The Indian stock market closed in the red for the fourth consecutive session as stagnant energy prices, volatility in bond yields and fear of interest rate hikes spread panic among investors. At market close, BSE Sensex fell 570.59 points, or 0.79 per cent, to 71,909.70 and Nifty 50 fell 198.50 points, or 0.88 per cent, to 22,421.95.
There was a huge decline in the major indices of the stock market in the day's trading, with the BSE Sensex index falling to the new low of the calendar year. The Sensex witnessed a massive fall of 1,280 points in intra-day trading, falling from a high of 72,573 to a low of 71,293. Meanwhile, the index fell below its previous 2026 low of 71,545 made on April 2, 2026.
Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty 50 index fell 1.7 per cent or 394 points during the day, hitting an all-time low of 22,217. The highest level of the day was 22,611. The index had touched a calendar year low of 22,183 in April.
In the Nifty50 index, Bajaj Auto, Maruti Suzuki, Shriram Finance, Tata Steel, Grasim Industries, Eicher Motors and Mahindra & Mahindra were the biggest losers, while on the contrary, Infosys, HDFC Life, HDFC Bank, SBI Life, Max Health and TCS were the biggest gainers.
In the broader market, Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 closed down by 1.01 per cent and 0.97 per cent respectively.
Sector wise, the biggest decline was recorded in Nifty Auto, Nifty Metal, Nifty Media and Nifty FMCG, while the biggest increase was seen in Nifty IT.
A market expert said that the main reason for the decline in the market was external factors; Bond yields have hit multi-year highs and crude oil prices remain high, raising concerns about the economic outlook for 2026-27. At the same time, even within the country, investors are cautious about the second quarter (Q2) results and the RBI policy coming next week.
The expert further said that it is expected that Q2 earnings will be weaker than Q1, because in Q1 there was benefit from the impact of operating costs, which may not be the same this time.
At the same time, RBI, which was more open-minded in its previous policy, may now consider changing its stance in view of global inflationary pressure and the need to support the rupee. Despite this, it is important to note that India's economy remains strong and is well placed to face these challenges.
“Long-term investors can remain invested and take advantage of the market weakness to gradually make further investments, while short-term investors can adopt a ‘wait and watch’ strategy until strong actions by international institutions and governments bring stability to the global financial markets,” the expert said.