Sensex falls 548 points, Nifty slips below 22,400 as rising bond yields weigh

The key equity benchmarks ended lower on Monday, extending their cautious trend as investors awaited India's September inflation data. Persistent concerns over elevated crude oil prices and a sharp rise in Indian bond yields weighed on sentiment. Although oil prices retreated amid hopes of easing geopolitical tensions between Russia and Ukraine, Brent crude remained above $105 a barrel, keeping concerns over imported inflation and pressure on the rupee in focus. Investors also assessed the implications of the Reserve Bank of India's recent tightening measures for liquidity and borrowing costs. The Nifty settled below the 22,400 mark, while sectoral performance remained mixed, with auto and realty shares advancing even as FMCG and PSU bank stocks declined.

The S&P BSE Sensex declined 547.65 points or 0.76% to 71,924.68. The Nifty 50 index dropped 157.10 points or 0.70% to 22,363.35.

Larsen & Toubro (down 2.05%), Bharti Airtel (down 1.46%) and ICICI Bank (down 1.11%) were major Nifty drags today.

The broader market outperformed frontline indices. The BSE 150 MidCap Index added 0.13% and the BSE 250 SmallCap Index jumped 1.08%.

The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 2,295 shares rose and 1,909 shares fell. A total of 239 shares were unchanged.

Consumer Price Index (CPI):

India's retail inflation (CPI) accelerated to 5.54% in September 2026, up from 4.83% in August, driven by a sharp increase in food prices, according to data released on 12 October by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI). The rate marked its highest level in the current CPI series.

The inflation remained above the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) 4% medium-term target for the fourth consecutive month. It remained within the central bank's 2%-6% tolerance band.

RBI Measures:

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has announced a special facility to meet the entire daily US dollar requirements of three public sector oil marketing companies?Indian Oil Corporation (IOCL), Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL) and Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL). According to an RBI press release, the central bank will sell US dollars to the three companies through designated banks to meet their foreign exchange requirements. The facility will come into effect tomorrow and remain operational until further notice. The RBI said the decision was taken following an assessment of prevailing market conditions and is aimed at facilitating the foreign exchange requirements of the three state-owned oil marketing companies.

In separate circulars, the RBI prohibited the rebooking of cancelled rupee-linked foreign exchange derivative contracts while allowing rollovers on maturity subject to existing regulations. It also reduced the threshold for taking foreign exchange derivative positions without establishing underlying exposure from $100 million to $5 million, both for contracted exposures hedged through authorised dealers and for exchange-traded currency derivatives involving the rupee.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has raised the minimum daily Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) maintenance requirement for scheduled banks to 99% from 90%, effective from the reporting fortnight beginning October 16, 2026. Under the existing framework, banks are required to maintain at least 90% of the prescribed CRR on a daily basis, provided their average daily balance over the reporting fortnight meets the CRR requirement stipulated by the RBI.

Numbers to Track:

In the commodities market, Brent crude for December 2026 settlement rose 88 cents or 0.84% to $105.60 a barrel.

The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal paper jumped 1.18% to 7.388 compared with the previous session close of 7.302.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 95.7800 compared with its close of 96.7100 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 4 December 2026 settlement fell 1.05% to Rs 1,49,910.

The US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was up 0.17% to 102.38.

The United States 10-year bond yield rose 0.23% to 5.256.

Global Markets:

European shares advanced on Monday as investors weighed easing crude oil prices, geopolitical developments and the start of the third-quarter earnings season. Sentiment was supported by hopes of reduced energy supply disruptions following US President Donald Trump's announcement of a proposed Russia-Ukraine energy ceasefire. However, the proposal remained unconfirmed by Moscow, and reports of continued attacks on energy infrastructure highlighted uncertainty over its implementation.

Brent crude futures declined amid expectations of additional Russian diesel supplies after Moscow partially lifted its export ban from 10 October, allowing up to 500,000 metric tonnes of diesel to reach international markets. However, concerns persisted over Russia's ability to increase exports significantly, given reported damage to its refining infrastructure from Ukrainian strikes and the need to meet domestic fuel demand.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian attacks on Russian infrastructure reportedly included strikes on data centres operated by Yandex, disrupting some digital services. Continued attacks on both sides underscored the uncertainty surrounding the proposed energy truce and the potential impact on global fuel supplies.

