The Indian stock market has endured a challenging year, with the Nifty 50 declining 10.74% between Navratri 2025 and Navratri 2026, as geopolitical tensions, elevated crude oil prices and persistent foreign investor outflows weighed on sentiment. Despite the resilience of the domestic economy and sustained buying by domestic institutional investors (DIIs), global macroeconomic headwinds have overshadowed domestic positives.
The sell-off has been broad-based, with 27 constituents of the Nifty 50 ending the period in the red. Information technology, consumer goods, banking and financial services stocks have faced significant pressure, while select capital market, financial and industrial stocks have delivered strong gains despite the broader market weakness.
Data collated by NDTV Profit shows that ITC, Infosys, Jio Financial Services, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles, HDFC Life Insurance and Maruti Suzuki were among the worst-performing stocks, with each losing more than 30% over the period. ITC led the declines, falling 40.87%, followed by Infosys, which dropped 36.14%.
Jio Financial Services declined 34.87%, while TCS fell 34.39%. Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles lost 31.81%, HDFC Life Insurance dropped 31%, and Maruti Suzuki declined 30%. Hindustan Unilever (HUL) and HDFC Bank also witnessed steep corrections, falling 29.6% and 28.89%, respectively.
The weakness extended to several other heavyweight stocks. Max Healthcare Institute declined 23.39%, Mahindra & Mahindra fell 21.83%, and Reliance Industries lost 16.15%. Cipla, Bajaj Finserv and HCL Technologies also recorded declines of more than 14% during the period.
BSE, Shriram Finance Lead The Gainers
While the benchmark index remained under pressure, a handful of stocks bucked the trend and delivered substantial gains. BSE emerged as the top performer in the comparison, surging 48.6% between Navratri 2025 and Navratri 2026. Shriram Finance followed closely, rising 45.96%.
Titan gained 26.91%, while Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone advanced 25.58%. Hindalco Industries rose 23.5%, making it another standout performer amid the market correction.
Banking and financial stocks also offered pockets of resilience. State Bank of India (SBI) gained 13.51%, Axis Bank rose 13.44%, and Kotak Mahindra Bank advanced 10.63%. Nestle India and Bajaj Auto also recorded gains of more than 10%, rising 13.25% and 11.57%, respectively.
Adani Enterprises gained 11.37%, while Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, Coal India and JSW Steel also ended the period higher. The performance of these stocks highlights the divergence in returns across sectors, even as the broader market remained under pressure.
Foreign Outflows And Global Risks Weigh On Sentiment
The market correction has unfolded against a challenging global backdrop. Elevated crude oil prices amid the US-Iran conflict, a weaker rupee, rising global bond yields and sustained foreign portfolio investor (FPI) selling have weighed on Indian equities.
FPIs have sold Indian stocks worth Rs 3,04,468 crore so far in 2026, following net selling of Rs 1,66,286 crore in 2025, according to the figures provided. The sustained outflows have added pressure to the market, even as DIIs have continued to provide support through domestic institutional buying.
The divergence between domestic and foreign flows underlines the influence of global risk appetite on Indian equities. Higher oil prices also pose a challenge for India because of their implications for inflation, the current account and corporate input costs.
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The September-quarter earnings season is expected to provide investors with a clearer picture of corporate performance. However, healthy earnings may not be sufficient to trigger a sustained market recovery if global macroeconomic conditions remain unfavourable.
The potential start of a global rate-hike cycle, rising bond yields and concerns about the impact of a weak monsoon on domestic growth and fiscal dynamics remain key risks. Investors are likely to track crude oil prices, currency movements and foreign fund flows alongside company earnings.
"Indian equities are likely to remain cautious amid elevated global risks. Overall, investors will monitor crude prices, the rupee, foreign flows and Q2 results for market direction," said Siddhartha Khemka, Head of Research, Wealth Management, Motilal Oswal Financial Services.
Vinit Bolinjkar, Head of Research at Ventura, said investors would watch earnings from large IT companies, global bond yields and crude prices in the coming week. "Expect choppy trade. A stock-specific approach makes sense, with focus on strong balance sheets and earnings visibility, while broad market direction depends on whether global yields and crude cool off," Bolinjkar said.
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