NIFTY ENDS FLAT AT 22,750; SENSEX SLIPS 8 POINTS ON F&O EXPIRY VOLATILITY

Indian equity benchmarks ended marginally lower on Tuesday, October 27, 2026, with the Nifty 50 holding above the 22,750 mark and the Sensex slipping just 8 points, as volatility on the futures and options (F&O) expiry day kept gains in check despite a sharp rally in broader markets.

The Nifty settled at 22,749.75, declining 3.45 points or 0.02%, while the BSE Sensex ended 8.08 points, or 0.01%, lower at 73,598.67 [citation:1][citation:6].

The market witnessed a volatile session with the Sensex swinging over 400 points intraday. The indices recovered sharply from their day's lows, with value buying emerging in media, realty, and pharma stocks [citation:6][citation:11].

Sector Losers: IT, oil & gas, and private banking stocks declined around 0.5% each. Media, realty, and pharma indices led the gains, advancing 2-3.6% [citation:11].

MEDIA, REALTY, PHARMA SHINE; IT, PRIVATE BANKS DRAG; SMALLCAPS OUTPERFORM

The media index led sectoral gains, surging 3.6%. Realty and pharma stocks rose 2% each, while the automobile index gained 1.4%. Broader markets significantly outperformed the benchmarks, with the Nifty Midcap 100 rising 0.8% and the Nifty Smallcap 100 gaining 2.7% [citation:11].

On the losing side, IT, oil & gas, and private banking indices declined around 0.5% each. Cipla fell 1.85%, ITC declined 1.52%, and Coal India dropped 1.41% [citation:7].

Among the top Nifty gainers were Tata Consumer Products (+5.46%), Bharti Airtel (+2.94%), and Trent (+2.58%). On the losing side, Cipla (-1.85%), ITC (-1.52%), and Coal India (-1.41%) were the biggest drags [citation:7].

RUPEE RECOVERS MARGINALLY TO 95.12; VIX COOLS 4.72% TO 16.35

The Indian rupee closed marginally higher by 3 paise at 95.12 against the US dollar on Tuesday, backed by likely intervention from the Reserve Bank amid elevated crude oil prices and a stronger greenback ahead of the US Fed decision. The rupee had lost 77 paise in the last three sessions [citation:4][citation:9].

India VIX, the volatility gauge, declined 4.72% to 16.35, easing from its recent highs despite continuing concerns over Middle East tensions and crude oil prices. The index moved between an intraday high of 17.48 and a low of 16.25 [citation:3].

FII/DII Flows: Foreign institutional investors sold shares worth ₹1,462 crore on Monday, while domestic institutional investors bought equities worth ₹2,609 crore. FIIs increased their long positions in index futures to 12.57% from 10.44% [citation:10].