Asian equity markets ended mixed amid geopolitical uncertainty and caution ahead of key corporate earnings. Trading activity was subdued, with Japan's markets closed for Sports Day. US stock exchanges remained open, but the Treasury market observed the Columbus Day holiday, suspending cash trading in US government securities.

US stocks ended higher on Friday, with all three major indices advancing and recording weekly gains. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 423.31 points, or 0.83%, to 51,654.95. The S&P 500 gained 46.18 points, or 0.59%, to 7,811.54, while the Nasdaq Composite advanced 172.83 points, or 0.64%, to 27,366.17.

Investors will focus on the US September-quarter earnings season, with major banks scheduled to report results from Tuesday. US consumer price index (CPI) data due on Wednesday will also be a key trigger, as investors assess the inflation outlook and its implications for the Federal Reserve's interest-rate policy.

Stocks in Spotlight:

HCL Technologies rose 0.52%. The company announced a Global Premier Partnership with Anthropic to accelerate enterprise adoption of agentic AI, with a focus on safety, cybersecurity and governance. HCLTech will establish a dedicated business unit and a Centre of Excellence to develop AI solutions and support secure enterprise deployments. Its software arm, HCLSoftware, will integrate Claude capabilities into select products, including HCL BigFix and HCL AppScan. HCLTech will also integrate Claude and Claude Code into its AIForce platform to support IT services, code remediation and digital employee services, with safeguards and human oversight for high-impact changes.

Avenue Supermarts (DMart) fell 4.32% after the company reported a 7.64% YoY increase and a 14.12% QoQ decline in standalone profit after tax to Rs 803.60 crore in Q2 FY27. Revenue from operations rose 18.42% YoY and 4.70% QoQ to Rs 19,206.18 crore. The company opened 15 new stores during the quarter, taking its total store count to 518 as of 30 September 2026. Same-store growth for DMart outlets that were at least two years old stood at 9.5% in Q2 FY27, compared with 6.8% in Q2 FY26.

Tech Mahindra fell 2.85%, tracking weakness in global telecom stocks after SpaceX's expansion plans raised concerns over increased competition in the wireless communications market. The development triggered concerns that SpaceX could emerge as a stronger competitor to traditional wireless operators by combining satellite connectivity with terrestrial mobile network capabilities. Communications is Tech Mahindra's largest revenue-generating vertical, accounting for 32.3% of revenue in Q1 FY27.

PTC Industries jumped 5.34% after the company announced the successful completion of its qualified institutional placement (QIP), raising Rs 1,799 crore through the issue of equity shares to institutional investors. The QIP opened on October 6 and closed on October 9, 2026. The company's Listing and Fund-Raising Committee approved the allotment of shares at its meeting held on October 9.

The company allotted 8,54,700 equity shares to the eligible qualified institutional buyers at the issue price of Rs 21,060 per equity share including a premium of Rs 21,050 per equity share, aggregating to Rs 1,799 crore.

Following the allotment, PTC Industries' paid-up equity share capital increased to Rs 15.85 crore from Rs 14.99 crore, while the number of outstanding equity shares rose to 1.58 crore from 1.50 crore.

Swaraj Engines jumped 9.24% after the company reported a 21.9% increase in net profit to Rs 60.57 crore in Q2 FY27, compared with Rs 49.68 crore in Q2 FY26. Revenue from operations rose 26% year on year to Rs 635.19 crore in the quarter ended 30 September 2026.

Aeroflex Industries surged 10.09% after the company announced that its board of directors will meet on Wednesday, October 14, 2026, to consider expansion plans.

Rajesh Power Services rose 4.44% after the company secured turnkey contracts worth Rs 471.92 crore, inclusive of taxes, from Madhya Gujarat Vij Company Limited (MGVCL).

Siyaram Recycling Industries rose 1.28% after the company secured an order worth Rs 2.02 crore from Green Metals FZCO, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, for brass billets.

Waterways Leisure Tourism spurted 4.17% after the company reported a consolidated adjusted net profit of Rs 10.98 crore in Q2 FY27, compared with a loss of Rs 8.93 crore in Q2 FY26. Net sales rose 30.88% YoY to Rs 132.90 crore from Rs 101.54 crore in the year-ago quarter.

The company received exceptional income of Rs 49.48 crore from $5.2 million in compensation for the early delivery and handover of the vessel SKY on 10 September 2026, ahead of its originally scheduled delivery date of 30 September 2026. The compensation was received under an agreement dated 1 September 2026 with Norwegian Sky Limited and was classified as an exceptional item.

Powered by Capital Market - Live News