NIFTY Oil & Gas hits 52-week low: Here’s what investors need to know; check top losers

The NIFTY Oil & Gas slipped to its 52-week low on Friday, October 9, despite a positive market sentiment. A day after the stock market witnessed the biggest drop of 2026, the oil and gas stocks hit their new lows.

The index hit a one-year low of 10,286.70, while as many as 11 stocks out of 15 were trading in red.

Meanwhile, the crude oil prices retreated from the previous day’s high of $105 per barrel on Friday. Investing.com data showed that the benchmark Brent crude oil prices slipped 1.5% to a low of $102.71 per barrel in the afternoon session, in comparison to $104.28 per barrel at the previous commodity market close.

This week, oil prices surged amid concerns over supply from the Middle East following an increase in attacks on shipping in the Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz, while US output fell as a hurricane threatened offshore production.

Here’s what led to the easing of crude oil prices

US President Donald Trump said Thursday that he will not order a resumption of military strikes on Iran before the November 3 midterm elections in the United States.

Trump, while stumping for Republicans this week, has hinted that he was confident that an endgame to the war could come in the days before or after the election, while also hinting that he remained open to resuming full-scale military operations against Iran.

For weeks, Trump has been threatening that a post-midterm election escalation in the seven-month-old war remains a viable option, despite his initial promises to Americans of a military campaign that would last a matter of weeks.

RBI on oil prices

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) this week has said that inflation risks were no longer as benign as they had been a year earlier, pointing to higher food and fuel prices, deficient monsoon rains, El Niño conditions and renewed volatility in international oil prices.

Oil prices have emerged as a particular risk following the renewed escalation of the West Asia conflict. The Indian crude basket averaged $116.1 a barrel in September, up sharply from USD 82 in July, the RBI said.

ICRA in a note said that elevated crude oil prices and other inflationary pressures would dent corporate margins and dampen private consumption.