Friday, 23 October 2026. The Nifty fell 87.65 points (0.39%) to 22,600, its fourth loss in a row, as Brent crude went past $114 a barrel after Yemen's Houthis claimed attacks on Saudi Arabia's Red Sea port of Yanbu. The index figure flattered the day. Declining shares outnumbered rising ones by 3,011 to 624, Upstox reported, and the Smallcap 100 lost 2.94%. Since last Friday's close of 23,146.15 the Nifty has given up 546.15 points (2.36%) in four sessions.
| Index | Close | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Nifty 50 | 22,600.00 | −87.65 pts (−0.39%) |
| Sensex | 73,123.83 | −125.56 pts (−0.17%) |
| Bank Nifty | 54,287.35 | −638.35 pts (−1.16%) |
| Nifty Midcap 100 | 55,800.65 | −1,263.30 pts (−2.21%) |
| Nifty Smallcap 100 | 17,739.45 | −536.45 pts (−2.94%) |
| India VIX | 16.86 | +1.10 (+6.98%) |
3,011 shares down, 624 up
The selling was deepest away from the large companies. The Midcap 100 lost 2.21% and the Smallcap 100 2.94%; at its low the smallcap index was 704.30 points (3.85%) under Thursday's close. It has now lost 7.27% since last Friday. Upstox counted 655 stocks at 52-week lows against 23 at highs, and 308 locked at their lower circuit.
Among the midcaps, Swiggy dropped as much as 15% to ₹190 after its September-quarter results, even though its net loss narrowed to ₹992 crore, Upstox reported. Its listed rival Eternal was the best performer in the Nifty 50, up 4.25% at ₹317.40, a day after falling 2.53% in its first session after its own results.
Inside the Nifty 50 only 14 stocks rose. Metal shares fell hardest: Nifty Metal lost 2.71%, with JSW Steel down 2.83%, Tata Steel 2.70% and Hindalco 1.78%.
| Fell most in the Nifty 50 | Close | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Shriram Finance | ₹865.00 | −3.98% |
| Adani Enterprises | ₹2,477.00 | −2.86% |
| JSW Steel | ₹1,185.50 | −2.83% |
| Jio Financial Services | ₹205.03 | −2.74% |
| Tata Steel | ₹167.67 | −2.70% |
| Adani Ports | ₹1,702.70 | −2.70% |
| Tech Mahindra | ₹1,790.00 | −2.14% |
| Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles | ₹264.60 | −2.00% |
| Rose most in the Nifty 50 | Close | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Eternal | ₹317.40 | +4.25% |
| Apollo Hospitals | ₹7,730.00 | +1.65% |
| ONGC | ₹227.50 | +1.11% |
| Asian Paints | ₹2,307.00 | +0.97% |
| TCS | ₹2,530.00 | +0.92% |
| UltraTech Cement | ₹11,050.00 | +0.84% |
A 415-point range and a last-candle lift
The Nifty opened at 22,742.20, 54.55 points above Thursday, and made its high of 22,787.25 in the first 15 minutes. It never got back to that high. By the 10:30 candle the index was down at 22,407.05, and it reached the day's low of 22,372.00 in the 12:45 candle, 315.65 points (1.39%) under Thursday's close.
The 1:30 PM candle then added 167.85 points, from 22,411.60 to 22,579.45; I could not find a report that gave a reason for it. The index drifted back below 22,500 in the 2:30 candle before the final 15 minutes lifted it 83.60 points to close at 22,600.00, the candle's high. The close sat 228.00 points above the low, on a day with a range of 415.25 points.
India VIX rose 1.10 to 16.86, having moved between 15.27 and 17.10 (what the VIX measures).
IT rose 3.3%, gave it back, then Infosys cut its guidance
Nifty IT was the one index rising in the morning. At its high of 33,138.60 it stood 1,057.35 points (3.30%) above Thursday's close; Upstox described the buying as an "anti AI trade" after AI-linked shares sold off in the US overnight. By the close it had lost all of that and finished 0.27% lower at 31,995.50. TCS kept a 0.92% gain, Tech Mahindra fell 2.14%, and Infosys ended at ₹1,153.80, 0.04% up.
