Indian equity benchmarks fell on Monday, with private sector banks leading losses as investors assessed quarterly earnings and elevated crude oil prices weighed on sentiment. The Nifty50 declined 1.11% to 22,888.95, while the Sensex fell 1.17% to 73,852.90.

The Nifty Private Bank index dropped 1.9%, with HDFC Bank and Axis Bank falling 2.3% and 4.2%, respectively, after both lenders missed quarterly earnings estimates amid narrowing margins. The Nifty IT index lost 1.3%, while LTM fell 2.9% after missing profit estimates. Fifteen of the 16 major sectoral indices ended lower, with the Nifty PSU Bank index the sole gainer. The Nifty Midcap 100 and Small Cap 100 indices declined 1.09% and 1.01%, respectively. India VIX rose to around 15, its highest level in a week, ahead of the weekly derivatives expiry.

Investors also awaited the opening of Jio Platforms' initial public offering on Wednesday, expected to be India's largest-ever IPO. Markets will remain closed on Tuesday for a Dussera holiday.

Brent crude traded around $107-109 a barrel during the session, while a late rise in oil prices added pressure on domestic bonds. The benchmark 10-year US Treasury yield climbed to 5.09% from 5.06% earlier in the day, reversing some of the support for Indian government bonds from lower yields earlier in the session. The benchmark 6.94% 2036 ended at 7.3920% today compared with 7.3789% on Friday.

The rupee ended nearly unchanged at 94.9250 per US dollar, surrendering modest early gains as a slump in domestic equities and importer demand for dollars offset support from lower oil prices earlier in the session.

Top Movers of the Day

JSW Steel surged 2.06% to close at ₹1,241.30, leading the Nifty 50 gainers with strong intraday momentum. The stock attracted significant institutional buying interest as investors shifted toward core manufacturing sectors amidst a broader market decline.

SBI climbed 1.15% to settle at ₹973.70, standing out as a resilient performer in a volatile banking sector. Positive expectations surrounding its upcoming quarterly performance helped the state-run lender buck the negative trend.

Larsen & Toubro advanced 0.96% to close at ₹3,661.90, showing robust resilience in the capital goods space. The company continued to find support from investors banking on sustained government infrastructure spending.

Maruti Suzuki India edged down 0.12% to ₹11,555.00 amid the broader market sell-off. Positive festive-season sales momentum supported the stock intraday and limited its decline.

Axis Bank plunged 4.19% to close at ₹1,236.00, emerging as a top loser despite reporting a 38% year-on-year jump in Q2 net profit to ₹70.03 billion over the weekend. Investors heavily sold the stock after the bank's net interest margin slipped to 3.36% and core earnings missed some Street estimates due to thinner spreads on its recent deposit growth.

Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles dropped 3.09% to settle at ₹278.00, tracking a broader sell-off that dragged down several major auto counters. The stock faced sustained profit-booking as market participants recalibrated their exposure to rate-sensitive sectors.

Infosys fell 2.63% to ₹1,127.90, weighing heavily on the broader indices amidst persistent selling in technology stocks. The decline tracked weakness in global IT equities, driven by concerns over the sustainability of the recent tech and AI rally.

HDFC Bank slumped over 2.11% in early trade and closed lower after its weekend earnings report showed a 5% increase in Q2 net profit. The stock faced selling pressure as its bottom line of ₹195.10 billion slightly missed analysts' estimates, adding to the weakness in the banking sector.

Futures & Options
The Nifty October 2026 futures contract closed at 22,894, a premium of 5.05 points over the Nifty 50's cash market close of 22,888.95. The benchmark index fell 257.20 points, or 1.11%, during the session.

India VIX, a gauge of expected near-term volatility, rose 4.48% to 14.69. HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank and Tata Consultancy Services were the most-traded individual stock futures contracts on the NSE. The October 2026 F&O contracts will expire on 27 October.

Bonds
Indian government bond yields rose on Monday, reversing earlier declines as crude oil prices and US Treasury yields moved higher. The benchmark 6.94%, 2036 gilt yield ended at 7.3920%, compared with 7.3789% on Friday.

Brent crude rose above $109 a barrel, while the 10-year US Treasury yield climbed to 5.09% from 5.06% earlier in the day. Government bonds had gained earlier as lower US yields and bank purchases of the benchmark gilt near the 7.38% yield level supported prices.

Meanwhile, 10 states raised ₹230.16 billion through the Reserve Bank of India's auction of state government bonds, against ₹244 billion notified. Andhra Pradesh rejected all bids for its proposed ₹10 billion reissue of the 7.68%, 2051 bond. Rajasthan's 10-year bond was sold at a cut-off yield of 8.04%, a spread of 64 basis points over the benchmark 10-year government bond.

Forex
The Indian rupee closed nearly flat at 94.9250 per US dollar on Monday, giving up early gains as a slump in domestic equities and importer dollar demand weighed on the currency. The rupee traded in a range of 94.76-94.96 during the session.

Brent crude fell about 2% to $108 per barrel after US President Donald Trump waived some sanctions on Russia. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Trump would take up to 60 days to assess the impact of sanctions and tariffs on the global economy.

Crypto
The cryptocurrency market recovered, with total market capitalisation nearing $2.8 trillion as falling US Treasury yields and oil prices supported risk appetite. Bitcoin rose above $82,000 to trade around $82,100, recovering from last week's sell-off.

Ethereum climbed above $2,400 to trade near $2,410, tracking the broader market rebound. However, the recovery in prices alone does not establish a sustained return of investor demand, while the claimed increase in staking demand and network gas fees would need supporting data.

US Stock Futures
US stock futures rose on Monday, led by a recovery in technology shares following last week's sell-off in stocks linked to artificial intelligence. Nasdaq-100 futures gained 1.16%, S&P 500 futures rose 0.58%, while Dow Jones Industrial Average futures advanced 87 points, or 0.17%.

Intel climbed more than 4% in premarket trading after JPMorgan analysts upgraded the chipmaker. CoreWeave rose 3% after plunging more than 25% last week, its steepest weekly decline since November 2025, amid concerns over its debt levels.

US Treasury Notes
US Treasury yields fell during Monday's session, supported by a sharp decline in crude oil prices, weaker equity markets and safe-haven demand amid geopolitical tensions. The two-year Treasury yield slipped 1.5 basis points to 4.720%, while the benchmark 10-year yield fell about 3 basis points to 5.065% before trading around 5.07%-5.09% in European hours.

Expectations that the US Treasury could reduce long-term bond issuance in its upcoming quarterly refunding announcement also supported sentiment. However, inflation concerns continued to weigh on the outlook, with September's consumer price information and Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh's comments keeping the possibility of further rate hikes in December or January in focus.

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