Sensex Drops 620 Points From Intraday Peak as Nifty Slips Below 22,500, Markets Turn Red

Stock Market Today, October 12: Sensex Slumps Over 620 Points From Day’s High, Nifty Falls Below 22,500

Indian equity benchmarks slipped into negative territory during Monday morning trade as selling pressure in heavyweight stocks across banking, information technology and telecom sectors wiped out early gains. Despite the weakness in the Sensex and Nifty, broader markets remained largely positive, with mid-cap and small-cap stocks attracting buying interest.

As of 9:55 am, the BSE Sensex was trading at 72,262.46, down 209.87 points, or 0.29%. The index opened at 72,771.32 and initially climbed to 72,884.25 before declining to an intraday low of 72,252.19. This marked a fall of 621.79 points from its early peak.

The NSE Nifty 50 also came under pressure, dropping 33.45 points, or 0.15%, to 22,487. The index had opened at 22,593.20 and touched an early high of 22,651.10 before reversing direction and slipping below the crucial 22,500 level.

Mid-Cap and Small-Cap Stocks Defy Benchmark Weakness

While frontline indices struggled, broader market indices largely traded in positive territory, suggesting selective buying beyond large-cap stocks.

The Nifty Smallcap 50 advanced 1.09%, while the Nifty Smallcap 100 gained 1.03%. The Nifty Smallcap 250 rose 0.91%, and the Nifty Midcap 100 edged up 0.22%.

The Nifty Next 50 climbed 0.47%, while the Nifty 500 gained 0.14%, highlighting the contrasting performance of broader markets against the benchmark indices.

Media, Auto and Metal Stocks Lead Sectoral Gains

Among sectoral indices, the Nifty Media index emerged as the top performer, rising 2.33%. The Nifty Auto index gained 1.12%, while the Nifty Metal index advanced 1%.

The Nifty Realty index added 0.66%, and the Nifty Oil & Gas index rose 0.27%.

However, weakness persisted in several heavyweight sectors. The Nifty PSU Bank index declined 0.86%, followed by the Nifty IT index, which fell 0.79%. The Nifty FMCG index slipped 0.43%, while the Nifty Bank lost 0.41% and the Nifty Private Bank index declined 0.27%.

Tech Mahindra, Bharti Airtel Among Major Losers

Among Sensex constituents, Tata Steel, Mahindra & Mahindra, Trent, Bharat Electronics and Power Grid were among the leading gainers during morning trade.

On the losing side, Tech Mahindra dropped 4.13%, making it the biggest laggard among the displayed Sensex stocks. Bharti Airtel declined 2.54%, while ITC fell 1.41%.

State Bank of India shed 1.16%, and Axis Bank dropped 0.91%. Shares of TCS, Infosys and ICICI Bank also traded lower, adding to the pressure on the benchmark indices.

India VIX Jumps Over 5%

The India VIX, a measure of expected market volatility, rose 5.47% to 15.16 during morning trade.

The increase pointed to heightened near-term uncertainty among market participants, even as mid-cap and small-cap stocks continued to record gains.

The divergence between the benchmark indices and broader markets suggests that selling remained concentrated in select heavyweight stocks, while investors continued to find opportunities in other segments of the market.