Wednesday, 28 October 2026. The Nifty 50 lost 50.90 points (0.22%) to 22,698.85 as Infosys and Reliance Industries fell more than 3% each: IT shares were sold ahead of tonight's US Federal Reserve decision, and oil companies slid after a claimed strike on Saudi Arabia's largest refinery pushed Brent above $115, HDFC Sky reported. Gains in Larsen & Toubro, after its results, and Apollo Hospitals offset part of the fall, and Jio Platforms, in its first session, closed 26.68% above its issue price.
| Index | Close | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Nifty 50 | 22,698.85 | −50.90 pts (−0.22%) |
| Sensex | 73,246.03 | −352.64 pts (−0.48%) |
| Bank Nifty | 54,267.40 | +292.50 pts (+0.54%) |
| Nifty Midcap 100 | 57,274.70 | +244.80 pts (+0.43%) |
| Nifty Smallcap 100 | 18,634.90 | +166.20 pts (+0.90%) |
| India VIX | 16.25 | −0.15 (−0.91%) |
A Houthi-claimed strike on Ras Tanura lifts oil
Yemen's Houthis said they had hit Saudi Arabia's largest refinery, Ras Tanura, which can process 550,000 barrels a day; Saudi authorities had not confirmed the attack, Reuters reported. By 11:15 GMT Brent was $115.19 a barrel, up $1.31 (1.2%), and WTI $101.65, up $1.75 (1.8%).
Reliance Industries opened at ₹1,194.50, reached ₹1,204.30 and slid to ₹1,156.40 before closing at ₹1,158, down 3.19%. HDFC Sky put the fall down to higher crude prices weighing on refining. It came on the same day as the debut of Reliance's own subsidiary, Jio Platforms (below). ONGC lost 2.16% to ₹224.89, and the Nifty Energy index 0.89%.
IT sold before the Fed
The Nifty IT index gave up 636.05 points, or 1.98%, the worst of the sector indices. Infosys fell 3.43% to ₹1,123.15 after touching ₹1,103.40, Tech Mahindra 1.92%, TCS 1.48% and HCLTech 1.37%. HDFC Sky linked the selling to caution ahead of the Fed's announcement, due after the Indian close tonight. The market reports I read carried no news specific to Infosys.
| Fell most in the Nifty 50 | Close | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Infosys | ₹1,123.15 | −3.43% |
| Reliance Industries | ₹1,158.00 | −3.19% |
| ONGC | ₹224.89 | −2.16% |
| Tech Mahindra | ₹1,776.60 | −1.92% |
| Bharti Airtel | ₹1,948.10 | −1.55% |
Jio Platforms ends day one at ₹1,417.50
Jio Platforms listed at ₹1,358 on both exchanges, 21.36% above the ₹1,119 issue price, after a ₹30,213 crore IPO that was subscribed 22.19 times, Upstox reported. On NSE, where it trades as JPL, the shares never went below ₹1,357, reached ₹1,423.90 and closed at ₹1,417.50, which is 4.38% above the listing price. 17,73,32,138 shares changed hands. Upstox put the company's market value at ₹12.50 lakh crore at listing, second only to Reliance. How the opening price was found is covered in the pre-open guide; this morning's pre-market report has the subscription breakdown by investor category.
L&T's profit up a third, and the stock up 3.72%
L&T reported after Tuesday's close. Consolidated net profit for the September quarter was ₹5,202 crore against ₹3,926 crore a year earlier, up 33%, on revenue up 16% at ₹78,750 crore, Upstox reported. Orders received in the quarter rose 28% to ₹1,47,665 crore, ₹92,375 crore (63%) of them from abroad, and the order book stood at ₹8,53,514 crore on 30 September.
The shares opened at ₹3,820, 4.23% above Tuesday's ₹3,665.10, reached ₹3,894 (up 6.25%) and closed at ₹3,801.30, up 3.72%.
| Rose most in the Nifty 50 | Close | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Apollo Hospitals | ₹8,137.00 | +4.43% |
| Larsen & Toubro | ₹3,801.30 | +3.72% |
| Trent | ₹2,913.90 | +3.31% |
| SBI Life Insurance | ₹1,666.70 | +2.06% |
| InterGlobe Aviation | ₹4,690.00 | +2.03% |
| Dr Reddy's | ₹1,335.40 | +1.94% |
Trent closed at its high for the day, a session before its own results. Why Apollo Hospitals and Trent rose went unexplained in the coverage I read.
Banks and the smaller companies went the other way
Bank Nifty rose 292.50 points while the Nifty fell, a reversal of Tuesday, when lenders led the losses. SBI gained 1.24%, Axis Bank 1.19% and HDFC Bank 0.75%. The Smallcap 100 added 0.90% and the Midcap 100 0.43%, and HDFC Sky counted 2,178 shares higher, 1,957 lower and 185 unchanged.
| Nifty index | Close | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Auto | 25,707.35 | +1.45% |
| Media | 1,637.40 | +1.38% |
| Pharma | 26,541.35 | +1.04% |
| Financial Services | 24,418.25 | +0.47% |
| PSU Bank | 8,133.60 | +0.08% |
| Metal | 11,769.35 | −0.32% |
| FMCG | 42,878.35 | −0.56% |
| Energy | 34,946.30 | −0.89% |
| Realty | 797.85 | −0.89% |
| IT | 31,553.40 | −1.98% |
India VIX, the market's gauge of expected volatility, moved between 15.54 and 17.36 and closed at 16.25.
Down 252 points by 10:20, then most of it back
The Nifty opened at 22,678, 71.75 points below Tuesday's close, and kept falling for an hour: the low of 22,497.70 came in the 10:20 five-minute candle, 252.05 points under Tuesday and 180.30 under the open. From there it climbed steadily into the early afternoon, made its high of 22,778.05 in the 13:00 candle, 28.30 points above Tuesday's close, and from the 13:30 candle to the close stayed between 22,668.90 and 22,742.05. It finished 201.15 points above the low and 79.20 below the high, a range of 280.35 points. The Sensex traded between 72,603.57 and 73,525.44. The 27 October report has Tuesday's expiry session for comparison.
Flows: Tuesday's buying, Wednesday's still to come
Wednesday's provisional FII and DII figures had not been posted when I checked this evening, so they move to tomorrow's pre-market report. NSE's provisional figures put Tuesday's FII net purchases at ₹4,240.40 crore against DII net sales of ₹1,250.00 crore; the FII and DII guide explains the provisional numbers.
Thursday and the days after
- Tonight (US time Wednesday): the Federal Reserve's interest rate decision.
- Thursday, 29 October: IndiGo, Asian Paints, Coal India, Trent, Godrej Consumer Products and Ambuja Cements report, on Upstox's calendar.
- Tuesday, 3 November: next weekly F&O expiry.
- Tuesday, 10 November: next NSE trading holiday.
Before the open I'll be looking at the Fed's decision and the US reaction to it, Wednesday's flow figures, and whether Saudi Arabia has confirmed or denied the Ras Tanura strike.
Sources
- Index, sector and stock prices, the intraday path, India VIX and Jio Platforms' trading: Zerodha Kite market data (NSE and BSE)
- Market drivers, gainers and losers, breadth: HDFC Sky market close; sector reasons: HDFC Sky sectoral snapshot
- Ras Tanura, Brent and WTI: Reuters via Business Recorder
- L&T results: Upstox
- Jio Platforms listing: Upstox
- FII and DII flows: NSE provisional data via 5paisa
- Results calendar: Upstox; holidays and expiry: NSE holiday list and expiry rules
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.