Foreign institutional investors have significantly intensified their selling pressure in Indian equities, with FIIs offloading shares worth ₹9,484.22 crore on Thursday, according to latest exchange data. This represents a sharp increase from Tuesday's net outflow of ₹9,980.22 crore and Wednesday's ₹10,148.41 crore outflow, as reported by CNBC TV18. The latest selling follows a four-day outflow of ₹34,966 crore from September 28 to October 1, with daily selling growing from ₹5,353.22 crore on September 28 to ₹9,980.22 crore on September 29 and ₹10,148.41 crore on September 30. Despite this sustained foreign selling, domestic institutional investors (DIIs) provided strong support with net purchases of ₹10,041.84 crore, resulting in combined net buying of ₹462.62 crore during the session. Foreign investor outflows for 2026 have crossed ₹2.5 lakh crore, according to NSDL data, highlighting the sustained pressure on Indian equities.
Indian equities extended their losing streak for the fourth consecutive session this week, with the Nifty ending 199 points lower at 22,422 and the Sensex falling 571 points to 71,910 as of Thursday's close. The market has declined more than 3% for the week, with the Nifty Bank down around 2%, while the Nifty Midcap index has fallen nearly 4% for the week. Companies listed on the BSE have lost nearly ₹20 lakh crore in market value over the same period. Market breadth remained weak, with roughly one stock advancing for every three that declined, as reported by CNBC TV18. Most major sectoral indices ended lower, with hospitality and auto among the biggest decliners, while IT was the exception. The broader market pressure has been particularly evident in mid-cap stocks, with the Nifty Midcap index down nearly 4% for the week.
The auto sector bore the sharpest losses, with Bajaj Auto leading all decliners, crashing ₹706 or 6.49% to ₹10,168 after opening at ₹10,701, marking its biggest single-day decline in two years after the company reported lower-than-expected monthly sales. Maruti Suzuki fell ₹415 or 3.47% to ₹11,552 despite reporting auto sales broadly in line with expectations. Tata Steel shed ₹6.16 or 3.34% to ₹178.14, and Grasim Industries declined ₹94.50 or 3.09% to ₹2,967.40. Auto stocks remained under pressure despite mixed monthly sales numbers, with the auto index falling more than 3% for the week. On the gainers' side, HDFC Life Insurance led with a rise of 1.69% to ₹530, followed by Kotak Mahindra Bank, up 1.28% to ₹422.35. HDFC Bank gained 1.14% to ₹716.80, Infosys rose 0.96% to ₹1,003.65, and Tata Consumer Products edged up 0.82% to ₹957.30.
The rupee came under significant pressure, ending back above 96 against the US dollar after falling 48 paise on Thursday, its biggest one-day decline in two months, as reported by CNBC TV18. The currency weakness adds to the broader market pressure amid sustained FII outflows. The RBI is expected to continue intervening to contain volatility, with the pair sensitive to FII outflows and lingering US tariff friction over India's Russian crude purchases. In commodities, COMEX Gold was up a marginal 0.16% at $4,190.10, while COMEX Silver outperformed with a gain of 1.39% to $61.50, bouncing off the $60 support level.
