Stock Market Crash, October 8, 2026: IIndian equity benchmarks remained under pressure on Thursday, extending their decline after a volatile week on Dalal Street, amid the Sensex weekly expiry.
The BSE Sensex fell as much as 1.69%, or 1,231.91 points, to an intraday low of 71,406.79, while the Nifty 50 declined 1.82%, or 413.05 points, to around 22,190.
The sell-off has also resulted in a sharp erosion in investors' wealth. As of now, investors have lost Rs 10,51,614.06 crore (Rs 10.52 lakh crore), with the market capitalisation of all BSE-listed companies falling to Rs 4,61,83,659.33 crore, from Rs 4,72,35,273.39 crore at Wednesday's market close.
Stock Market Today: Sensex, Nifty Extend Weekly Losses
Indian equity benchmarks have remained volatile this week, with the market rising on Monday and Tuesday before declining on Wednesday and continuing its fall on Thursday.
The broader market also remained firmly in the red, with most major indices recording losses.
Among the broad-market indices, Nifty 100 fell 1.68%, while Nifty 200 declined 1.77% and Nifty 500 dropped 1.79%.
Mid- and small-cap indices saw sharper losses. Nifty Midcap 50 declined 2.36%, Nifty Midcap 100 fell 2.14%, Nifty Midcap 150 dropped 2.02%, while Nifty Smallcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 50 declined 1.98% and 2.13%, respectively.
The India VIX jumped 9.66% to 15.23, signalling increased market volatility.
Stock Market Today: IT The Only Sector In Green
Among sectoral indices, Nifty IT was the only major sectoral index trading in positive territory, rising 0.22%.
Nifty Financial Services 25/50 declined 1.15%, while Nifty Private Bank fell 0.95% and Nifty PSU Bank declined 0.65%.
Other sectors saw steeper declines. Nifty Metal fell 3.21%, Nifty Realty dropped 2.63%, Nifty Media declined 2.28%, Nifty Pharma fell 2.14% and Nifty Auto declined 2.07%.
Nifty FMCG was down 1.88%.
Sensex Stocks: IT Stocks Buck Sell-Off
Within the 30-share BSE Sensex pack, IT stocks were among the few gainers.
Infosys rose 0.58%, while Tech Mahindra gained 0.43%. Titan was up 0.15%, HCL Technologies rose 0.11%, and Axis Bank edged up 0.04%.
Trent was almost flat, down 0.01%.
On the other hand, selling pressure was broad-based across the rest of the Sensex pack.
ITC was the biggest loser, falling 3.86%, followed by Adani Ports, which declined 3.48%. Indigo dropped 3.37%, while BEL fell 3.14%.
Power Grid declined 2.49%, Reliance Industries fell 2.43%, and Larsen & Toubro was down 2.22%.
Other major losers included Eternal (-2.12%), Maruti Suzuki (-2.05%), NTPC (-2.02%), Tata Steel (-1.94%), Bajaj Finserv (-1.91%), M&M (-1.90%), Asian Paints (-1.87%) and Bharti Airtel
(-1.82%).
UltraTech Cement declined 1.78%, Sun Pharma fell 1.79%, while HDFC Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Hindustan Unilever were down 1.55%, 1.49% and 1.44%, respectively.
Market Breadth Turns Weak
Market breadth remained heavily skewed towards declines on both the BSE and NSE.
BSE market statistics showed 4,581 stocks traded, of which 955 advanced, 3,410 declined and 216 remained unchanged.
On the BSE, 124 stocks were at their 52-week high, while 287 stocks hit their 52-week low. A total of 153 stocks were locked in the upper circuit, while 251 were in the lower circuit.
The NSE market breadth was similarly weak. Of 3,654 stocks traded, 605 advanced, 2,941 declined and 108 remained unchanged.
On the NSE, 69 stocks were at their 52-week high, compared with 242 at their 52-week low. Meanwhile, 87 stocks were in the upper circuit and 142 were in the lower circuit.
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