Sensex, Nifty Log Seventh Straight Loss, Close Near Six-Month Low as Brent Nears $108

Seven sessions, seven red closes. Indian benchmarks extended one of their longest losing runs on record on Monday, and the losses that began at the open (see our morning coverage) only deepened as the day went on.

The Sensex ended 1,124.02 points, or 1.52%, lower at 72,771.72. The Nifty 50 shed 360.25 points, or 1.56%, to settle at 22,780.25, closing near its lowest level in about six months. Over the past seven weeks, both indices have now given up close to 6%.

The Losing Streak In Numbers

The Nifty's intraday low in the morning had been 22,856. By the close it had fallen another 76 points below that, meaning buyers never mounted a serious recovery attempt. Market breadth told the same story: 2,905 stocks declined against just 1,214 that advanced, a ratio of roughly 2.4 to 1.

Nervousness showed up clearly in the volatility gauge. India VIX jumped nearly 12% to about 13.6, and Bank Nifty underperformed the headline index with a 1.99% fall. The total market capitalisation of BSE-listed companies shrank by roughly ₹8.88 lakh crore in the single session.

PSU Banks Lead The Slide

Every sectoral index finished lower, but state-run lenders took the hardest hit. The Nifty PSU Bank index fell about 3%, the steepest drop among sectors, while the telecom gauge lost around 2%. Energy, infrastructure, FMCG, realty, private banks, metals and oil and gas each dropped more than 1%.

Smaller stocks fared worse than the benchmarks. The Nifty midcap index fell 1.7% and the smallcap index lost 1.8%, showing the risk-off move went well beyond index heavyweights.

Among Nifty constituents, Jio Financial Services, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles, Tata Consumer Products, Adani Enterprises and Adani Ports were among the heaviest losers. Dr Reddy's Laboratories and Infosys were two of the few names that finished in the green, a pattern consistent with investors leaning toward exporters when the rupee is under pressure.

Oil Climbed Further Through The Day

The external trigger did not ease during the session. After the weekend's diplomatic dead end, in which US President Donald Trump turned down an Iranian proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, Brent crude futures rose as much as 3.7% to around $108 a barrel, above the $106 level seen in early trade.

The rupee reflected that strain, weakening about 0.2% to close near 95.98 per US dollar, its softest level in more than a week.

Foreign Money Keeps Leaving

Overseas investors have been steady sellers through this slide. Provisional data showed foreign institutional investors sold shares worth about ₹3,694 crore on Friday alone, taking their September outflows to around $1.8 billion and year-to-date net selling to roughly $25.86 billion.

What Could Change The Mood

The market's direction in the near term looks tied less to domestic earnings and more to three external variables: whether US-Iran talks restart in a meaningful way, where Brent settles, and whether foreign selling slows. Mediators are reported to be working on reviving indirect negotiations this week, which could offer relief if they produce anything concrete. Until then, the mix of expensive oil, a weak rupee and persistent foreign outflows is likely to keep investors defensive.

For a broader weekly view of these trends, see the latest Market Pulse issue.

This is an original summary based on public reporting. See our editorial policy for how we source, write, and correct our stories.