Indian Markets Slide for Second Day as IT Stocks Lead Fall; Monsoon Delay Stirs Concern
Benchmark stock indices Sensex and Nifty declined on Tuesday for the second consecutive session, dragged down by selling in information technology, oil and gas, and select banking stocks. Uncertainty over the next round of U.S.–Iran negotiations in Doha also weighed on sentiment.
The 30-share BSE Sensex fell 249.70 points, or 0.33%, to close at 76,478.67, after touching an intraday low of 76,329.39. The 50-share NSE Nifty dropped 80.50 points, or 0.34%, to end at 23,865.75.
Analysts attributed the decline to a delayed and sluggish southwest monsoon, fresh outflows by foreign institutional investors, and a drop in blue-chip IT stocks. According to exchange data, foreign investors sold equities worth ₹1,350.10 crore on Monday.
Among Sensex stocks, Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services, HCL Tech, Tech Mahindra, ITC, and Hindustan Unilever were the top losers. Gainers included Maruti, Titan, Bajaj Finance, and Eternal.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude edged up 0.23% to $73.32 per barrel.
Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Investments Limited, said: “The domestic market remained in a consolidation phase, trading within a narrow range and exhibiting a mixed trend. Although geopolitical concerns have eased, the fragile nature of the U.S.–Iran peace deal continues to weigh on sentiment, preventing any meaningful directional move.”
He added: “On the domestic front, the current monsoon trend – pointing to the worst deficit in a decade – raises concerns about agricultural output and allied sectors, further impacting sentiment amid expectations of weak Q1FY27 earnings.”
Broader markets showed some resilience, with the BSE SmallCap Select index gaining 0.59% and the MidCap Select index rising 0.46%. However, sectoral indices were mostly in the red: BSE Focused IT fell 2.62%, IT dropped 2.48%, PSU Bank declined 0.68%, and Bankex lost 0.25%. Meanwhile, the BSE Metal, Utilities, and Private Banks indices also ended lower.
