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The BSE Sensex closes at 73,249.39, down 460.30 points, or 0.62%, while the NSE Nifty settles at 22,687.65, declining 123.70 points, or 0.54%.
Stock Markets Today.
Indian equity benchmarks ended lower on Thursday, October 22, as selling pressure persisted across broader markets, with FMCG, IT and consumer-facing stocks weighing on investor sentiment. The sell-off comes after crude oil prices traded above $111 per barrel.
The Sensex and Nifty recovered from their intraday lows but remained in the red at the close, while small-cap stocks underperformed frontline indices.
The BSE Sensex closed at 73,249.39, down 460.30 points, or 0.62%. The index opened at 73,343.33 and slipped to an intraday low of 73,005.11 before recovering some losses. It touched a high of 73,720.83 during the session, compared with its previous close of 73,709.69.
The NSE Nifty settled at 22,687.65, declining 123.70 points, or 0.54%, from its previous close of 22,811.35. The index touched an intraday low of 22,554.85 and a high of 22,785.
The broader market remained under pressure, with the Nifty Smallcap 100 falling 1.14% and the Nifty Smallcap 250 declining 1.09%. The Nifty Midcap 100 shed 0.87%, while the Nifty Midcap 150 lost 0.81%.
The Nifty 500 declined 0.65%, while the Nifty 100 fell 0.52%. The Nifty Next 50 ended 0.45% lower, indicating that selling pressure extended beyond the benchmark indices.
The India VIX, a measure of expected market volatility, rose 0.90% to 15.82, reflecting a modest increase in market nervousness.
Sectoral performance remained largely weak, with the Nifty Media index falling 2.35%, the steepest decline among the listed sectoral indices. The Nifty FMCG index dropped 1.41%, while the Nifty IT index declined 1.05%.
The Nifty Consumer Durables index lost 0.96%, followed by the Nifty Oil & Gas index, which fell 0.86%. The Nifty Chemicals and Nifty Auto indices declined 0.83% and 0.73%, respectively.
The Nifty Metal index slipped 0.52%, while the Nifty Realty index fell 0.30%. Banking stocks were relatively resilient: the Nifty Bank declined just 0.09%, while the Nifty Private Bank index lost 0.14%.
A few sectors bucked the broader trend. The Nifty Pharma index gained 0.12%, while the Nifty PSU Bank index rose 0.07%. The Nifty Healthcare index edged up 0.05%.
Among Sensex constituents shown in the closing heatmap, Bajaj Finance gained 1.61%, emerging as the strongest gainer, followed by UltraTech Cement, which rose 1.52%. ICICI Bank advanced 0.71%, while Sun Pharma gained 0.51%. SBI and Bharti Airtel also ended higher.
On the losing side, Reliance Industries fell 2.59%, while Eternal declined 2.20%. HDFC Bank lost 1.85%, and Power Grid Corporation dropped 1.71%. Asian Paints and Trent also traded lower.
Vinod Nair, head of research at Geojit Investments, said, “Inflation concerns took centre stage today as renewed escalation in West Asia sent crude prices sharply higher. The rupee reversed its recent trend, weakening steadily through the session, which weighed on investor sentiment. Although the benchmark indices attempted a recovery led by banking stocks, the move failed to sustain at higher levels. With domestic bond yields climbing back to recent highs, equity valuation premiums came under renewed scrutiny, and selling broadened across almost all sectors. Consequently, tracking negative global cues ahead of Japan’s inflation data, Indian equities ended lower after a volatile session, with mid- and small-cap segments underperforming large caps.”
In the near term, foreign flows could remain under pressure as investors stay cautious on yields ahead of next week’s policy decisions by the Fed, ECB and BoJ. Domestically, market direction will depend on Q2 earnings delivery, as investors react to management commentary on the demand outlook for the coming quarters, he added.
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Ask News18Indian equity benchmarks ended lower on Thursday, October 22, 2026, due to persistent selling pressure across broader markets and crude oil prices topping $111 per barrel.
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