Markets closed lower for the third consecutive session on Friday, with the Nifty 50 shedding 275 points or 1.14 per cent to end at 23,898 — its steepest single-day fall in April — as a brutal sell-off in IT stocks and surging crude oil prices compounded an already fragile market mood.

The Sensex fell 983 points to close at 76,681, with every sectoral index ending in the red. The Nifty IT index bore the worst of the damage, cratering over 5 per cent after Infosys and HCL Tech delivered subdued earnings outlooks, rattling investor confidence in one of India’s most closely watched sectors. Infosys and TCS were among the top index laggards, while Coal India and Trent offered rare bright spots as the session’s top gainers.

The sell-off unfolded against a deteriorating global backdrop. Brent crude climbed above $100 a barrel as the standoff at the Strait of Hormuz showed no signs of easing, keeping energy supply risks firmly in play. “Markets are currently pricing in a level of optimism that appears disconnected from the underlying geopolitical and energy realities,” said Justin Khoo, Senior Market Analyst at VT Markets, adding that “...energy supply chains do not normalise as quickly as market sentiment.”

The rupee added to investor worries, weakening past the 94.2 mark against the dollar — its fifth straight day of losses and the sharpest weekly drop since September 2022. The slide has been driven by a combination of sustained foreign institutional outflows and rising import costs from elevated crude prices, with some analysts flagging the possibility of further depreciation toward 95.

Institutional flows remained a concern. FIIs returned to net selling after a brief reprieve, while the broader market breadth deteriorated sharply — just 383 of 500 Nifty stocks closed in the green, and the BSE advances-declines ratio stood at 0.46.

The macro picture received another blow this week as both J.P. Morgan and HSBC downgraded Indian equities — J.P. Morgan to Neutral and HSBC to Underweight — citing earnings downgrades, rich valuations and India’s vulnerability to oil price shocks. J.P. Morgan estimated that an extreme oil scenario of $120 per barrel could shave 2 per cent off GDP and 3 per cent off earnings. HSBC flagged that “...valuations will appear elevated as earning downgrades feed through,” and noted that India looks less attractive than its North-East Asian peers in the current environment.

Gold remained volatile domestically, swinging between ₹1,50,700 and ₹1,51,900 intraday, as West Asia tensions kept safe-haven demand elevated. Technically, support is pegged around ₹1,49,000 with resistance near ₹1,54,000.

Looking ahead, markets will track crude oil movements closely, with any further deterioration in Hormuz shipping flows likely to sustain pressure on the rupee and corporate margins. The ongoing Q4FY26 earnings season — particularly management commentary on FY27 guidance — will be a key near-term trigger. Immediate support for Nifty lies in the 23,550–23,600 zone, while a recovery above 24,200 would be needed to shift the short-term bias back in favour of bulls.

Published on April 24, 2026