Update, 23 October 2026, 5:01 PM: We've added the full sector breakdown, the Nifty's top gainers and losers, and Brent at $114.31. The Jio IPO was 12.55 times subscribed by 3 PM. We've also corrected the KOSPI: it closed up 0.30% on 23 October. The big 3.5% fall was on 22 October.
Update, 23 October 2026, 3:59 PM: Closing levels are in. The Sensex ended down 125.56 points at 73,123.83 and the Nifty closed at 22,600 (−87.65), both well above their 3 PM lows.
The Sensex and Nifty gave up an early rally on Friday, 23 October 2026, and the Sensex Nifty stock market closed lower for the fourth session in a row. The Sensex ended at 73,123.83, down 125.56 points (−0.17%). The Nifty 50 closed at 22,600.00, down 87.65 points (−0.39%). Both recovered in the last half hour: at 3 PM the Sensex had been as low as 72,818. Brent crude at about $114, a broad selloff that left every sector in the red and heavy falls in midcaps and smallcaps did the damage. The Jio Platforms IPO also closed today and four companies listed, so a lot happened in one session.
This is today's wrap. For the longer view on why Indian equities have been sliding for weeks, read our explainer on why the Indian stock market is falling.
Note: the closing figures come from ANI's closing report (via The Tribune) and Business Standard's live market blog. Check NSE and BSE for the official close.
Sensex and Nifty today: the numbers at a glance
| Session | Sensex | Nifty 50 |
|---|---|---|
| Fri 16 Oct close (last week) | 74,729.27 | 23,146.15 |
| Wed 21 Oct close | 73,709.69 (−143 pts) | 22,811.35 |
| Thu 22 Oct close | 73,249.39 (−460.30 pts, −0.62%) | 22,687.65 (−123.70 pts, −0.54%) |
| Fri 23 Oct open | 73,665.64 (+0.57%) | 22,742.20 (+0.24%) |
| Fri 23 Oct, ~3 PM | 72,818.46 (−0.59%) | 22,489.65 (−0.87%) |
| Fri 23 Oct close | 73,123.83 (−125.56 pts, −0.17%) | 22,600.00 (−87.65 pts, −0.39%) |
The broader market fell much harder than the headline indices. At the close the Nifty Midcap 100 was down 2.21% and the Smallcap 100 down 2.94%. During the session they had been down about 3% and 4%. Over the past week, midcaps have lost about 6.3% and smallcaps about 7.8%. Volatility rose too: the India VIX gained about 6%. If you hold mostly mid- and small-cap funds or stocks, your portfolio probably did much worse than the 0.2–0.4% fall in the Sensex and Nifty suggests.
How bad is the week?
From last Friday's close, the Sensex is down about 1,605 points (roughly 2.1%) and the Nifty about 546 points (roughly 2.4%). That makes it four straight losing sessions after Monday. These are our own calculations from the levels above.
What moved the market on 23 October
1. An early IT rally that didn't last
The morning looked better. The Sensex rose about 416 points at the open, helped by IT and Reliance. By about 10 AM the Nifty IT index was up 2.39%, with TCS up 3.77%, Infosys up 2.68% ahead of its Q2 FY27 results and HCLTech up 2.11% after it reported 78% year-on-year growth in advanced AI revenue. Most of those gains were gone by the afternoon, and the IT index closed down 0.33%. TCS was one of the few large stocks still in the green at the close.
2. Crude oil near $114
Brent crude has risen almost every week this month: about $104 on 8 October, $107 on 14 October, then a jump of about 4% to roughly $113 on 22 October, its highest in five months. On 23 October it rose another 1% to $114.31. Reports blame tanker strikes in the Middle East and worries about the conflict with Iran. India imports most of its oil, so higher crude means:
- a bigger import bill and more pressure on the current account
- a higher risk of inflation feeding into fuel, transport and input costs
- a weaker rupee. It opened at 94.78 per dollar on Friday and weakened to about 95.15. Dealers see possible resistance near 95.30. The rupee has fallen sharply since the Iran conflict began on 28 February 2026.
3. Midcaps and smallcaps took the biggest hit
When foreign money leaves and risk appetite drops, the smaller and more expensive parts of the market usually fall first. These stocks trade in thinner volumes, so a wave of selling moves their prices more. Many of them also ran up sharply before the correction. Vinod Nair of Geojit called the mid- and smallcap correction "disproportionately sharp". He pointed to stretched valuations, leveraged traders being forced to close positions and the AI-led global selloff, and he expects volatility to continue.
