Extending its losing run for a seventh straight session, the Indian stock market closed Wednesday’s trade in the red, weighed down by elevated crude oil prices and surging global bond yields amid persistent inflation concerns.
The continued weakness pushed the benchmark indices into their longest losing streak in 11 months. The Nifty fell another 0.32%, settling at 24,078, its lowest level since late July. The S&P BSE Sensex lost 0.42%, closing at 76,909.
The broader markets also remained under pressure, with the Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 indices declining 0.21% and 0.51%, respectively.
In broad-based selling, all major sectoral indices ended in the red, led by chemicals, media, cement, and FMCG stocks. Other sectors, including auto, oil & gas, and financials, also posted losses. Technology stocks were the sole gainers, rising 0.73% and snapping a three-day losing streak.
The persistent weakness in sentiment came amid a continued surge in crude oil prices, with Brent crude rising to a three-week high and hovering around $92 a barrel after U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that no talks were underway with Iran and that the Strait of Hormuz remained open.
His comments contradicted Iran’s claim that the vital waterway had been closed to shipping, dimming hopes for a deal to end the nearly six-month-long Middle East conflict. In a Truth Social post on Tuesday, Trump shared an AI-generated image depicting the strategic waterway as “NEW U.S. Territory.”
Meanwhile, global bond yields have been rising as bond investors demand higher premiums to finance governments running large fiscal deficits and to protect against persistently sticky inflation.
Netweb Technologies was the top laggard among Nifty 500 stocks, dropping 5.4% to ₹5,065 apiece, as investors appeared to book profits following the stock’s recent run-up. Acutaas Chemicals also closed lower by 4.8% at ₹3,228, giving up part of its recent gains.
Cemindia Projects and Bata India shares declined 4.4% and 4.2%, respectively. HEG shares recorded their biggest single-day drop, crashing 4.22% following a bumper 44% surge from their July lows through Tuesday’s close.
Hitachi Energy India, 3M India, and Himadri Speciality Chemicals also closed with losses of more than 4%. Persistent selling in Brainbees Solutions intensified, with the stock falling another 4% and trading nearly 60% below its IPO price.
Other notable laggards included Ola Electric, Reliance Power, Bharat Dynamics, L&T Finance, Tata Technologies, Solar Industries, Sobha, and Tata Chemicals, all of which declined more than 2.5%.
On the winning side, GlaxoSmithKline was the top performer, with the stock extending its winning run for a sixth consecutive session, surging another 6% to hit a fresh 52-week high of ₹3,032 apiece.
AMC stocks, including ICICI Prudential AMC and Nippon Life India AMC, also witnessed strong buying interest, gaining 5% and 4%, respectively. Cyient and R R Kabel also advanced more than 4%. Meanwhile, a fresh order win drove a 3.6% rally in RailTel Corporation shares.
Mahanagar Gas, Indraprastha Gas (IGL) and Adani Total Gas all posted gains of more than 3% after the government approved an incentive scheme to promote domestic PNG connections, aimed at bringing clean, safe and affordable piped cooking gas to households across the country.
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