Amid extreme volatility, the benchmark indices rebounded on Wednesday and recovered a part of their early losses as value buying emerged at lower levels.
Extending losses for the third consecutive session, the Sensex plunged as much as 1,056 points, or 1.29%, to hit an intraday low of 81,124.45. However, it later rebounded and briefly traded in positive territory before slipping again to close at 81,909.63, down 270.84 points or 0.33%.
The Nifty fell 312.70 points, or 1.24%, intraday to slip below the 25,000 mark for the first time in three months, touching a low of 24,919.80. It, however, managed to recover and close above the 25,000 mark at 25,157.50, down 75 points or 0.30%.
Global Factors Weigh
Renewed geopolitical tensions, tariff-related uncertainty, subdued corporate earnings, and currency volatility— with the rupee hitting a fresh low of 91.70 against the dollar—impacted investor sentiment. The India VIX rose 8.24% to close at 13.78, indicating heightened market uncertainty.
Over the past three sessions, the Sensex and Nifty have declined 1.99% and 2.09%, respectively.
“The Nifty has fallen below the 200-day moving average on an intraday basis for the first time in many weeks. It usually unsettles the market when the 200-DMA is challenged, and the outcome is rarely black and white,” said Rupak De, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities.
Volatility Ahead Forecasted
The index may remain highly volatile in the coming sessions, he said. On the downside, support is placed at 25,125, and a decisive break below this level could trigger further panic. On the upside, resistance on a closing basis is seen at 25,200, De added.
“Domestic markets were gripped by volatility as global risk factors dampened sentiment. However, value buying towards the close helped the market recover some of the early losses,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments.
In this challenging environment, tepid earnings from the banking and IT sectors are adding to the overall pressure on equities, Nair added.
Market breadth remained negative, with 2,822 losers against 1,447 gainers on the BSE. Broader indices continued to underperform, as the BSE Midcap and BSE Smallcap indices fell 1.01% and 0.80%, respectively.
Investor wealth declined by Rs 1.73 lakh crore to Rs 454.10 lakh crore. In dollar terms, the total market capitalisation of the BSE slipped below the $5 trillion mark to $4.96 trillion for the first time in eight months (since May 9, 2025).
Sectoral Performance Mixed
Consumer durables, PSU banks, and financial services were the top sectoral laggards, declining by over 1% each, while metal, energy, and oil & gas stocks were the top gainers, rising by up to 0.52%.
ICICI Bank, Trent, BEL, Axis Bank, and HDFC Bank were the top Sensex laggards, falling by up to 1.96%. Eternal emerged as the top Sensex gainer, rising 4.98%. The company reported a 202% year-on-year surge in revenue and a 73% rise in net profit for Q3FY26 after market hours. UltraTech Cement, IndiGo, Reliance Industries, and Adani Ports were the other Sensex gainers, advancing by up to 1.57%.
Foreign portfolio investors continued their selling spree, offloading shares worth Rs 1,787.66 crore, while domestic institutional investors bought equities worth Rs 4,520.47 crore, according to provisional data from the BSE.