negative. On the BSE, 1,877 shares rose and 2,498 shares fell. A total of 234 shares were unchanged.

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, surged 6.32% to 11.94.

Numbers to Track:

In the commodities market, Brent crude for November 2026 settlement rose $2.77 or 2.83% to $100.69 a barrel.

The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal paper rose 0.14% to 6.954 compared with the previous session close of 6.944.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 95.1175 compared with its close of 94.7450 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 5 October 2026 settlement rose 0.39% to Rs 1,53,106.

The US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was up 0.04% to 98.83.

The United States 10-year bond yield advanced 0.12% to 4.810.

Global Markets:

The US Dow Jones index futures are currently down by 333 points, signaling a negative opening for US stocks today.

European market declined while Asian market ended mixed on Wednesday as Brent Crude crossed $100-a-barrel milestone, compounding fears of a prolonged stagflation shock.

The widening Middle Eastern conflict threatened to force the European Central Bank into further monetary tightening. Money markets have almost fully priced in a 25-basis-point interest rate increase from President Christine Lagarde and the Governing Council on Thursday, taking the deposit facility rate to 2.50%:

Oil prices remained a major market concern. Brent crude edged higher after attacks on Saudi energy infrastructure by Iran-backed Houthi militants and further US-Iran military escalation. The surge has renewed concerns that higher energy costs could keep inflation elevated and limit central banks' room to cut interest rates.

The geopolitical situation also intensified after the US said its forces destroyed five Iranian oil tankers following an attempted attack on a US Navy vessel. The US Treasury also announced fresh sanctions targeting Iran's aviation sector, adding another layer of pressure on Tehran.

Wall Street ended lower on Tuesday as the rise in crude prices revived inflation concerns. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.18% to 52,786.07, the S&P 500 declined 0.58% to 7,673.52 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.32% to 26,421.41. The US 10-year Treasury yield also moved near 4.8%.

Markets are now focused on US inflation data due later this week. The August CPI, scheduled for Friday, is expected to provide fresh clues on the Federal Reserve's policy path ahead of its 16-17 September meeting.

Rising oil prices have increased concerns that a renewed inflationary push could complicate the Fed's decision on interest rates. Markets were pricing roughly a 60% probability of a rate hike next week.

Stocks in Spotlight:

The Nifty IT index declined 3.24% to 28,913.95, extending its losing streak to six sessions. The index has declined 8.20% during this period.

Coforge led the decline, falling 5.38%, after chairman and independent director Om Prakash Bhatt resigned following concerns raised by an internal audit over the board evaluation process.

Infosys fell 4.34%, HCL Technologies declined 3.70%, and Tech Mahindra dropped 3.27%. Wipro slipped 2.62%, while Persistent Systems declined 2.54%. TCS fell 2.11%, Mphasis dropped 2.02%, Oracle Financial Services Software declined 1.27%, and LTIMindtree slipped 0.41%.

Meanwhile, strong US jobs data and rising inflation expectations have increased bets on a September Federal Reserve rate hike. Higher US yields are weighing on technology stocks and raising concerns over IT spending and valuations.

Adani Enterprises jumped 5.13% after the company's subsidiary, Adani Airport Holdings(AAHL) has entered into binding agreements to raise Rs 9,825 crore (around $ 1 billion) of primary equity capital from a consortium of investors. The investor consortium comprises Alpha Wave Global, Premji Invest, Temasek and BlackRock.

The proceeds will support airport modernisation and capacity expansion to serve approximately 200 million passengers annually, integrated Adani Airport City development of around 22 million sq. ft. of mixed-use development in the first phase and the continued scaling of AAHL's ground handling and non-aeronautical businesses.

One 97 Communications surged 4.88% after the counter saw a block deal in early trade. The stock hit a fresh 52-week high of Rs 1,758.90 today. According to reports, around 10.6 lakh Paytm shares changed hands in the block deal.

The rally in Paytm shares was also fuelled by reports that the digital payments company is expanding into a new artificial intelligence (AI) business to boost revenue growth.

Graphite India surged 14.81%, while HEG advanced 1.74%, after US-based graphite electrode manufacturer GrafTech International announced a minimum 30% increase in graphite electrode prices.

Sterlite Technologies hit the upper circuit of 5% at its 52-week high of Rs 865.90, rising for the fourth straight session. The stock has gained 21.40% in four sessions. The stock has advanced 35.53% in the past month, 41.26% in three months and 639.45% in one year. The rally follows the company's 3 September 2026 approval of a major capacity expansion at its existing manufacturing facility. The company plans to increase installed manufacturing capacity by approximately 50% by the end of FY29. Sterlite Technologies plans to invest around Rs 3,000 crore in the expansion.

