Dalal Street Ends Lower, Sensex Closes Trade Over 83,600, Nifty Tests 25,700

The Indian benchmark indices closed lower as the Sensex ended above 83,600 declining more than 260 points while the Nifty tested 25,700 falling over 50 points.

In the 30-share BSE Sensex, among the top gainers were stocks such as Eternal, TechMahindra, ICICI Bank, State Bank of India and TCS. Meanwhile, the laggards included stocks like Kotak Bank, Titan, HCLTech, Bajaj Finance and Tata Steel.

In the broader markets, the Nifty India FPI 150 fell 0.34 per cent and the Nifty Smallcap gained 0.87 per cent. Sectorally, the Nifty Consumer Durables index fell 0.89 per cent and the Nifty Media jumped 0.76 per cent.

During the previous session, equity benchmark indices opened on a positive note on Tuesday but soon erased early gains to trade lower. In the morning session the BSE Sensex rose 379.86 points to 84,258.03 in early trade, while the 50-share NSE Nifty climbed 109.55 points to 25,899.80. However, the momentum did not sustain. The Sensex later slipped 244.98 points to 83,627.36, and the Nifty declined 74.30 points to 25,716.70.

What's Fuelling The Decline?

Among Sensex constituents, Larsen & Toubro, HCL Technologies, Reliance Industries, Bharti Airtel, Tata Consultancy Services and Tata Steel were the major laggards. The selling pressure followed weak quarterly earnings from IT majors.

Tata Consultancy Services on Monday reported a 13.91 per cent fall in net profit for the December quarter at Rs 10,657 crore, largely due to a one-time impact from new labour codes. HCL Technologies also posted subdued results, reporting an 11.2 per cent decline in consolidated net profit to Rs 4,076 crore for the October–December quarter of FY26.

Select Banking, Tech Stocks Gain

On the positive side, Eternal, Tech Mahindra, State Bank of India and HDFC Bank were among the gainers in the 30-share Sensex pack, providing some support to the broader market.

Inflation, Institutional Flows in Focus

Retail inflation edged up to a three-month high of 1.33 per cent in December, driven mainly by higher food prices. Despite the rise, inflation remained below the Reserve Bank of India’s lower tolerance threshold.

In terms of institutional activity, foreign institutional investors sold equities worth ₹3,638.40 crore on Monday. In contrast, domestic institutional investors bought shares worth ₹5,839.32 crore, according to exchange data.

Global Markets Mixed, Oil Price Edges Up

Asian markets were largely positive, with South Korea’s Kospi, Japan’s Nikkei 225 and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng trading higher. China’s Shanghai Composite index, however, quoted marginally lower. US markets ended in positive territory overnight.

Brent crude oil, the global benchmark, rose 0.30 per cent to USD 64.06 per barrel.