NIFTY ENDS BELOW 22,700; SENSEX TANKS 460 POINTS AS CRUDE OIL TOPS $112

Indian equity benchmarks ended lower for a third consecutive session on Thursday, October 22, 2026, with the Nifty 50 slipping below the 22,700 mark and the Sensex declining over 460 points, as a surge in crude oil prices above $112 per barrel heightened concerns over the inflation outlook and dampened investor sentiment.

The Nifty settled at 22,687.65, declining 123.70 points or 0.54%, while the BSE Sensex ended 460.30 points, or 0.62%, lower at 73,249.39 [citation:1][citation:2].

The selloff wiped out nearly ₹5.3 lakh crore in investor wealth. The Nifty touched an intraday low of 22,554.85 before recovering some ground to close above 22,650. Market breadth remained extremely weak, with 2,670 stocks declining against 1,323 advances on the NSE [citation:2][citation:6].

Sector Losers: All sectoral indices ended in the red. Auto, IT, Energy and FMCG declined 1% each, while Media fell 2%. Pharma was relatively resilient.

ALL SECTORS IN RED; MEDIA, AUTO, IT WORST HIT; PHARMA RESILIENT

Every major sectoral index ended in negative territory on Thursday, with Media falling the most at 2%. Auto, IT, Energy and FMCG indices declined around 1% each. The broader market also witnessed sharp selling, with the Nifty MidCap 100 and SmallCap 100 indices falling over 1% each [citation:2].

On the losing side, Nestle India crashed 2.78%, Eternal fell 2.53%, and HDFC Life declined 2.09%. Tata Motors PV, Coal India and HDFC Bank were among the other major laggards [citation:6].

On the positive side, Bajaj Finance gained 1.74%, Cipla rose 1.29%, and UltraTech Cement added 1.00%. Bharti Airtel, Bajaj Auto and ICICI Bank also ended in the green, providing some support to the indices [citation:6].

RUPEE SLIPS TO 94.82 AS 8-DAY WINNING STREAK ENDS; VIX STAYS ELEVATED AT 15.81

The Indian rupee snapped its eight-session winning streak, closing 44 paise lower at 94.82 against the US dollar on Thursday. The currency came under pressure from a sharp fall in domestic equity markets and surging crude oil prices, which increased demand for dollars [citation:10][citation:13].

India VIX, the volatility gauge, ended marginally higher at 15.81, up 0.51% from the previous close. The index moved between an intraday low of 14.31 and a high of 16.66, reflecting heightened nervousness as the market extended its losing streak .

FII/DII Flows: Foreign institutional investors bought shares worth ₹1,022.32 crore on Wednesday, while domestic institutional investors were net buyers of ₹1,614.32 crore. However, FPIs have sold shares worth ₹52,482.59 crore in October through October 21 [citation:11].