The Indian benchmark indices declined sharply on Tuesday as the Sensex ended trade at 82,153.74 or over 1,092 points lower and the Nifty fell more than 353 points to close at 25,232.50, at 3:30 PM.
In the 30-share BSE Sensex, the stock that gained was HDFC Bank and the laggards included stocks like State Bank of India, ICICI Bank, Kotak Bank, Bharat Electronics and Bharti Airtel.
Previously, during early morning trade BSE Sensex started the day below 83,200, tanking more than 50 points, while the NSE Nifty50 began trading around 25,550, slipping almost 30 points at 9:15 AM.
What’s Fueling The Decline?
Market participants said sentiment remains under pressure as elevated geopolitical risks, sustained foreign investor outflows and continued weakness in the rupee converge to restrain gains in domestic equities, even during brief rebound phases.
“Heightened geopolitical tensions, along with persistent foreign investor selling and continued weakness in the rupee, are weighing on confidence and likely to cap any meaningful upside in domestic equities even during short-term recoveries. Steady buying by domestic institutional investors continues to act as a key stabiliser, absorbing selling pressure and helping prevent deeper drawdowns in the market,” said Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money, an online trading and wealth tech firm.
Donald Trump’s Fresh Tariff Threats
Fresh tariff threats by US President Donald Trump against select European countries sparked a global risk-off sentiment, weighing on domestic equities. Indian markets remained under pressure amid sustained foreign investor selling and continued weakness in the rupee against the dollar, keeping investors cautious through the session, said Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money, an online trading and wealth tech firm.
On the macroeconomic front, the International Monetary Fund on Monday raised India’s growth forecast for FY26 to 7.3 per cent, marking a 0.7 percentage point upward revision from its October estimate, citing the economy’s stronger-than-expected performance.