4. Foreign selling continues
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) had been net sellers for 13 straight sessions as of 14 October. Their year-to-date outflows stand at a record $32.52 billion. On 22 October, FIIs sold a net ₹3,458.70 crore in the cash market while domestic institutions bought a net ₹2,891.32 crore. DII buying, helped by SIP inflows, is softening the fall but not stopping it. Figures for 23 October were not out when we updated this post.
Sectors, gainers, losers and trending stocks
Every sectoral index closed lower on 23 October:
- Metal: −2.98%
- Consumer Durables: −2.93%
- PSU Bank: −2.52%
- FMCG and Pharma: −1.46% each
- Private Bank: −1.13%
- Media: −1.12%
- Auto: −0.90%
- IT: −0.33%
- Nifty gainers: Eternal, Apollo Hospitals, Asian Paints, TCS, UltraTech Cement and Maruti Suzuki.
- Nifty losers: Shriram Finance, Adani Enterprises, JSW Steel, Jio Financial, Tata Steel, Adani Ports and Tata Motors PV.
- Biggest drags on 22 October: Reliance Industries, HDFC Bank and Eternal pulled the indices down the most.
- Best performer of the day: Tonbo Imaging on listing day, which opened about 66% above its issue price (details below).
Also trending today: searches for Adani stocks rose. Adani Enterprises and Adani Ports were among the Nifty's biggest losers. Separately, group company Adani Energy Solutions reported that its Q2 FY27 profit more than doubled to about ₹1,364 crore, helped by a tax gain and higher sales. Searches for Jammu & Kashmir Bank, Welspun Corp (वेलस्पन कॉर्प), Sterlite Technologies and IDBI Bank (आईडीबीआई बैंक) also jumped. We still couldn't confirm the stock-specific news or price moves behind them at the time of this update. PSU banks were among the weakest sectors on the day. If you hold any of these stocks, check the company's announcements on NSE or BSE before you act on social-media tips.
Gold and silver: 24-carat gold slipped 0.31% to about ₹1,42,871 per 10 grams and silver fell 1.84% to about ₹1,95,927 per kg, with Dhanteras buying in focus.
KOSPI: why Asia fell, and why it matters for India
A lot of people searched for KOSPI today, mostly because of Thursday's crash. South Korea's main index:
- 22 October: fell about 3.5% to 5,533.77, its lowest close since April. This was part of a global selloff in AI stocks, on the same day oil hit its highest level since May.
- 23 October: closed up 0.30% at about 5,550. An earlier version of this post said it had fallen another 2.6%, based on readings taken during the session. The close shows the index steadied.
The rest of Asia was mixed on Friday. Japan's Nikkei fell 0.51% to 62,587, Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.73% and Singapore's Straits Times gained 0.13%. Taiwan's market was closed. The 22 October selloff came from doubts that the huge amounts being spent on AI data centres can keep growing at the same pace. Memory-chip makers such as Samsung Electronics and SK hynix were hit hard. KB Securities warned of a "W-shaped" correction, meaning the market could make a second bottom lower than the first.
Why Indian investors should care: Global funds often sell across all emerging markets together. When chip-heavy markets like Korea and Taiwan fall, the same funds tend to cut their Indian holdings too. On Friday, though, Korea's steadying didn't help India much. Local pressures did most of the damage: crude, the rupee and leveraged traders exiting midcaps and smallcaps. The KOSPI is still a useful early signal for Asia's mood before Dalal Street opens.
आज की लिस्टिंग: four IPOs debut as Jio closes
The Hindi search term लिस्टिंग (listing) has been trending as well. Four companies listed on 23 October, while the market's biggest IPO so far was in its final day of bidding.
| Company | Issue price | Listing price | Listing gain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tonbo Imaging | ₹700 | ₹1,160 (NSE), ₹1,162 (BSE) | about +66% |
| Sahajanand Medical Tech | ₹344 | ₹371.15 (NSE) | +7.9% |
| Zetwerk | ₹151 | ₹159.25 (BSE) | about +5% |
| Bonfiglioli Transmissions | ₹586 | ₹586 | Flat |
Tonbo Imaging stood out. Its roughly ₹852 crore issue was entirely an offer for sale and was subscribed about 133–136 times (sources differ). That demand showed up on listing day even though the wider market was weak. The stock hit an intraday high of ₹1,211, then slipped to around ₹1,050–1,069 as the market turned lower. Its market value was about ₹6,656 crore at listing. We hadn't confirmed the closing price when we updated this post, so check NSE or BSE. If you applied, you can check your allotment and next steps in our Tonbo Imaging IPO allotment status guide. The other three listings were modest. Bonfiglioli listing flat on a day when smallcaps fell nearly 3% is a fair result.
