Indian Equities Fall as IT Stocks Weigh; Rupee Gains, Bond Yields Ease

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

Amey Bane/iStockphoto.com

By Dehuti Jani

September 22, 2026 at 12:42 PM IST

Indian benchmark equity indices ended lower on Tuesday, snapping the Nifty50’s four-day gaining streak as IT and financial stocks came under pressure. The Nifty 50 fell 85.30 points, or 0.36%, to 23,329.00, while the Sensex declined 329.91 points, or 0.44%, to 74,529.08. Fourteen of the 16 major sectoral indices fell, while the Nifty MidCap and SmallCap indices declined 0.08% and 0.23%, respectively.

The Nifty IT index fell 0.9% after CLSA and Goldman Sachs flagged subdued demand as a drag on the medium-term earnings outlook. Trent, Tata Consumer Products and Tata Consultancy Services were the top Nifty 50 losers. Nifty PSU Bank and Pharma also declined, while Media, Realty and Metal indices gained. The market remained cautious ahead of the weekly derivatives expiry, with participants saying proposed changes to derivatives settlement could help curb expiry-day volatility.

Oil prices fell for the fifth consecutive session as investors looked for potential progress in US-Iran talks at the UN General Assembly this week. Brent crude fell below $99 a barrel after a senior Iranian government official said Iran would reopen the Strait of Hormuz within seven days if the US takes initial steps to ease military pressure in the region.

The Indian rupee rose 0.2% to 95.59 per US dollar, supported by lower oil prices and likely central bank intervention. Government bond yields fell sharply as crude prices eased, with the yield on the benchmark 6.94%, 2036 bond falling to 7.0106% from Monday’s close of 7.0497%.

Top Movers of the Day

Raymond shares ended up at 2.95% at ₹1,117 after hitting a 52-week high of ₹1,193.40 intraday driven by corporate fund-raising proposals and strong momentum in its post-restructuring aerospace and defense business.

Sterling and Wilson Renewable Energy surged 2.14% to ₹177.55, gaining amid buying interest in the renewable energy and power-EPC space. These shares had risen nearly 8% intraday after the company announced new domestic and international order wins worth 9.85 billion rupees.

RHI Magnesita India rose 2.88% to 378.60 rupees after a massive block deal of 22.9 million shares worth ₹8.26 billion today.

Pine Labs advanced 2% to ₹197.58 after around 47 million shares changed hands in a 9.34-billion-rupee block deal, with reports suggesting Mastercard trimmed its stake.

Coal India gained 3.13% to ₹427.70 after global brokerage firm Morgan Stanley upgraded the stock to overweight from equal weight and raised its target price to ₹480.

LTIMindtree fell 2.57% to ₹4,170 amid profit-taking after recent gains and also on broader IT shares sell-off across the sector.

GMM Pfaudler declined 3.34% to ₹1,456.90 amid selling in the industrial counter. The shares also fell after Alexander Poempner resigned as group CFO with Ankit Nayyar taking over his position from November 4, 2026

HCL Technologies slipped 0.62% to ₹1,273, tracking weakness across IT stocks driven by commentary from CLSA regarding weak macroeconomic fundamentals, and pressures from high interest rates.

Polycab India remained in focus after falling around 17% from its June peak to ₹8,345 today following UltraTech Cement’s entry into the wires and cables segment.

Varmora Granito raised 2.124 billion rupees from anchor investors at ₹148 a share ahead of its 7.08-billion-rupee IPO. The issue includes a fresh component for capex and debt repayment and an offer for sale.

NSE closed its IPO with 5.71 times subscription, receiving bids for 505.81 million shares against 88.6 million shares on offer, with total bids valued at more than ₹900 billion at the upper price band.

Futures & Options
The Nifty September 2026 futures closed at 23,410, a premium of 81 points over the Nifty 50’s cash-market close of 23,329. The Nifty 50 fell 85.30 points, or 0.36%, during the session, while the NSE’s India VIX, a gauge of expected near-term volatility, fell 2.88% to 10.92.

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

Bonds
Indian government bond yields fell sharply on Tuesday as a decline in crude prices and hopes of easing tensions in West Asia prompted traders to cover short positions. The yield on the benchmark 6.94%, 2036 bond fell to 7.0106% from 7.0497% on Monday.

Brent crude fell below $99 a barrel after a senior Iranian government official said Iran would reopen the Strait of Hormuz within seven days if the US takes initial steps to ease military pressure in the region. The move raised expectations of further easing in crude prices and supported demand for government bonds.

Demand at the state government bond auction was broadly in line with expectations, with insurers and banks showing stronger interest in longer-tenure securities. The seven states raised the full notified amount of 167.50 billion rupees.

Forex
The Indian rupee rose 0.2% to end at 95.59 per US dollar on Tuesday, after moving between modest gains and losses as traders tracked volatility in oil prices. Brent crude fell 1.5% to $98.80 a barrel on reports that Iran had offered to reopen the Strait of Hormuz if the US eases military pressure and lifts its blockade.

The rupee had come under pressure earlier when oil prices were higher, but dollar sales by state-run banks helped limit losses. Sustained Reserve Bank of India intervention through bond sales and foreign exchange swaps has also helped reduce excess banking-system liquidity, while swap operations drained additional cash.

Crypto
The cryptocurrency market value reclaimed the $3-trillion mark on Tuesday, rising more than 5.3% as short covering and renewed institutional spot ETF inflows supported gains. Bitcoin climbed more than 5.4% to an eight-month high of $87,281 before easing to around $85,630, while Ethereum rose to $2,772 after breaking above recent technical resistance.

Lower oil prices and easing US Treasury yields also supported risk appetite across crypto markets. However, elevated leverage remains a risk, with perpetual futures open interest nearing $160 billion, potentially increasing volatility during sharp market moves.

US Stock Futures
US stock futures were mixed early Tuesday after Wall Street rallied in the previous session, led by artificial-intelligence-linked stocks. S&P 500 futures fell 0.08%, while Nasdaq-100 futures declined 0.05% and Dow Jones Industrial Average futures rose 0.04%.

Futures pared losses after a Kyodo report said Iran had offered to reopen the Strait of Hormuz within seven days, sending crude oil prices lower. European stocks also turned higher after the report, easing some of the pressure on global risk sentiment.

US Treasury Notes
US Treasury note yields eased slightly in early Tuesday as investors awaited fresh employment data and scheduled speeches from Federal Reserve policymakers. The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield fell around 3 basis points to 4.931%, remaining below the 5% level tested earlier this month.

The two-year Treasury yield, which is more sensitive to monetary policy expectations, declined around 1 basis point to 4.741%. Treasury trading remained cautious as investors reassessed rate expectations following the Federal Reserve’s recent rate hike.

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Indian Equities Fall as IT Stocks Weigh; Rupee Gains, Bond Yields Ease