Indian equities completed their longest weekly losing run in 25 years as the Sensex closed at its lowest level since February 2024. More than ₹26 lakh crore was erased from the aggregate market value of BSE-listed companies over the eight-week decline.
Indian equities entered the October holiday break carrying the weight of their longest weekly losing streak in a quarter of a century.
On Thursday, October 1, the BSE Sensex fell as low as 71,292.88 during a volatile session before recovering some of its losses to close at 71,909.70, down 570.59 points, or 0.79%. The closing level was its lowest since February 2024. The index's intraday low was also a fresh 52-week low.
The NSE Nifty 50 followed the same direction, ending 198.50 points, or 0.88%, lower at 22,421.95. With Indian exchanges closed on Friday, October 2, for Gandhi Jayanti, Thursday's session also completed the trading week.
That distinction matters. There was no October 2 equity session on the NSE or BSE, so Thursday's closing figures remain the latest official domestic benchmark levels as of October 2.
The weakness capped an eight-week retreat in which the Sensex fell about 8.4% and the Nifty 50 lost 8.7%, while more than ₹26 lakh crore was erased from the aggregate market capitalisation of companies listed on the BSE.
The figure describes a decline in quoted market value. It does not mean investors collectively withdrew or realised ₹26 lakh crore in cash losses.
Sensex Falls to Its Lowest Close Since February 2024
Thursday was a difficult session, but the closing decline tells only part of the story.
The Sensex opened at 72,192.89, briefly rose to 72,572.90, and then came under heavier selling pressure. At its weakest point it touched 71,292.88, more than 1,100 points below the day's high.
A partial recovery during the final part of trading reduced the loss, leaving the index at 71,909.70 at the close.
The difference between the intraday low and closing level is important when assessing the scale of the move.
The market did not close at 71,292.88. That was the lowest traded level during the session. The official close was more than 600 points higher at 71,909.70.
Even so, the closing level carried historical significance: it took the benchmark back to levels last seen in February 2024.
Thursday also marked the fourth consecutive daily decline for the benchmarks, but the more notable development was the continuation of the much longer weekly slide.
Nifty Extends the Market Selloff
The Nifty 50 closed at 22,421.95, down 198.50 points.
Over the holiday-shortened week, the Nifty fell about 3.1%, while the Sensex declined roughly 2.7%. Those were their steepest weekly declines in more than six months and four months, respectively.
The weakness was also broader than the two headline indices.
Fifteen of the 16 major sectoral indices finished the week lower. Mid-cap and small-cap shares also came under pressure, with the relevant Nifty indices losing approximately 3.6% and 3.4% for the week.
Information technology was the exception.
The Nifty IT index jumped about 2.2% on October 1 and finished the week roughly 0.5% higher, helped in part by the weaker rupee and changes in expectations around US interest rates.
That divergence helped prevent an even deeper fall in the headline indices, but it was not enough to reverse the broader market trend.
₹26 Lakh Crore in Market Capitalisation Erased
The eight-week decline has had a much larger impact beyond the Sensex's 30 stocks.
Over the period, the Sensex lost about 6,590 points, while the Nifty fell approximately 2,149 points. During the same stretch, the combined market capitalisation of BSE-listed companies fell by more than ₹26 lakh crore, taking the total below approximately ₹467 lakh crore.
Market capitalisation is calculated by multiplying a listed company's share price by the number of shares outstanding. Adding those values across BSE-listed companies produces the exchange's aggregate market capitalisation.
When share prices fall, that combined valuation falls as well.
It is therefore more accurate to say ₹26 lakh crore in market capitalisation was erased than to say investors physically lost ₹26 lakh crore in cash.
Some investors may have sold shares and realised losses. Others continue to own the same shares and have experienced a decline in their portfolios' market value. Market capitalisation can also recover if share prices rise later.
The figure nevertheless illustrates how broad the correction has become.
The benchmark indices themselves are down less than 10% over the eight-week period, but sharper declines across individual mid-cap, small-cap and other listed stocks have contributed to a considerably larger reduction in overall market value.
Why Indian Equities Are Under Pressure
There is no single trigger behind the eight-week decline.
Instead, Indian equities are absorbing several pressures at the same time: persistent foreign selling, elevated energy prices, higher global borrowing costs, a weaker rupee and uncertainty around economic and geopolitical conditions.
Foreign portfolio flows have been one of the clearest sources of pressure.
Overseas investors had withdrawn a record $27.8 billion from Indian equities in 2026 by October 1. Higher yields in developed markets have made it easier for international investors to earn attractive returns from lower-risk assets without taking the additional currency and market risk associated with emerging-market equities.
Domestic institutions have absorbed a substantial portion of that selling, preventing overseas outflows from translating directly into an equivalent fall in Indian stocks.
During the latest week, foreign portfolio investors sold roughly ₹33,882 crore of shares, while domestic institutional investors bought about ₹33,455 crore, illustrating how closely the two flows have offset each other.
That domestic buying has provided a cushion, not immunity.
Rising Bond Yields Change the Equation
The global bond market has become another important source of pressure.
The US 10-year Treasury yield climbed to around 5.3% on October 1, reaching levels not seen for roughly two decades.
