The Indian equity markets showed resilience with Nifty 50 closing below 23,900 after recovering from Monday's selloff. According to CNBC TV18, today marks Nifty's weekly expiry and the close of the June quarter, adding an extra layer of volatility to the session. The recovery comes after the Nifty 50 had fallen 27.65 points or 0.12% to 23,918.60 in previous trading, while the S&P BSE Sensex declined 127.17 points or 0.17% to 76,601.20. Market breadth remained mixed with 2,274 shares rising, 1,778 shares falling, and 225 shares unchanged on the BSE. Sensex fell 372 points during the session, reflecting the volatile nature of trading around key quarterly milestones. The latest data shows Nifty 50 index fell 109.75 points or 0.46% to 23,946.25, while Sensex declined 372.10 points or 0.48% to 76,728.37. Kotak Mahindra Bank (down 2.93%), Mahindra & Mahindra (down 2.43%) and Reliance Industries (down 1.20%) dragged the Nifty lower today. The decline also coincided with the quarterly rebalancing of several NSE indices, which took effect during the trading session.
The IT sector emerged as the biggest laggard with Nifty IT hitting a new low, now down over 42% from all-time highs and trading at its lowest level since April 2023. According to CNBC TV18, the IT pack remained the biggest drag on the market, with the Nifty IT index ending as the worst-performing sectoral index for the third consecutive session. Infosys, TCS and Wipro were among the top losers on the Nifty, with all Nifty IT constituents in red and TCS and Infosys leading the fall, both down over 2.5% today. Key stocks including TCS on the lowest level since June 2020, Infosys on the lowest level since September 2020, LTM on the lowest level since May 2021, HCL Tech on the lowest level since May 2023, and Persistent on the lowest level since April 2025. Market analysts note that Q1 FY26 recorded the weakest earnings momentum of all quarters, with domestic investors remaining highly sensitive to quarterly earnings performance. The sector's decline reflects broader concerns about earnings momentum and competitive pressures in the technology space. Infosys shares were trading 1.1% down on Wednesday, at ₹990.60, marking the fourth consecutive day of losses and representing a level not closed below since September 24, 2020. The stock has declined 38% in the first six months of 2026, even more than the 37% decline during the global financial crisis of 2008.
Auto, pharma and realty sectors continued to outperform while IT, banks and FMCG stocks faced pressure. As reported by CNBC TV18, Maruti Suzuki led the Nifty 50 gainers with a surge of more than 5% after a Jefferies upgrade, emerging as the top Nifty gainer. Titan (up 2.96%), Bajaj Finance (up 2.45%), Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles (up 2.25%), and Bharti Airtel (up 1.55%) also featured among the major gainers. However, the Nifty Auto index dropped over 2% in recent trading, showing mixed performance across the sector. From the Sensex basket, Maruti Suzuki India Ltd, Titan Company Ltd, Bajaj Finance Ltd, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles Ltd, Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone Ltd and Eternal Ltd were the major gainers. However, Eicher Motors Ltd, Infosys Ltd, Tata Consumer Products Ltd, Tata Consultancy Services Ltd, Wipro Ltd and HCL Technologies Ltd were the biggest laggards. The divergence reflects selective investor interest with PSU banks and media stocks leading the decline in the current session.
Nifty Realty climbed more than 6% driven by Prestige Estates and Phoenix Mills, while the Nifty Pharma index hit a record high and advanced for the third straight month, supported by gains in Ajanta Pharma and IPCA Laboratories. According to ET Now, the Nifty Midcap and Nifty Smallcap indices extended their gains for a third consecutive month, with more than 50% of their constituents closing the month in positive territory. The Nifty PSU Bank index also rose around 4%, with Federal Bank and IDFC First Bank emerging as the top performers. InterGlobe Aviation and Max Healthcare led the Nifty 50 advance, while Bank Nifty gained about 6% during the month. However, Nifty IT was the worst-performing sector, falling around 9.5% and extending losses for a second consecutive month, led by Persistent Systems and Wipro. The Nifty Metal index snapped its two-month winning streak, with Vedanta and NALCO leading the decline, while Nifty Energy also ended its two-month winning run.
Despite Tuesday's decline, the Nifty has gained 7% in the first quarter of FY27, marking its best quarterly performance in a year according to CNBC TV18. The S&P BSE Sensex declined 249.70 points or 0.33% to 76,478.67, while the Nifty 50 index fell 80.50 points or 0.34% to 23,865.75. In two consecutive trading sessions, the Sensex dropped 0.80% while the Nifty fell 0.79%. Market volatility increased with NSE's India VIX rising 4.29% to 13.61, indicating heightened investor uncertainty. The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal paper was down 0.71% to 6.707 compared with the previous close of 6.755. GIFT Nifty on NSE trading higher by 45.5 points or 0.19% at 23,999.50, signaling that Dalal Street was headed for a positive start on Tuesday. Aluminium prices rose nearly 1% in futures trade on Tuesday, following firm cues from the global markets. Despite the broader market weakness, pharma stocks bucked the trend and ended higher, providing some support to the overall market performance. The mixed performance across sectors reflects selective investor interest and ongoing concerns about earnings momentum in key sectors like IT and banking.
