Thursday, 22 October 2026. The Nifty lost 123.70 points (0.54%) to close at 22,687.65, its third fall in a row, as Brent crude climbed toward $112 a barrel after fresh Houthi attacks in Saudi Arabia led the US to order some of its diplomats out of the kingdom, HDFC Sky reported. Almost the entire loss was there at 9:15: the index opened 123.60 points down and finished the day just 0.10 below that opening price. Underneath, the selling was wider than the headline suggests, with 2,670 shares falling against 1,323 rising. Nestle India was the worst of the Nifty 50, down 2.78%, after the food regulator issued notices over claims on its infant formula.
| Index | Close | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Nifty 50 | 22,687.65 | −123.70 pts (−0.54%) |
| Sensex | 73,249.39 | −460.30 pts (−0.62%) |
| Bank Nifty | 54,925.70 | −51.20 pts (−0.09%) |
| Nifty Midcap 100 | 57,063.95 | −501.90 pts (−0.87%) |
| Nifty Smallcap 100 | 18,275.90 | −211.40 pts (−1.14%) |
| India VIX | 15.76 | +0.08 (+0.51%) |
Brent near $112 after the US tells staff to leave Saudi Arabia
Brent was at $111.98 a barrel this evening, up 2.90% on the day, Trading Economics showed. Washington has ordered non-emergency government employees and their families to leave Saudi Arabia, citing increasing attacks by the Iran-aligned Houthis, and a drone hit the Shaybah oilfield. During Indian trading hours IIFL put Brent at $110.11, up $1.29, and also cited reports of possible renewed US and Israeli strikes on Iran. By IIFL's count crude has risen about 80% this year. The four-year high, $114.44, was set on 4 May.
Nifty Energy fell 1.05%. Reliance Industries dropped 2.03% to ₹1,184.50, which was also its low of the day; it had opened just under its ₹1,208.00 high and fell from there. I found no company-specific news for Reliance today. Zee Business's closing headline named Reliance and HDFC Bank as the drags on the indices.
FSSAI notices hit Nestle India and the FMCG index
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India issued notices over promotional claims on two Nestle India formulas, Lactogen Pro 1 and NAN Excella Pro Stage 1, and on Zydus Wellness's Complan, Upstox reported. For Lactogen the regulator queried the line that its whey protein is "easy to digest"; for NAN Excella, a claim that "5 HMOs" support the immune system; for Complan, "2X Faster Growth". Nestle said it had already submitted a detailed response. These are the same two Nestle products over which FSSAI started legal action on 18 September, when the stock fell nearly 2%, DSIJ reported at the time.
Nestle India closed 2.78% lower at ₹1,189.90. Zydus Wellness, outside the Nifty, was down 1.60% at ₹484.15 by 10:33 AM and ended about 3.4% lower, HDFC Sky reported, with Abbott India down 1.3%. The rest of the consumer staples went down with them, though by less: Hindustan Unilever and ITC each lost 1.18% and Tata Consumer 1.12%. Nifty FMCG fell 1.41%, the second-worst of the ten sector indices I track, after Media.
| Fell most in the Nifty 50 | Close | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Nestle India | ₹1,189.90 | −2.78% |
| Eternal | ₹304.45 | −2.53% |
| HDFC Life | ₹528.35 | −2.09% |
| Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles | ₹270.00 | −2.07% |
| Reliance Industries | ₹1,184.50 | −2.03% |
| HDFC Bank | ₹694.05 | −1.82% |
| Bharat Electronics | ₹364.50 | −1.80% |
| Adani Enterprises | ₹2,550.00 | −1.72% |
| Trent | ₹2,775.80 | −1.64% |
Eternal traded its September-quarter numbers for the first time, after reporting on Wednesday evening a 92.3% rise in profit to ₹125 crore and a 77.6% rise in revenue to ₹24,138 crore (Kotak Neo). It traded as high as ₹319.00 and as low as ₹303.60, and closed 2.53% down. I found no report explaining the move (why shares can fall on good results).
The opening gap never closed
The Nifty opened at 22,687.75 against Wednesday's close of 22,811.35. It fell further in the first half-hour, to the day's low of 22,554.85 in the 9:30 candle, 256.50 points (1.12%) under Wednesday. The recovery from there peaked at 22,785.00 in the 11:00 candle, still 26.35 points short of the previous close, so the gap stayed open all day (how often the Nifty fills its opening gap).
From 11:30 the index slid back, closing the 11:45 candle at 22,630.90 and touching 22,585.35 in the 12:15 candle. Two later climbs faded: one to 22,756.90 in the 12:45 candle, and one in the 2:30 PM candle that closed at its high of 22,706.25 before the next candle gave it back to 22,648.50. The final candle closed at its high. The day's range was 230.15 points and the close sat 132.80 above the low.
