Sensex Sheds 1,045 Points as Oil, US Yields and Foreign Selling Hit Markets
The Nifty closed below 22,300 and investors lost more than ₹8 lakh crore in a day, as Brent crude crossed $105 and the rupee weakened past 97 to the dollar.
Indian equities had one of their worst sessions in months on Thursday, October 8. The BSE Sensex fell 1,045 points, or 1.44 per cent, to close at 71,593, while the NSE Nifty 50 dropped 371 points, or 1.64 per cent, to end at 22,231 — below the 22,300 mark. Investors lost more than ₹8 lakh crore in market value in a single day, according to Outlook Money.
The selling was broad. Midcap and smallcap indices each fell more than 2 per cent, metal and realty stocks dropped over 3 per cent, and oil and gas shares lost more than 2.5 per cent. The India VIX, a gauge of expected volatility, rose about 10 per cent.
Four pressures at once
Oil. Brent crude jumped 5.09 per cent to $105.30 a barrel and US benchmark WTI rose 5.04 per cent to $92.73, driven by renewed US–Iran tensions. For India, which imports most of its oil, higher crude means a bigger import bill and more inflation risk.
US bond yields. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury rose above 5.35 per cent during the day, its highest level since 2002, after minutes from the US Federal Reserve suggested a possible rate hike before the end of the year. Higher US yields make emerging markets like India relatively less attractive to global investors.
The rupee. The currency weakened to 97.13 per US dollar, eroding the returns foreign investors earn when they convert their gains back into dollars.
Foreign selling. Foreign portfolio investors sold ₹31,282 crore of Indian assets in the first eight days of October alone — close to the ₹35,861 crore they withdrew in the whole of September.
A tighter backdrop at home
The fall came a day after the Reserve Bank of India raised its repo rate by 25 basis points to 5.5 per cent and shifted its policy stance to "calibrated tightening" — its first rate hike since February 2023. The central bank cited rising inflation, driven in part by elevated crude prices, against a backdrop of strong growth.
What it means for investors
Sharp single-day falls are unsettling, but they say little about long-term returns on their own. What matters more is whether the pressures behind them persist. If crude stays above $100 and US yields keep climbing, foreign outflows and inflation worries could weigh on Indian markets for some time; if tensions ease, the selling could reverse just as quickly.
For most retail investors with long horizons, the usual advice applies: avoid panic selling, check that your asset allocation still matches your goals, and remember that this article is not personalised investment advice.
Sources
This article draws on the following reporting. Dates are when each source was originally published.
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