That matters to Indian equities for several reasons.
Government bonds form the baseline against which investors compare returns from riskier assets. When yields on US government debt rise sharply, investors can obtain higher income from instruments generally considered less risky than equities.
For foreign portfolio managers, that can make emerging-market stocks relatively less attractive.
Higher global yields also increase the cost of capital used to value companies. Businesses whose market valuations depend heavily on profits expected many years in the future can be particularly sensitive to changes in discount rates.
The effect is not uniform across every stock, but the shift in global yields has added another layer of pressure to already cautious equity markets.
Crude Oil Remains an Important Risk for India
Oil is especially important for India because the country imports most of the crude it consumes.
Brent crude returned to around $100 a barrel on October 1, after trading at even higher levels earlier in 2026 amid geopolitical disruptions and supply concerns.
Higher oil prices can affect Indian markets through several channels.
They increase the country's import bill, can add to inflation, put pressure on the current account and often weigh on the rupee. Higher fuel and transport costs can also squeeze corporate margins in industries that cannot easily pass increased expenses on to customers.
The latest market correction cannot be explained by oil alone. In fact, equities continued to weaken even after crude retreated from the peaks seen earlier in the year.
But oil remains an important part of the macroeconomic backdrop because sustained high prices can complicate both inflation management and monetary policy.
Rupee Falls to a Two-Month Low
Currency markets have been reflecting some of the same stresses.
The rupee ended October 1 at approximately 96.3150 to the US dollar, down about 0.5% for the day and at its weakest level in two months. It was the currency's sharpest daily decline in more than two months.
Foreign portfolio outflows create demand for dollars when international investors convert proceeds from Indian asset sales into foreign currency.
High oil prices can add further dollar demand because Indian importers must pay for crude and other commodities purchased overseas.
A weaker rupee does not have the same effect on every listed company.
Export-heavy technology businesses can benefit when overseas revenue is converted into rupees, which helped IT shares outperform on October 1. Businesses heavily dependent on imported inputs can face the opposite pressure.
The movement therefore creates both winners and losers within the market even while adding uncertainty at the index level.
Eight Consecutive Weekly Declines
The duration of the correction is what makes the current episode unusual.
The Sensex and Nifty have now declined for eight consecutive weeks, their longest weekly losing run in 25 years.
Over those eight weeks, the Sensex has declined approximately 8.4% and the Nifty 8.7%.
That does not make the current fall larger than every major historical market correction. The defining feature is the uninterrupted sequence of weekly losses rather than the absolute percentage decline.
Markets can experience much steeper falls over shorter periods.
The current episode has instead been characterised by persistent pressure: foreign selling continues, global yields remain elevated, oil has stayed expensive and periodic domestic buying has produced temporary relief without yet ending the weekly decline.
The holiday-shortened week ending October 1 was particularly weak, with the Nifty losing 3.1%.
What Investors Are Watching
Attention now turns to the conditions that have driven the selloff rather than to any single index level.
Foreign portfolio flows remain important because overseas selling has reached record levels this year.
Global bond markets are another focus. A sustained period of high US yields would keep the relative attractiveness of emerging-market equities under scrutiny.
Oil prices remain closely watched because of their implications for inflation, the currency and India's import bill.
The rupee is another indicator of stress across asset classes, while movements in India's own government-bond yields are becoming increasingly relevant as markets assess domestic inflation and borrowing conditions. India's benchmark 10-year government-bond yield reached its highest level in more than two years during the latest bout of volatility.
The Reserve Bank of India's next monetary-policy decision, scheduled for October 7, will also be watched for its assessment of inflation, growth, currency conditions and the impact of expensive energy.
Corporate earnings will soon add another layer.
Markets entering the September-quarter reporting season will be looking at whether company profits and management commentary justify valuations after the recent correction, particularly in sectors exposed to consumer spending, financing costs and international demand.
None of those indicators provides a certain guide to where the Sensex or Nifty goes next.
They do, however, help explain why investors have become more cautious.
Conclusion
The October 1 session was significant not because Indian equities experienced an unusually large one-day crash, but because it extended a decline that has now persisted for two months.
The Sensex's fall to an intraday low of 71,292.88 and its close at 71,909.70 took the benchmark back to its weakest closing level since February 2024. The Nifty, meanwhile, finished at 22,421.95.
More importantly, the holiday-shortened week confirmed an eighth consecutive weekly decline, the longest such run for India's major benchmarks in 25 years.
The more than ₹26 lakh crore reduction in BSE-listed market capitalisation captures the breadth of that decline, but it should be understood for what it is: a fall in the market value of listed securities over the eight-week period, not an equivalent amount of cash directly lost by investors.
Behind those numbers sits a combination of forces rather than a single shock.
Foreign investors have continued to withdraw capital, global bond yields have risen sharply, crude remains expensive, and the rupee has weakened to a two-month low. Domestic institutional buying has softened some of the impact but has not been sufficient to end the broader losing streak.
With Indian markets closed on October 2, the October 1 close remains the latest domestic benchmark reading. The next phase will be shaped by how those macroeconomic pressures evolve alongside monetary policy and the approaching corporate earnings season, rather than by any one day's movement in the Sensex or Nifty.
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