Equities Slide for Third Straight Session Amid Global Geopolitical Jitters

An end-of-day recap of all that transpired in the Indian markets, highlighting the major price movements and the factors driving them

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By Dehuti Jani

January 21, 2026 at 11:42 AM IST

Indian shares fell on Wednesday, extending losses after their steepest drop in over eight months in the previous session, as global trade and geopolitical tensions continued to trigger foreign selling and dampen risk appetite. Weak domestic earnings, including misses from heavyweights such as Reliance Industries and ICICI Bank, added to the pressure. Asian markets also remained under strain amid renewed fears of a trade war following US President Donald Trump’s remarks on Greenland and Europe. At close, the Nifty50 slipped 0.30% to 25,157.50, while the BSE Sensex declined 0.33% to 81,909.63, with both benchmarks marking fresh three-month lows.

Selling was broad-based, with 12 of 16 major sectors ending in the red. Nifty Chemicals fell 2.12%, followed by Consumer Durables (-1.66%) and Nifty Bank (-1.02%). Metals and oil & gas bucked the trend, rising 0.57% and 0.27%, respectively. In the broader market, Nifty MidCap 100 dropped about 1.1% and Nifty SmallCap declined 0.9%, closing at multi-month lows.

Top Movers of the Day

Tata Motors (CV) rose over 1% to ₹438 after BNP Paribas bought a ₹1.52 billion stake via a block deal.

Hexaware Technologies eased 3.1% to ₹691.3 following the resignation of a senior executive.

Hindustan Zinc gained 3% to a fresh 52-week high of ₹699.35 in an otherwise weak market.

Rallis India fell 3.8% to ₹221.50, a nine-month low, after Q3FY26 profit was hit by labour code provisions.

Persistent Systems declined up to 4.6% to ₹6,050 despite a strong Q3FY26 performance outlook.

PTC India slid 7.6% to ₹29.64, hitting a 10-month low after net profit declined in Q3FY26.

Refex Industries fell 4% to an intraday low of ₹234.25 after weak Q3FY26 results.

Bansal Wire Industries dropped 5.4% to ₹272.4 after reporting a sequential decline in Q3FY26 revenue.

Kalyan Jewellers tumbled up to 13.9% to ₹389.10 amid continued selling pressure, extending losses for the ninth straight session.

Eternal (Zomato) jumped 6.4% to ₹287.15, marking its sharpest intraday rally in six months.

Shoppers Stop slipped to a nearly four-year low after a sharp drop in Q3FY26 profit.

Supreme Petrochem declined 9% to ₹462.30, its lowest level since September 2023, after Q3FY26 profit fell.

DCM Shriram slipped 2.5% to ₹1,080.8 after mixed Q3 results.

Amagi Media Labs shares rose after a weak listing, recovering part of the IPO debut losses.

Futures & Options
Nifty January 2026 futures closed marginally higher than the spot market at 25,190, carrying a premium of 32.5 points over the Nifty 50 cash close of 25,157.50, even as the index fell 75 points or 0.30% in the cash segment amid continued risk aversion. Volatility jumped sharply, with the India VIX surging 8.24% to 13.78, reflecting heightened uncertainty and demand for hedging. HDFC Bank, Infosys and Eternal were the most actively traded stock futures on the NSE, while the January 2026 F&O contracts are scheduled to expire on 27 January 2026.

Bonds
Government bond yields edged lower on Wednesday as traders priced in a higher probability of Reserve Bank of India support through secondary market purchases and additional open market operations. The benchmark 10-year 6.48% 2035 G-sec yield eased to 6.6536%, down from 6.6722% in the previous session, reflecting improved demand at higher yield levels despite lingering global volatility.

Forex
The rupee plunged to a record low on Wednesday and logged its biggest single session fall in nearly two months, as a global bond rout and renewed geopolitical tensions amplified concerns over capital outflows. The currency weakened for a sixth consecutive session, sliding to an all-time intraday low of 91.7425 per dollar before settling 0.8% lower at 91.6950, compared with 90.9750 in the previous session

Crypto
Crypto markets traded in the red on Wednesday as escalating trade-war fears and broader global market uncertainty weighed on risk assets. Bitcoin slipped below the $88,000 mark before stabilising near $89,434, while sustained selling pressure dragged the wider crypto market lower. Ethereum breached the key $3,000 level, reinforcing weak sentiment across major altcoins, with most of the top ten cryptocurrencies trading in negative territory.

US Stock Futures
US stock futures edged higher on Wednesday as investors tentatively looked to rebound after Wall Street’s sharpest sell-off in several months. Futures on the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 were up about 0.2% each, while Dow Jones futures hovered near the flatline, indicating a cautious return of risk appetite rather than a full-fledged recovery. The modest uptick follows a bruising session on Tuesday, when heightened global uncertainty triggered broad-based selling and sent investors rushing toward safe havens.

US Treasury Notes
US Treasury yields dipped Wednesday after jumping earlier in the week, with the 10-year yield settling near 4.27%–4.28%. Investors responded to comments on US-Europe trade tensions and upcoming economic data that may affect Federal Reserve policy expectations.

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