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EQUITY
Key gauges end sharply lower dragged by private banks
Oct-19-2026

Indian equity benchmarks ended sharply lower on Monday after two days of a rally, with the Sensex tumbling 876 points and the Nifty dropping below 22,900 mark, following a decline in private bank stocks, mainly HDFC Bank and Axis Bank, and weak global trends. Adding to the worries, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) have withdrawn Rs 52,100 crore from Indian equities in October so far, as elevated crude oil prices, higher US bond yields and a stronger dollar weighed on investor sentiment.

Some of the important factors in trade: 

India needs rapid reforms to become developed nation by 2047: Expressing optimism about India’s growth prospects, NITI Aayog Vice Chairman Ashok Kumar Lahiri has said that India needs rapid economic reforms and structural changes to become a developed nation by 2047. 

India’s FTAs provide preferential access to markets accounting for major share of global trade: Underscoring the significant commercial opportunities offered by India’s Free Trade Agreements (FTAs), Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal has noted that India’s agreements provide preferential access to markets accounting for a major share of global trade. 

Trump’s sanctions waiver under SRIA provides temporary respite for India: The Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) said that US President Donald Trump's waiver from sanctions, restrictions and tariffs under the Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act (SRIA) provides India temporary relief but offers no lasting certainty. India should safeguard its energy security and buy oil on commercial terms.

Pharma stocks remain in watch: The drug pricing regulator - National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) has capped trade margins on 137 non-scheduled anti-cancer formulations at 30%. The retailers and hospitals must charge reduced rates from November 9, 2026 and display the revised prices in their pharmacies. 

Global front: European markets were trading lower as civil unrest and Middle East tensions drove broad selling across sectors. Asian markets settled mostly lower with AI spending concerns and elevated oil prices kept investors on edge. China reported better-than-expected Q3 GDP growth, helping limit regional losses to some extent.

Finally, the BSE Sensex fell 876.37 points or 1.17% to 73,852.90 and the CNX Nifty was down by 257.20 points or 1.11% to 22,888.95.

The BSE Sensex touched high and low of 74,849.75 and 73,708.54, respectively. There were 5 stocks advancing against 25 stocks declining on the index. 

The top losing sectoral indices on the BSE were FMCG down by 1.51%, IT down by 1.38%, TECK down by 1.30%, Basic Materials down by 1.28% and Realty down by 1.23%, while there was no gaining sectoral indices on the BSE. 

The top gainers on the Sensex were State Bank Of India up by 1.12%, Adani Ports &Special up by 1.07%, Larsen & Toubro up by 0.61%, Interglobe Aviation up by 0.24% and Maruti Suzuki India up by 0.00%. On the flip side, Axis Bank down by 3.85%, Ultratech Cement down by 2.82%, Infosys down by 2.72%, Bajaj Finance down by 2.54% and Trent down by 2.43% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, underscoring the significant commercial opportunities offered by India’s Free Trade Agreements (FTAs), Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal has noted that India’s agreements provide preferential access to markets accounting for a major share of global trade. This will create numerous jobs and huge opportunities for farmers, women entrepreneurs, youth, MSMEs, artisans and industry. During ‘Leveraging FTAs’ Outreach Programme in Jaipur, Commerce Minister urged them to make use of reduced- or zero-duty access by focusing on quality. 

Besides, he highlighted the new market opportunities for Indian industry and businesses opened through India’s recently concluded FTAs. The objective of the outreach programme is to move beyond negotiating market access to helping enterprises actually use it, with targeted information, capacity building, practical guidance and coordination among the Department of Commerce, the State Government, industry associations and exporters.

Meanwhile, India’s exports of merchandise and services have continued to register growth. Cumulative exports during April-September 2026-27 are estimated at $476.20 billion, compared with $418.31 billion during the corresponding period of 2025-26, registering estimated growth of 13.84%. Major drivers of merchandise export growth in September 2026 included electronic goods, petroleum products, organic and inorganic chemicals, engineering goods, and cotton yarn, fabrics, made-ups and handloom products.

CNX Nifty touched high and low of 23,175.25 and 22,845.00, respectively. There were 9 stocks advancing against 41 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were JSW Steel up by 2.06%, ONGC up by 1.35%, State Bank of India up by 1.15%, Larsen & Toubro up by 0.96% and Eicher Motors up by 0.89%. On the flip side, Axis Bank down by 4.19%, Tata Motors Passenger down by 3.09%, Infosys down by 2.63%, Bajaj Finance down by 2.52% and Apollo Hospital down by 2.41% were the top losers. 

European markets were trading lower; UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 115 points or 1.06% to 10,766.90, France’s CAC fell 116 points or 1.46% to 7,840.70 and Germany’s DAX lost 313.61 points or 1.22% to 25,309.00.

Asian markets settled mostly lower on Monday following a sharp, tech-led sell-off on Wall Street last Friday, which was fuelled by mounting investor anxiety over the massive funding needs and valuation sustainability of the artificial intelligence boom. Indonesian market extended severe market rout, with the benchmark Jakarta Composite Index dropping below the critical 5,000 psychological level to hit a fresh six-year low. Meanwhile, Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh’s strong optimism regarding US and global economic resilience during the IMF and World Bank annual meetings in Bangkok, better-than-expected China's Q3 GDP growth, and a drop in crude oil prices boosted some investor confidence. China’s economic growth accelerated to 4.5% in the third quarter, picking up from a three-year low of 4.3% in the prior quarter. Meanwhile, the Hong Kong Stock Exchange remained closed today in observance of the Double Ninth Festival (Chung Yeung Festival).

Asian Indices

Last Trade            

Change in Points

Change in %      

Shanghai Composite

3,730.92

14.64

0.39

Hang Seng

--

--

--

Jakarta Composite

4,996.61

-188.50

-3.64

KLSE Composite

1,595.75

-12.01

-0.75

Nikkei 225

64,916.70

-407.59

-0.62

Straits Times

5,412.00

-3.53

-0.07

KOSPI Composite

5,768.01

99.96

1.76

Taiwan Weighted

46,822.08

-289.18

-0.61
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