Sensex Falls 460 Points, Nifty Ends Below 22,700 as Crude Tops $110

The Sensex fell 460.30 points to 73,249.39 and the Nifty 50 lost 0.54% to 22,687.65 on Oct. 22, 2026, a third straight decline, as crude oil rose above $110.

Oct 22, 2026 - 07:20

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India's main equity benchmarks fell for a third consecutive session on Thursday, October 22, 2026, as crude oil prices climbed above $110 a barrel on renewed tensions in West Asia, the rupee weakened and selling spread across most sectors. The BSE Sensex closed 460.30 points, or 0.62%, lower at 73,249.39, and the NSE Nifty 50 fell 123.70 points, or 0.54%, to 22,687.65, News18 and Moneycontrol reported.

How the session unfolded

The Sensex opened at 73,343.33, below Wednesday's close of 73,709.69, and fell to an intraday low of 73,005.11 before recovering part of its losses, according to News18. Its session high was 73,720.83, giving a trading range of 715.72 points, India TV News reported. The Nifty moved between 22,554.85 and 22,785 after closing at 22,811.35 the previous day. Selling was heaviest in the afternoon: at about 2 p.m. India time, the Sensex was down 523.54 points, or 0.71%, at 73,186.15, and the Nifty was down 181.50 points, or 0.80%, at 22,629.85, according to Moneycontrol's live coverage, before both indices pared part of those losses into the close.

Market breadth was negative. About 1,323 shares advanced, 2,670 declined and 155 were unchanged, Moneycontrol reported. Among index members, 11 of the 30 Sensex companies and 14 of the 50 Nifty companies closed higher, according to India TV News.

Broader market and sectors

Smaller companies underperformed the benchmarks. The Nifty Smallcap 100 fell 1.14% and the Nifty Midcap 100 lost 0.87%, while the Nifty Next 50 ended 0.45% lower, News18 reported. The India VIX, a gauge of expected volatility, rose 0.90% to 15.82.

The Nifty Media index posted the steepest sectoral decline, down 2.35%. The Nifty FMCG index fell 1.41% and the Nifty IT index declined 1.05%, followed by consumer durables, down 0.96%, and oil and gas, down 0.86%. Banking shares held up better: the Nifty Bank index slipped 0.09%, while the Nifty Pharma and Nifty PSU Bank indices gained 0.12% and 0.07%, respectively, according to News18.

Stocks that moved

Bajaj Finance was the strongest Sensex gainer, rising 1.61%, followed by UltraTech Cement, up 1.52%, News18 reported. ICICI Bank added 0.71% and Sun Pharma gained 0.51%, while State Bank of India and Bharti Airtel also closed higher. Reliance Industries was the largest decliner, falling 2.59%, followed by Eternal, down 2.20%, HDFC Bank, down 1.85%, and Power Grid Corporation, down 1.71%.

On the Nifty, the biggest losers included Nestle India, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles, HDFC Life, Tech Mahindra and Reliance Industries, Moneycontrol reported, while Bajaj Finance, Cipla, SBI, Bajaj Auto and ICICI Bank were among the gainers.

Oil, the rupee and bond yields

The Indian rupee declined about 30 paise to 94.81 against the U.S. dollar as crude stayed above $110 a barrel, India TV News reported. Vinod Nair, head of research at Geojit Investments, said renewed escalation in West Asia had sent crude prices sharply higher and that the rupee "reversed its recent trend, weakening steadily through the session, which weighed on investor sentiment."

"With domestic bond yields climbing back to recent highs, equity valuation premiums came under renewed scrutiny, and selling broadened across almost all sectors," Nair said, according to News18. He added that foreign flows could remain under pressure ahead of policy decisions next week by the U.S. Federal Reserve, the European Central Bank and the Bank of Japan, and that domestic market direction would depend on second-quarter corporate earnings.

Thursday's decline extended a two-day slide. On Wednesday, October 21, the Sensex had fallen 143.21 points and the Nifty 0.34% after an early rally faded.