On Friday, 23 October, the SENSEX slipped 125.56 points or 0.17% to close at 73,123.83, while the NIFTY50 fell 87.65 points or 0.39% to end at 22,600. The benchmark indices recorded negative territory for the fourth consecutive session, reflecting a broad‑based sell‑off. The SENSEX dropped as much as 1.1% during the day, hitting an intraday low of 72,452.37, whereas the NIFTY50 fell 1.4% to a session low of 22,372. The decline was driven by a combination of investor sentiment, foreign institutional outflows, and rising Brent crude prices.

Foreign institutional investors sold shares worth ₹3,458.70 crore on Thursday, while domestic institutional investors bought equities worth ₹2,891.32 crore on a net basis, according to exchange data. Investor sentiment soured further amid persistent FII outflow and Brent crude oil prices surging over $114 per barrel as tensions escalated in the Middle East. The market reaction was a sharp sell‑off across multiple sectors, with the NIFTY Midcap 100 gauge falling 2.21% or 1,263.30 points to 55,800.65.

Among the NIFTY50 top losers were Shriram Finance (-3.98%), Adani Enterprises Ltd (AEL) (-2.86%), JSW Steel (-2.83%), Jio Financial Services (-2.74%), and Tata Steel (-2.70%). On the upside, Eternal rose 4.25%, Apollo Hospitals Enterprise 1.65%, Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) 1.11%, Asian Paints 0.97%, and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) 0.92%. The NIFTY Midcap 100 was weighed down by a 16.75% fall in Swiggy, which hit a fresh 52‑week low after reporting its Q2 FY27 results post‑market hours on Thursday.

Other laggards in the midcap index included Motilal Oswal Financial Services (-5.24%), Colgate Palmolive (-4.75%), Godrej Properties (-4.38%), and Lodha Developers (-4.31%). Colgate Palmolive’s shares fell after the company reported a drop in margin for the quarter ended September 30, 2026 (Q2 FY27). The personal‑care firm posted a net profit of ₹342 crore for the July‑September quarter, a 4% growth from ₹327.5 crore in the same period last year, with net profit after tax rising 5.5% year‑on‑year excluding one‑offs and exceptional items. Godrej Properties saw a 62% decline in consolidated profit to ₹154 crore for Q2 FY27, down from ₹405 crore in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal year.

In the NIFTY Smallcap 100, only Lupin advanced, closing 0.36% higher. The index fell 2.94% or 536.45 points to 17,739.45. The top losers were IIFL Finance (-6.25%), ITI Ltd (-5.84%), Ola Electric Mobility (-5.57%), Himadri Speciality Chemical (-5.54%), and Belrise Industries (-5.47%). The top gainers were Sterlite Technologies (2.39%), JSW Cement (2.01%), Natco Pharma (1.38%), Chennai Petroleum Corporation (1.33%), and Firstsource Solutions (1.24%).