Larsen & Toubro shed 0.60%. The company said that L&T Energy Hydrocarbon Offshore has secured a 'large' offshore order from the Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) for the additional development of Ratna'I (ADR I) and NLM-14 project off India's west coast. As per the company's internal classification, the value of this 'large' contract lies between Rs 2,500 crore and Rs 5,000 crore.

Power Mech Projects rose 0.32%. The company said that it has secured an operations and maintenance contract worth Rs 970 crore from Vedanta Power for its Chhattisgarh-based Sakti Thermal Plant.

Enviro Infra Engineers jumped 4.13% after the company's step-down subsidiary, Suyog Urja received an Rs 189.99 crore contract from Tata Power Renewable Energy for executing a 180 MW NTPC wind power project at Parli, Maharashtra.

IPO Update:

Pranav Constructions received bids for 2,71,24,34,520 shares as against 2,24,63,137 shares on offer, according to stock exchange data at 16:45 IST on 9 September 2026. The issue was subscribed 120.75 times.

The issue opened for bidding on 7 September 2026 and will close on 9 September 2026. The price band of the IPO is fixed between Rs 118 and 124 per share. An investor can bid for a minimum of 120 equity shares and multiples thereof.

Prasol Chemicals received bids for 39,31,400 shares as against 54,43,229 shares on offer, according to stock exchange data at 16:45 IST on 9 September 2026. The issue was subscribed 0.72 times.

The issue opened for bidding on 8 September 2026 and will close on 10 September 2026. The price band of the IPO is fixed between Rs 643 and 676 per share. An investor can bid for a minimum of 22 equity shares and multiples thereof.

Glass Wall Systems (India) received bids for 13,40,66,638 shares as against 1,64,57,298 shares on offer, according to stock exchange data at 16:45 IST on 9 September 2026. The issue was subscribed 8.15 times.

The issue opened for bidding on 8 September 2026 and will close on 10 September 2026. The price band of the IPO is fixed between Rs 172 and 182 per share. An investor can bid for a minimum of 82 equity shares and multiples thereof.

Kanohar Electricals received bids for 11,17,69,236 shares as against 1,16,93,326 shares on offer, according to stock exchange data at 16:45 IST on 9 September 2026. The issue was subscribed 9.56 times.

The issue opened for bidding on 8 September 2026 and will close on 10 September 2026. The price band of the IPO is fixed between Rs 601 and 632 per share. An investor can bid for a minimum of 23 equity shares and multiples thereof.

LCC Projects received bids for 2,74,62,378 shares as against 2,09,27,281 shares on offer, according to stock exchange data at 16:45 IST on 9 September 2026. The issue was subscribed 1.31 times.

The issue opened for bidding on 9 September 2026 and will close on 11 September 2026. The price band of the IPO is fixed between Rs 139 and 146 per share. An investor can bid for a minimum of 102 equity shares and multiples thereof.

Karamtara Engineering received bids for 3,19,44,783 shares as against 2,54,14,937 shares on offer, according to stock exchange data at 16:45 IST on 9 September 2026. The issue was subscribed 1.26 times.

The issue opened for bidding on 9 September 2026 and will close on 11 September 2026. The price band of the IPO is fixed between Rs 241 and 254 per share. An investor can bid for a minimum of 59 equity shares and multiples thereof.

Asset Reconstruction Company (India) received bids for 1,33,84,202 shares as against 3,69,12,363 shares on offer, according to stock exchange data at 16:45 IST on 9 September 2026. The issue was subscribed 0.36 times.

The issue opened for bidding on 9 September 2026 and will close on 11 September 2026. The price band of the IPO is fixed between Rs 132 and 139 per share. An investor can bid for a minimum of 107 equity shares and multiples thereof.

Steamhouse India received bids for 1,48,80,290 shares as against 3,76,36,363 shares on offer, according to stock exchange data at 16:45 IST on 9 September 2026. The issue was subscribed 0.40 times.

The issue opened for bidding on 9 September 2026 and will close on 11 September 2026. The price band of the IPO is fixed between Rs 77 and 81 per share. An investor can bid for a minimum of 185 equity shares and multiples thereof.

Manipal Payment and Identity Solutions received bids for 21,71,488 shares as against 1,30,60,472 shares on offer, according to stock exchange data at 16:45 IST on 9 September 2026. The issue was subscribed 0.17 times.

The issue opened for bidding on 9 September 2026 and will close on 11 September 2026. The price band of the IPO is fixed between Rs 322 and 339 per share. An investor can bid for a minimum of 44 equity shares and multiples thereof.

Rentomojo received bids for 2,93,65,827 shares as against 2,17,72,311 shares on offer, according to stock exchange data at 16:45 IST on 9 September 2026. The issue was subscribed 1.35 times.

The issue opened for bidding on 9 September 2026 and will close on 11 September 2026. The price band of the IPO is fixed between Rs 384 and 404 per share. An investor can bid for a minimum of 37 equity shares and multiples thereof.