सार (Hindi summary): 23 अक्टूबर को सेंसेक्स 125.56 अंक गिरकर 73,123.83 पर और निफ्टी 22,600 पर बंद हुआ। यह लगातार चौथे दिन की गिरावट है। सभी सेक्टर लाल निशान में बंद हुए। इसी दिन चार IPO की लिस्टिंग हुई। Tonbo Imaging ₹700 के इश्यू प्राइस के मुकाबले ₹1,160 पर लिस्ट हुआ, यानी लगभग 66% का मुनाफ़ा। Sahajanand Medical Tech (+7.9%) और Zetwerk (करीब +5%) ने छोटा फ़ायदा दिया, जबकि Bonfiglioli Transmissions ₹586 पर फ्लैट लिस्ट हुआ। Jio Platforms IPO दोपहर 3 बजे तक 12.55 गुना सब्सक्राइब हो चुका था। इसका अलॉटमेंट 26 अक्टूबर को होगा और लिस्टिंग 28 अक्टूबर को तय है।
Jio Platforms IPO: what happens next
Bidding for the Jio Platforms IPO, India's largest ever, closed today. The key facts:
- Price band: ₹1,065–1,119. One lot is 12 shares, which costs ₹13,428 at the top of the band.
- Issue size: about ₹30,200 crore, all fresh issue with no offer for sale.
- Valuation: about ₹10.3 lakh crore, roughly 33 times FY26 earnings.
- Subscription: 3.04 times on day 1 and 5.40 times on day 2. On the final day it reached 12.55 times by 3 PM: QIBs 32.77 times, non-institutional investors 13.38 times and retail 2.51 times. One tracker showed about 14.22 times at 3:47 PM, but its data isn't fully consistent, so treat that number with caution. The official final figure from the exchanges had not been published when we updated this post.
- Allotment: 26 October, through registrar KFin Technologies. Refunds and demat credit follow on 27 October.
- Listing: scheduled for 28 October on NSE and BSE.
- Grey market premium: about ₹245 around midday on 23 October, roughly 22%, which points to a listing near ₹1,360. GMP is unofficial and unregulated, and it can change quickly when the wider market is falling, as it is now.
For category-wise demand and the latest GMP updates, see our Jio IPO subscription status and GMP tracker.
Is this a crash or a bear market?
Not officially, but it is close. A bear market usually means a fall of 20% or more from the peak. On 8 October the Nifty hit its 2026 low of 22,179.90 intraday and closed at 22,231.80, about 15.7% below the 52-week high of 26,373.20 (sources disagree slightly on the exact peak). At today's close of 22,600, the Nifty is roughly 14% below that high. That counts as a deep correction, not a bear market. The broader market is in worse shape: smallcaps have lost nearly 8% in a single week.
The trend is still weak. On 1 October, The Week reported eight straight weekly losses for the market, the longest run in 25 years. The September F&O series ended 5.70% lower.
What to watch next week
- Final exchange data for 23 October. Look for three numbers on NSE and BSE: the official final Jio subscription figure, the FII/DII flows for the day and Tonbo Imaging's closing price.
- Jio allotment (Monday, 26 Oct) and listing (28 Oct). A strong debut could lift sentiment. A weak one in a falling market would hurt IPO appetite more broadly.
- Brent crude. Every move above $114 adds pressure on the rupee, which is already near 95 per dollar, and on oil-sensitive sectors.
- FPI flow data. A pause in foreign selling would be the clearest sign that the slide is slowing.
- KOSPI and Asian chip stocks. If KB Securities' "second bottom" warning plays out, Indian IT could be hit again.
- Infosys and other Q2 FY27 results, the US Fed meeting and the RBI minutes. Earnings from large companies will show whether profit forecasts are holding up.
Further out, Diwali's special session is coming. Here are the details on Muhurat trading 2026 timings on NSE and BSE.
What should a retail investor do?
This is not investment advice, but a few principles apply in a market like this:
- Don't stop SIPs just because the market is falling. Rupee-cost averaging works because you buy more units when prices are low.
- Check how much you hold in small caps. Today's nearly 3% smallcap fall, on a day the Sensex lost less than 0.2%, shows how volatile that part of the market can be.
- Don't treat GMP as a promise. Grey-market premiums can shrink quickly when the market is falling.
- Don't chase trending stocks on search buzz alone. Read the company's filing first.
- Keep an emergency fund outside equities so you are never forced to sell during a correction.
For more same-day explainers on money, markets and the rules that affect your wallet, visit the Kyuntrend homepage.