Indian equities extended losses for the third consecutive session on Wednesday and experienced extreme volatility in intraday deals. The NSE Nifty50 index briefly breached below the 25,000 mark while the BSE Sensex cracked 1,050 points during intraday trade. The two frontline indices managed to recover from low points but could not break the losing streak.
The Nifty 50 fell 75 points to 0.3% to close at 25,157.5 and the BSE Sensex declined 271 points or 0.33% to 81,909.63. In the broader market, the small- and mid-cap indices fell about 1% each. The continuous poor performance of the Indian market is attributed to concerns around global trade and geopolitical issues, and continued selling by foreign investors.
“Sentiment remained under pressure amid global uncertainties, ongoing geopolitical tensions between Europe and US and a mixed earnings backdrop...Flows remained a key overhang, as FII’s continued their selling streak, offloading equities worth around Rs 2,938 crore on Tuesday,” said Siddhartha Khemka - Head of Research, Wealth Management, Motilal Oswal Financial Services. On Wdnesday, FIIs were again net sellers, offloading shares worth Rs 1,788 crore.
The Indian rupee weakened further, slipping to a record low of 91.19 against the US dollar, adding to cautious sentiment. Sectoral performance was largely negative, with only Oil & Gas (+0.3%) and Metal (+0.6%) indices ending in the green. Consumer Durables fell 1.6%, while PSU stocks declined 1%, while Realty dropped 1.6%.
Ajit Mishra – SVP, Research, Religare Broking said that the persistent weakness is driven by ongoing global trade and geopolitical concerns, including renewed tariff-related fears that weighed on risk assets ahead of the US President’s speech at Davos.
“A sharp depreciation in the Indian rupee to fresh lows further dampened sentiment, especially in the absence of any meaningful positive surprise from the earnings season. Continued foreign institutional selling added to the pressure, keeping overall risk appetite subdued and market activity largely stock-specific,” Mishra.
Khemka said that looking forward, markets will remain watchful as Trump heads to Davos after recent tensions with European allies over Greenland, with his push to acquire the territory becoming a key focus at the forum.
India’s equity market is having a turbulent start to 2026 due to US President Donald Trump’s unpredictable foreign and tariff policies. Actions like arresting Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro, confronting Iran, threatening 500% tariffs on nations buying Russian oil and pushing to claim Greenland while targeting European allies with duties have spiked geopolitical tensions. These moves have amplified market volatility amid ongoing trade uncertainties.
So far in 2026, the Sensex and Nifty50 has plummeted nearly 4% each.