Indian Shares Fall as Oil Prices Rise; Jio Platforms IPO Fully Subscribed

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

October 21, 2026 at 12:48 PM IST

Indian benchmark equity indices fell for a second consecutive session on Wednesday as elevated crude oil prices weighed on sentiment, offsetting early gains.

The Nifty50 declined 0.34% to 22,811.35, while the Sensex fell 143.21 points, or 0.19%, to 73,709.69. Both indices had risen about 1% in early trade before reversing course.

The Nifty IT index was the only major sectoral gainer, while chemical, consumer durables and metal stocks led losses. Bajaj Finance, BSE and Eternal were among the biggest Nifty 50 laggards. The Nifty MidCap 100 and SmallCap 100 indices fell 1.58% and 2.37%, respectively, reflecting the weak broader market.

Jio Platforms' ₹302.13 billion initial public offering was fully subscribed within two hours of opening on Wednesday, marking India's largest share sale and the first IPO from Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Group in two decades. Investors' response to the offering came as markets remained sensitive to rising oil prices, which threaten to increase India's import bill, strain public finances and pressure corporate earnings.

The rupee strengthened 0.5% to 94.46 per US dollar, reaching its strongest level at 94.43 during the session, the highest since early September. Foreign portfolio inflows linked to the Jio IPO supported the currency, although rising oil prices limited gains.

Indian government bonds remained under pressure from elevated crude oil prices and US Treasury yields. The benchmark 10-year gilt yield rose to around 7.4367%, the highest since March 2023, and ended at 7.4427% compared with Monday's close of 7.3920%.

Top Movers of the Day

Infosys surged 3.30% to close at ₹1,168.00. The IT heavyweight led the broader market rally as investors flocked to technology stocks amid positive sentiment regarding India-US trade deal developments.

HCL Technologies advanced 3.21% to ₹1,424.20 as the IT sector emerged as a defensive safe haven for investors. The software exporter saw consistent accumulation, successfully bucking the broader market's negative trend.

Tech Mahindra gained 3.13% to settle at ₹1,834.70. The stock benefited heavily from the sector-wide optimism in IT shares following strong quarterly earnings, positive management commentary and bullish re-rating notes from Jefferies.

Tata Consultancy Services climbed 2.77% to close at ₹2,529. The country's largest IT services firm attracted significant buying interest, helping to cushion the benchmark indices from steep declines in other major sectors.

Eternal plunged 2.45% to close at ₹312.35. The stock faced aggressive selling pressure as cautious investors unloaded positions ahead of its second-quarter earnings release.

Bajaj Finance dropped 3.27% to settle at ₹926, emerging as the worst-hit stock in the Nifty 50. The financial major was dragged down by persistent institutional profit-taking, sequential asset quality pressure, and margin compression fears.

Eicher Motors declined 2.43% to close at ₹7,170.50. The stock tracked a broader sell-off in the automobile space, facing sustained downward momentum as investors recalibrated their exposure to rate-sensitive sectors.

BSE fell 2.63% to close at ₹3,248.30. The exchange operator gave up its recent strong gains as market participants broadly booked profits amid the overall negative market breadth and given the higher crude oil prices.

Trent slipped over 2.41% to ₹2,822 today. The retail giant faced localised profit booking after a recent strong run in its share price and lingering pressure from high valuation multiples.

Futures & Options
The Nifty October 2026 futures contract closed at 22,745, a discount of 66.35 points to the Nifty 50's cash market close of 22,811.35. The benchmark index fell 77.60 points, or 0.34%, during the session.

India VIX, a gauge of expected near-term volatility, jumped 6.29% to 15.70. Reliance Industries and HDFC Bank were listed among the most-traded individual stock futures contracts on the NSE. The October 2026 F&O contracts will expire on 27 October.

Bonds
Indian government bond yields rose as elevated crude oil prices and US Treasury yields weighed on sentiment. The benchmark 10-year gilt yield touched 7.4367%, its highest level since March 2023; it ended at 7.4427% compared with Monday's close of 7.3920%.

The Reserve Bank of India rejected all bids at its Treasury bill auction across the 91-day, 182-day and 364-day tenors, as investors sought higher yields amid tightening banking system liquidity. It was the first complete rejection across all three tenors since March 25, reflecting a gap between investors' yield expectations and the government's acceptable borrowing rates.

The auction followed a decline in the banking system's liquidity surplus to 483 billion rupees on Tuesday, its lowest level since July 23. It was also the first Treasury bill auction since the RBI's revised norms for maintaining the daily cash reserve ratio took effect.

Forex
The Indian rupee strengthened 0.5% to 94.46 per US dollar on Wednesday, reaching 94.43 at its strongest point during the session, its highest level since early September. Foreign portfolio inflows linked to Jio Platforms' IPO supported the currency.

The rupee pared some gains in the second half of the session as oil prices rose and domestic equities weakened. Brent crude futures climbed 1.3% to above $110 a barrel amid escalating tensions involving Iran and the US, raising concerns over potential supply disruptions.

Crypto
The cryptocurrency market was steady today, with Bitcoin traded around $82,700 and Ethereum near $2,440 as the cryptocurrency market consolidated ahead of the Federal Reserve's policy meeting next week. Strong technology earnings supported sentiment towards risk assets, while elevated US Treasury yields and energy market volatility limited further gains.

Traders are watching whether Bitcoin can hold within the $80,000-$84,000 range, while monitoring spot Bitcoin ETF flows for signs of stabilising institutional demand.

US Stock Futures
US stock futures were mixed early Wednesday as investors assessed corporate earnings. Nasdaq-100 futures rose 0.44%, and S&P 500 futures gained 0.11%, while Dow futures fell 42 points, or nearly 0.1%.

SpaceX shares surged 9% in premarket trading after the company reported 161% revenue growth in the third quarter. Elon Musk said SpaceX and Tesla had formed special committees to discuss a potential merger. Tesla shares rose more than 2% ahead of its earnings report. Netflix fell more than 6% after reporting its slowest sales growth in three years.

US Treasury Notes
US Treasury yields steadied on Wednesday as investors assessed the outlook for monetary policy ahead of the Federal Reserve's October 28 meeting. The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield held around 5.12%-5.13%, while the two-year yield hovered near 4.79%, following declines in the previous session on weak housing data.

Markets largely expect the Fed to hold rates steady at its upcoming meeting, although traders continue to price in the possibility of rate hikes over the next 12 months. Persistent inflation concerns and the US fiscal outlook continued to weigh on sentiment. Investors awaited weekly jobless claims data and a $13 billion auction of 20-year Treasury bonds for further signals on labour-market conditions and demand for government debt.

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Indian Shares Fall as Oil Prices Rise; Jio Platforms IPO Fully Subscribed