Infosys published its September-quarter results after the close. Net profit rose 6.2% from a year earlier to ₹7,823 crore, and 0.7% from ₹7,769 crore in the June quarter. Revenue rose 10.7% to ₹49,244 crore. The company narrowed its FY27 constant-currency revenue growth guidance to 1-2%, from 1.5-3%, kept its operating margin guidance at 20-22%, and declared an interim dividend of ₹26 a share. Large deal wins came to $5.2 billion, Goodreturns and Storyboard18 reported. The shares trade on those numbers for the first time on Monday.
Shriram Finance slid through its results afternoon
Shriram Finance was the Nifty 50's biggest faller, down 3.98% at ₹865.00. It had traded as high as ₹923.05 in the first half-hour. Most of the fall came late: in the 2:15 PM half-hour it went from ₹883.80 to ₹842.65 on the day's heaviest volume up to then, and it touched ₹833.60 in the final hour.
The board approved results the same day. Standalone net profit rose 59.37% to ₹3,677.03 crore, from ₹2,307.18 crore a year earlier; net interest income rose 38.20% to ₹8,661.04 crore and assets under management 16.96% to ₹3,29,021.72 crore, Business News Week and Whalesbook reported. The board declared an interim dividend of ₹6.50 a share, with 29 October as the record date. Neither report gave the time of the announcement, so I can't say whether the afternoon fall came before or after it (why shares can fall on good results).
Brent at $114.88 after the Houthis claim Yanbu
Brent was $114.88 a barrel this evening, up $1.71 (1.51%), Trading Economics showed. It pointed to the Houthi claim of attacks on Yanbu, along with strikes on an oil field and an airport, and to reports that US and Israeli forces have drawn up plans for renewed attacks on Iran after next month's US midterm elections. During Indian trading Upstox put Brent at $114.7, up 1.35% and at a five-month high, and wrote that the selling came from worry that rising fuel costs would squeeze company margins.
Nifty Energy fell 1.66%, with NTPC down 1.52% and Coal India 1.27%. ONGC and Reliance Industries rose, by 1.11% to ₹227.50 and 0.46% to ₹1,190.00.
Every sector index ended lower
| Nifty index | Close | Change |
|---|---|---|
| IT | 31,995.50 | −0.27% |
| Auto | 24,862.30 | −0.60% |
| FMCG | 42,680.70 | −0.99% |
| Financial Services | 24,403.00 | −1.03% |
| Pharma | 25,329.45 | −1.04% |
| Media | 1,563.40 | −1.33% |
| Energy | 34,520.05 | −1.66% |
| PSU Bank | 8,070.70 | −2.26% |
| Realty | 784.35 | −2.38% |
| Metal | 11,478.20 | −2.71% |
Bank Nifty fell 1.16% while HDFC Bank slipped only 0.18%. Kotak Mahindra Bank fell 1.49%, SBI 1.18% and ICICI Bank 0.31%; Axis Bank rose 0.45%.
Jio's allotment, Fed week and Friday's flows
The ₹30,213 crore Jio Platforms issue became the first IPO anywhere to cross 1 crore applications, Upstox reported. By 3 PM on the last day it was subscribed 12.55 times, with qualified institutions at 32.77 times, non-institutional investors at 13.38 times and retail investors at 2.51 times, according to NSE figures reported by HDFC Sky. I did not find a final end-of-day figure from a source I could open.
Friday's provisional FII and DII figures were not out when I checked this evening. Thursday's, already in this morning's pre-market report, showed foreign institutions selling a net ₹3,458.70 crore and domestic institutions buying ₹2,891.30 crore (how to read FII and DII data).
- Monday, 26 October: Jio Platforms allotment; first session after the Infosys and Shriram Finance results.
- 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 Monday's open I'll be looking at Friday's flow figures, Brent over the weekend and any further news from Yanbu, and how Infosys's ADRs trade in New York tonight. Thursday's session, with the FSSAI notices to Nestle India, is in the post-market report for 22 October.
Sources
- Index, sector and stock prices, the intraday path and India VIX: Zerodha Kite market data (NSE and BSE)
- Market close, breadth, Brent during Indian hours, Jio applications: Upstox market wrap; margins, IT "anti AI trade", Swiggy: Upstox
- Brent this evening, Yanbu and Iran: Trading Economics
- Infosys results: Goodreturns, Storyboard18
- Shriram Finance results: Business News Week, Whalesbook
- Jio Platforms day three: HDFC Sky
- FII and DII flows: NSE provisional data via 5paisa
- Dates: as in the 22 October report; Jio allotment and listing from HDFC Sky
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.