India VIX ended 0.08 higher at 15.76 after moving between 14.32 and 16.67 (what the VIX measures).
Seoul and Hong Kong fell about 3%
Asian markets had a worse day than India's. South Korea's Kospi lost 3.1%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng nearly 3% and Japan's Nikkei 225 2.05%, IIFL reported, tying the selling to doubts about returns on large artificial-intelligence investments after mixed US technology earnings. Nifty IT fell 1.05% on the day before Infosys reports.
Banks flat, Bajaj Finance rebounds
Bank Nifty ended almost flat, down 0.09%, as ICICI Bank rose 0.97% and SBI 0.73% while HDFC Bank fell 1.82%. Bajaj Finance, the Nifty 50's biggest faller on Wednesday after its results, recovered about half of that fall: it dropped ₹31.35 (3.27%) on Wednesday and added ₹16.10 today to close at ₹942.10, its high of the day, having opened near its ₹907.40 low. Cipla also closed at its high. Pharma and PSU Bank were the only two of the ten sector indices I track to finish higher.
| Rose most in the Nifty 50 | Close | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Bajaj Finance | ₹942.10 | +1.74% |
| Cipla | ₹1,330.90 | +1.29% |
| UltraTech Cement | ₹10,958.00 | +1.00% |
| ICICI Bank | ₹1,398.50 | +0.97% |
| Bajaj Auto | ₹10,155.00 | +0.82% |
| Sun Pharma | ₹1,758.00 | +0.74% |
| SBI | ₹970.00 | +0.73% |
| Nifty index | Close | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Pharma | 25,596.65 | +0.12% |
| PSU Bank | 8,257.40 | +0.07% |
| Financial Services | 24,657.70 | −0.14% |
| Realty | 803.45 | −0.30% |
| Metal | 11,798.35 | −0.52% |
| Auto | 25,011.50 | −0.73% |
| Energy | 35,101.45 | −1.05% |
| IT | 32,081.25 | −1.05% |
| FMCG | 43,105.45 | −1.41% |
| Media | 1,584.50 | −2.35% |
Smaller companies again fell further than the Nifty: the Smallcap 100 lost 1.14% and the Midcap 100 0.87%, though both fell by about half as much as on Wednesday.
Jio Platforms: 3.47 times subscribed by 11 AM on day two
By 11 AM the Jio Platforms issue had drawn bids for 3.47 times the shares on offer, with qualified institutions at 9.42 times, non-institutional investors at 2.34 times, Reliance shareholders at 2.06 times and employees at 1.61 times, according to BSE data reported by the Free Press Journal. The retail portion was fully booked within two hours of bidding opening. IIFL reported that day one drew ₹90,500 crore of bids. I could not confirm an end-of-day figure for Thursday from a source I could open, so it is not here. Bidding closes on Friday.
Flows: Wednesday's figures
Thursday's provisional FII and DII figures were not out when I checked this evening, and NSE's page timed out. On Wednesday foreign institutions were net buyers of ₹1,022.30 crore in the cash market and domestic institutions of ₹1,614.30 crore, NSE's provisional data showed, a change from Monday's foreign selling (how to read FII and DII data).
Friday: Infosys and the last day of the Jio issue
- Friday, 23 October: Infosys releases its September-quarter results at 3:45 PM; the Jio Platforms IPO closes.
- Monday, 26 October: Jio Platforms allotment.
- Tuesday, 27 October: monthly F&O expiry; the US Federal Reserve's two-day meeting begins.
- Wednesday, 28 October: Jio Platforms' expected listing.
- Tuesday, 10 November: next NSE trading holiday.
Before Friday's open I'll be checking Thursday's FII and DII numbers, Brent and any further news from Saudi Arabia, and GIFT Nifty overnight. This morning's pre-market report has what the market knew before the open, and Wednesday's post-market report has the Bajaj Finance and Eternal results.
Sources
- Index, sector and stock prices, the intraday path and India VIX: Zerodha Kite market data (NSE and BSE)
- Market close, the US order on Saudi Arabia, breadth, Abbott India: HDFC Sky
- Brent during Indian hours, Asian markets, Jio day-one bids: IIFL
- Brent this evening, Shaybah, May high: Trading Economics
- FSSAI notices: Upstox, Kotak Neo, Business Recorder; September action: DSIJ
- Eternal results: Kotak Neo
- Jio Platforms day two: Free Press Journal
- FII and DII flows: NSE provisional data via 5paisa
- Infosys results date: PSU Connect; other dates as in Wednesday's report
This note summarises public news and data for information only. It is not investment advice or a recommendation to buy or sell any security, and I don't publish levels, targets or trade ideas. I am not registered with SEBI as an investment adviser or research analyst.