The hit a fresh 52-week low on Thursday as Indian equities came under broad-based selling pressure, with rising crude oil prices, sustained foreign outflows, elevated global bond yields and expectations of tighter domestic monetary policy weighing on sentiment. The index fell 1.64 per cent to close at 22,231.80, while the declined 1.44 per cent or 1,045.46 points to 71,593.24.
“The market is currently caught in a perfect storm: crude above $100, persistent FII selling, a hawkish RBI, elevated US yields, and a weakening rupee,” said Sandip Jha, Chief Product Officer, Godrej Wealth. He said the market was repricing the risk of a higher-for-longer interest rate and inflation environment, and advised investors to remain focused on long-term asset allocation.
The Nifty opened at 22,599.05 and fell through the session to an intraday low of 22,179.90, breaching its April 2, 2026 low of 22,182.55. The Sensex also remained under pressure, moving between 72,693.97 and 71,327.75, before closing near the day’s low. Nandish Shah, Deputy Vice-President, HDFC Securities, said the Nifty had corrected more than 10 per cent from its early-August swing high of 24,774, and was nearly 16 per cent below its all-time high of 26,373.
Selling was broad-based, with all sectoral indices ending lower. Metal, Realty, Media, Auto, Energy and FMCG stocks were among the major laggards, while IT showed relative resilience. The Nifty Midcap 100 fell 2.53 per cent and the Nifty Smallcap 100 declined 2.34 per cent, with the advances-declines ratio falling to 0.30, according to HDFC Securities.
The rupee closed at 96.78 against the US dollar, after touching an all-time low of 97.10 during the session, as pressure from higher crude prices and FII outflows persisted. Brent crude rose above $104 a barrel, while the Indian 10-year government bond yield climbed to around 7.2 per cent, a two-year high. The US 10-year Treasury yield remained around 5.3 per cent, adding to pressure on risk assets.
The RBI’s 25-basis-point repo rate hike to 5.50 per cent and shift towards calibrated tightening have added to concerns over financial conditions. “The RBI’s 25-bps rate hike has failed to provide comfort, while global risk aversion is prompting foreign investors to move towards dollar assets,” said Shrikant Chouhan, Head Equity Research, Kotak Neo.
Pabitro Mukherjee, Deputy Vice-President-Research, Bajaj Broking, said the Nifty had moved below the 200-week EMA at 22,379 and that any pullback could face resistance at 22,400-22,600. He said a follow-through decline could take the index towards 22,000 and the 21,750 level.
Despite the pressure from global and domestic macro factors, earnings are likely to provide a key domestic trigger. “The only credible near-term trigger is the earnings season,” said Siddhartha Khemka, Head of Research, Wealth Management, Motilal Oswal Financial Services. He expects aggregate earnings for the firm’s universe of about 400 companies to grow 22 per cent year-on-year in the second quarter of FY27, with Nifty-50 earnings expected to grow 27 per cent.
With the Nifty now below the April low, market participants will track crude prices, currency movements, foreign flows and global yields for signs of stabilisation. The earnings season, which began with TCS results, could provide a domestic trigger, although elevated macro risks are expected to keep volatility high in the near term.