Weekly market wrap: NIFTY50, SENSEX falls up to 3% marking 8th week of loss; Bajaj Auto, Max Health among top losers

Exchange data showed that the NIFTY50 index lost 2.8% or 641 points to end at 22,421.95 points in the week ended Thursday, October 1, while the BSE SENSEX declined 2,3% or 1,670 points to close at 71,909.70 points this week.

The equity market indices will remain closed for all trading activity and operations on Friday, October 2, for a scheduled holiday on account of Mahatma Gandhi Jayanti. The stock market will re-open for regular hours on Monday, October 5, 2026.

Investors remain focused on any potential peace deal update between the United States and Iran, amid the highly volatile energy prices in the market, which have kept investors on edge, with FIIs pulling funds out of riskier markets while powering the demand for safe-haven assets.

This week, India’s near-term volatility index, the Nifty India VIX, gained 13.9% due to the selling pressure and subdued market sentiment, resulting in significant losses for investors.

Thursday’s market recap

The Indian equity markets ended lower for a fourth consecutive trading session on Thursday, October 1, as investors focused on the massive selling pressure from foreign investors, elevated US Treasury yields and the rebound in crude oil prices in the market.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold capital market assets worth a total of ₹9,484.22 crore in a single day, while domestic investors continued to add support to the market.

Data showed that in the last four trading sessions, approximately ₹17.81 lakh crore of investors’ wealth was wiped out with the consistent decline in the stock market.

The NIFTY50 index closed 0.88% or 198.50 points lower at 22,421.95 after Thursday’s trading session, in comparison to 22,620.45 points at the previous equity market close, according to NSE data.

Meanwhile, the BSE SENSEX ended 0.79% or 570.59 points lower at 71,909.70 after the market session on October 1, compared to 72,480.29 points at the previous equity market close, as per the exchange data.

Top NIFTY50 gainers & losers this week

Stocks like Bajaj Auto, Max Healthcare, Apollo Hospitals, ONGC, and Titan Co. were among the top five weekly laggards on the benchmark NIFTY50 index as of the stock market close on October 1.

Others like Kotak Mahindra Bank, Axis Bank, Infosys, HDFC Life Insurance, and InterGlobe Aviation (IndiGo) were among the top laggards this week on the National Stock Exchange of India.

Factors which impacted markets this week

In the week ended Thursday, October 1, equity market investors focused on the US Treasury yields hitting an over two-decade high of 5.344%, with traders shifting towards safe-haven assets amid no signs of a near-term end to the conflict in West Asia.

Alongside the multi-year high US Treasury yields, the US dollar hitting a 16-month high this week also resulted in subdued sentiment in emerging markets, as investors continue to project a potential for the US Federal Reserve to raise key rates in the next FOMC meeting.

With the escalations in West Asia and no concrete signs of negotiations, foreign investors maintained their selling streak on Indian equities.

NSDL data showed that the foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold a total of ₹58,443 crore worth of capital market assets in September 2026, indicating the trend of consistent foreign outflows from the Indian market amid elevated risk sentiment.

On the oil front, supply disruption fears after US President Donald Trump’s peace deal rejection reignited the upward movement in global energy prices. The benchmark Brent crude oil prices were trading around $102 per barrel (bbl) on Thursday’s market.

Latest media reports suggest that Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian claimed Iran “has never avoided” dialogue with the United States, but investors seem to tread cautiously due to the high-risk geopolitical situation in the market.

Domestic updates like the worse-than-expected September 2026 sales data, along with semi-annual index rebalancing, kept stocks buzzing this week, with a major focus on stock and sector-specific action amid the broader sell-off sentiment.

Top sectoral movers this week

Sectors like Nifty Auto down 5%, Nifty Capital Markets index down 4.8%, Nifty Metal down 4.5%, Nifty FMCG down 4.3%, and Nifty Cement down 4.3% were among the top laggards this week.

In contrast, Nifty IT was the only major index to emerge as a gainer with 0.3% returns in the week ended on Thursday, October 1. IT stocks bucked the trend this week as investors focused on the momentum during the final trading day of the week ahead of Accenture’s earnings, while reacting to better-than-expected PCE inflation data from the United States.

Top midcap stocks this week

Stocks like PB Fintech, Patanjali Foods, Swiggy, Fortis Healthcare, and LIC Housing Finance emerged as the top five weekly losers on the benchmark Nifty Midcap 100 index as of the stock market close on October 1.

NSE data showed that the Nifty Midcap 100 index declined 3.7% this week amid the selling pressure in the equity market.

Others like Coforge, Lenskart Solutions, Persistent Systems, LG Electronics India, and Mankind Pharma were the top weekly gainers on the midcap index as of the end of the week, as per NSE data.

Top smallcap stocks this week

Small-cap stocks like IFCI, Ola Electric Mobility, Gujarat Mineral Development Corp., Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers, and Physicswallah were among the biggest weekly losers as of the stock market close on Thursday, October 1.

The benchmark Nifty Smallcap 100 index lost 3.2% as of the week ended Oct. 1.

Other stocks like Cupid, Sterlite Technologies, HFCL, MTAR Technologies, and TD Power Systems were among the top gainers this week on the smallcap index.