NIFTY SLIPS BELOW 22,700; SENSEX TANKS 353 POINTS AS CRUDE NEARS $115

Indian equity benchmarks ended lower for a second consecutive session on Wednesday, October 28, 2026, with the Nifty 50 slipping below the 22,700 mark and the Sensex declining over 350 points, as a sharp spike in crude oil prices near $115 per barrel and heavy selling in IT and energy heavyweights weighed on sentiment ahead of the US Federal Reserve's policy decision.

The Nifty settled at 22,698.85, declining 50.90 points or 0.22%, while the BSE Sensex ended 352.64 points, or 0.48%, lower at 73,246.03 [citation:2][citation:8].

The market witnessed a volatile session with the Sensex swinging over 600 points intraday. The indices recovered sharply from their day's lows, with value buying emerging in pharma, auto, and select banking stocks [citation:6][citation:11].

Sector Losers: IT index was the worst performer, falling over 3%. FMCG and Oil & Gas indices declined 1.5-2%. Pharma and Auto indices gained nearly 1% each, providing some support [citation:10][citation:11].

IT, ENERGY WORST HIT; PHARMA, AUTO BUCK THE TREND; BROADER MARKETS MIXED

The IT sector bore the brunt of the selloff, with the Nifty IT index plunging over 3%. Infosys crashed 3.43%, TCS fell 3.26%, and Tech Mahindra declined 3.25%. The energy sector also witnessed heavy selling, with Reliance Industries falling 3.19% and ONGC dropping 2.16% [citation:10][citation:11].

On the positive side, Apollo Hospitals surged 4.43%, leading the pharma pack. L&T jumped 3.72% after reporting strong Q2 results with a 32.5% rise in consolidated net profit. Trent gained 3.31%, SBI Life rose 2.06%, and IndiGo added 2.03% [citation:11].

Broader markets traded mixed, with the Nifty Midcap 100 declining 0.41%, while the Nifty Smallcap 100 gained 0.6%, outperforming the benchmarks [citation:10].

RUPEE RECOVERS MARGINALLY TO 95.08; VIX COOLS TO 16.36 AS FEAR SUBSIDES

The Indian rupee opened marginally higher by 4 paise at 95.08 against the US dollar on Wednesday, backed by persistent dollar selling by the Reserve Bank of India, which helped insulate the currency from a sell-off in other emerging Asian markets ahead of the US Fed decision. The rupee had ended at 95.12 on Tuesday [citation:4].

India VIX, the volatility gauge, declined 0.28% to 16.36, easing from its recent highs despite continuing concerns over Middle East tensions and crude oil prices [citation:3].

FII/DII Flows: Foreign institutional investors bought shares worth ₹4,240.39 crore on Tuesday, while domestic institutional investors sold equities worth ₹1,250.03 crore. FIIs increased their long positions in index futures to 12.57% [citation:7][citation:12].