Indian Equities Slide as Crude Oil Surges; Rupee, Bonds Weaken

An end-of-day recap of all that transpired in the Indian markets, highlighting the major price movements and the factors driving them

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By Dehuti Jani

Dehuti Jani is an experienced project manager who also works as an independent financial journalist.

September 24, 2026 at 12:17 PM IST

Benchmark Indian equity indices fell sharply on Thursday, with financial stocks leading the decline, as surging crude oil prices heightened inflation concerns and a global bond sell-off weighed on sentiment. The Nifty 50 fell 383.70 points, or 1.64%, to 23,063.10, while the Sensex declined 1,247.71 points, or 1.67%, to 73,580.54. Both indices recorded their steepest single session fall since July 8. All 16 major sectoral indices ended lower, while the Nifty MidCap and SmallCap indices fell 2.25% and 1.53%, respectively.

Brent crude rose 2.4% to $105.60 a barrel as diplomatic efforts between the US and Iran showed little progress. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian told the UN General Assembly that Tehran would not surrender to US pressure, adding to concerns over the outlook for oil supplies. The rise in crude weighed on Indian equities given the country's dependence on oil imports.

Banks and insurers led sectoral losses after the insurance regulator proposed changes to commission rules, including caps on payouts, linking commissions to product complexity and spreading life-insurance commissions beyond the first year. Bajaj Finance, HDFC Life Insurance Company and Axis Bank were the top Nifty 50 losers. Nifty Financial Services, Bank and Private Bank indices underperformed, while Media and Pharma declined the least.

The Indian rupee fell 0.2% to 95.9550 per US dollar, its lowest level in a week, as higher oil prices and limited progress in US-Iran talks raised concerns over inflation and global interest rates. Dollar sales by state-run banks, likely on behalf of the Reserve Bank of India, helped keep the currency above 96 per dollar.

Government bond yields rose sharply as crude prices and US Treasury yields climbed, and traders reduced exposure ahead of Friday's gilt auction. The yield on the benchmark 6.94%, 2036 government bond rose to 7.1067% from 7.0447% on Wednesday, after touching 7.1133%, its highest intraday level since 22 May.

Top Movers of the Day
National Stock Exchange shares rose 1.79% to 1,817 rupees in their debut trading session on the BSE, after opening at a 0.8% premium to the 1,785-rupee issue price. The stock's listing came as the Nifty and Sensex fell sharply amid broad-based selling, with only three Nifty 50 constituents ending higher.

NTPC rose marginally by 0.06% to 326.20 rupees amid a weak broad market following corporate updates on capacity additions and regulated returns.

Canara Bank fell 0.24% to 125.70 rupees following a broader sell-off in banking stocks and on regulatory pressure over bank fee incomes. Investors tracked credit growth and asset-quality trends amid weak banking stocks.

Bharat Dynamics ended down 0.27% to 1,157.90 rupees after rising 2% intraday following an 8.11-billion-rupee order win from the Ministry of Defence for 160 Satellite Smart Anti-Airfield weapons and defence-sector developments. The shares ended down marginally on sell-off in the broader market.

Waaree Energies ended at around 2,499 rupees down 0.50% following its recent gains, with the stock seeing volatile trade amid profit-taking in renewable-energy counters.

WhiteOak Capital was in focus on reports that it is preparing a 15-billion-rupee IPO, with a proposed valuation of about 90 billion rupees.

AssetGro Fintech (StockGro) was in focus on reports that it may file draft IPO papers for a 20–25-billion-rupee issue.

PB Fintech plunged 36% to a 52-week low of 1,244.50 rupees after IRDAI proposed an overhaul of insurance distributor commission rules, with brokerages warning that the changes could reduce commission income across key insurance segments.

Info Edge fell around 7% to 1,215.60 rupees today as the sharp decline in PB Fintech shares reduced the value of its stake in the insurance distributor.

Futures & Options
The Nifty September 2026 futures closed at 23,095, a premium of 31.90 points over the Nifty 50’s cash-market close of 23,063.10. The Nifty 50 fell 383.70 points, or 1.64%, during the session, while the NSE’s India VIX, a gauge of expected near-term volatility, jumped 22.08% to 12.63.

HDFC Bank, Axis Bank and Reliance Industries were the most-traded individual stock futures contracts on the NSE. The September 2026 F&O contracts will expire on September 29, 2026.

Bonds
Indian government bond yields rose sharply on Thursday as crude oil prices and US Treasury yields climbed, while traders reduced exposure ahead of Friday’s government bond auction. The yield on the benchmark 6.94%, 2036 bond rose to 7.1067% from 7.0447% on Wednesday, after touching a session high of 7.1133%, its highest intraday level since May 22.

Brent crude surged above $106 a barrel amid uncertainty over US-Iran negotiations, while the 10-year US Treasury yield rose to 5.14% as markets increased bets on another US Federal Reserve rate hike in October. Selling was more pronounced in shorter-tenure bonds, with traders positioning for a possible 25-basis-point rate hike by the RBI in October, and additional liquidity-absorption measures. The yield on the 6.36%, 2031 bond rose nearly 9 basis points to 6.8147%.

Forex
The Indian rupee fell 0.2% to 95.9550 per US dollar on Thursday, its lowest level in a week, as higher oil prices and limited progress in US-Iran talks raised concerns that persistent inflation could prompt further global rate hikes. The currency touched 95.96 earlier in the session, its weakest level since September 17.

Dollar sales by state-run banks, likely on behalf of the Reserve Bank of India, limited the rupee’s losses and kept it above 96 per dollar. Rising global bond yields also pressured emerging-market currencies, with US Treasury yields reaching multiyear highs as traders increased bets on further rate hikes by the Federal Reserve. New York Fed President John Williams said it was reasonable to consider another rate increase before year-end to contain inflation risks.

Crypto
The cryptocurrency markets pulled back after a multi-day rally that pushed prices to eight-month highs, as higher US Treasury yields and hawkish signals from Federal Reserve officials weighed on risk appetite.

Profit-taking and positioning ahead of Friday’s $15-billion quarterly options expiry also added pressure. Bitcoin slipped to $83,867 after trading above $86,000 earlier, while Ethereum fell below its recent $2,700 consolidation level to around $2,674.

US Stock Futures
US stock futures fell Thursday as Treasury yields continued to rise and investors increased bets on further rate hikes by the Federal Reserve. Nasdaq-100 futures dropped 1%, while S&P 500 futures fell 0.6% and Dow Jones Industrial Average futures declined 215 points, or 0.4%.

Higher oil prices added to pressure on risk assets, with Brent crude rising 2.1% to $105.21 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate gaining 1.5% to $93.57. Fed funds futures indicated more than a 75% probability of another rate hike at the October policy meeting.

US Treasury Notes
US Treasury note yields extended their rise, with the benchmark 10-year yield trading around 5.14% and the 30-year yield near 5.42%. Strong US business activity data and hawkish signals from Federal Reserve Governor Michael Barr strengthened expectations of another rate hike, adding to selling pressure in the Treasury market.

Higher yields also weighed on US equity futures, with S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 futures falling around 0.3% in early trade, while oil prices remained above $100 a barrel.

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Indian Equities Slide as Crude Oil Surges; Rupee, Bonds Weaken