Equities Slide to Over Three-month Lows as IT, Reliance Drag

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

India Stocks fall

By Dehuti Jani

January 20, 2026 at 11:42 AM IST

Indian equity benchmarks slumped sharply on Tuesday, falling to their lowest levels in more than three months amid a broad-based sell-off triggered by weak corporate earnings, escalating global trade tensions and continued foreign fund outflows. The Nifty50 dropped 1.38% to close at 25,232.5, while the BSE Sensex fell 1.28% to 82,180.47, marking their weakest closing levels in over three months. Losses were pronounced across the broader market, with mid-cap and small-cap indices tumbling 2.6% and 2.9%, respectively, pushing them to multi-month lows.

Selling pressure was led by information technology stocks and heavyweights such as Reliance Industries, as concerns grew over margin pressures from India’s new labour codes and a subdued earnings outlook. The Nifty IT index declined 2.1% to emerge as the worst-performing sector. Realty, auto and other cyclical segments also remained under stress, with all sectoral indices ending in the red. On the Sensex, stocks including Bajaj Finance, IndiGo, Asian Paints, Bajaj Finserv, Tech Mahindra, Bharti Airtel, Sun Pharma, TCS, HCL Technologies, Axis Bank, HDFC Bank and Infosys were among the top drags, reflecting cautious investor positioning amid persistent global and domestic headwinds.

Top Movers of the Day

Baazar Style Retail rose 6% to ₹343 on the BSE, hitting a near three-month high amid heavy volumes in an otherwise weak market. The stock is trading at its highest level since October 23, 2025.

Lodha Developers was in focus after signing an MoU with the Maharashtra government to invest ₹1 trillion, in addition to an earlier ₹300 billion commitment, to develop a 2.5 GW data centre park in the state.

Oberoi Realty slid 8% to a more than nine-month low as investors assessed its Q3 performance amid broad-based selling in realty stocks. The counter was the top laggard in the Nifty Realty index.

Tips Music surged over 11% after reporting a Q3FY26 earnings beat, prompting analysts to raise earnings estimates and target prices. JM Financial upgraded its target on the stock.

Intellect Design Arena erased early losses and turned positive after announcing a multi-year AI-led GRC order win in Canada with Carte Financial Group.

Ola Electric Mobility fell over 7% after the company announced the resignation of CFO Harish Abichandani and the appointment of Deepak Rastogi as the new CFO. The stock hit its steepest intraday fall since mid-December.

Tata Capital touched a fresh lifetime high of ₹367.3 before paring gains, after analysts raised target prices following an in-line Q3FY26 performance.

BHEL dropped more than 4% despite a steady Q3FY26 showing, as investors booked profits. Analysts remained constructive on the stock even as it underperformed the broader market.

LTIMindtree declined up to 6.5% after its Q3FY26 results, with investors cautious about near-term challenges despite signs of gradual recovery under new management.

Shadowfax IPO saw muted demand, with overall subscription at 41% so far.

Futures & Options
Nifty January 2026 futures ended at 25,268, trading at a premium of 35.5 points over the cash index, even as the spot Nifty 50 recorded a sharp sell-off, falling 353 points or 1.38% to close at 25,232.50. The divergence reflected short-covering and positioning ahead of expiry rather than directional optimism. Volatility spiked meaningfully, with India VIX jumping 7.63% to 12.73, signalling heightened near-term uncertainty amid global risk-off cues and earnings-related churn.

Bonds
Government bond yields eased on Tuesday as bargain buying emerged after the benchmark 10-year yield failed to breach the key 6.70% level at the open, calming fears of a sharper sell-off. The 10-year G-sec yield slipped to around 6.66% intraday before closing at 6.6722%, down from 6.6842% on Monday, supported by expectations of continued liquidity support from the Reserve Bank of India and a lighter state borrowing schedule for the week. Supply concerns also moderated after states raised ₹130 billion through bond auctions across 6- to 30-year maturities, with cut-off yields largely in the 7.21%–7.62% range, indicating steady demand despite heightened market volatility.

Forex
The rupee extended its losing streak to a fifth straight session on Tuesday, weighed down by persistent dollar demand, though likely intervention by the Reserve Bank of India helped prevent a sharper slide. The currency opened slightly weaker and quickly slipped to an intraday low of 91.0525 per dollar its weakest level in a month and close to the all-time low of 91.0750 seen in mid-December before recovering marginally to close at 90.9750, down 0.1% from Monday.

Crypto
Crypto markets are consolidating on Tuesday as heightened geopolitical tensions between the US and Europe have triggered a broader risk-off mood, pushing investors towards traditional safe havens such as gold. Bitcoin is trading in a narrow band around $91,000–$92,000, down over 2% in the past 24 hours, while Ethereum has slipped about 3.5% to hover near $3,100. While near-term sentiment remains cautious and retail participation has softened, institutional interest in Bitcoin continues to provide a floor, with steady ETF inflows pointing to ongoing long-term accumulation.

US Stock Futures
US stock futures plunged on Tuesday, pointing to a volatile restart after the long weekend as President Donald Trump escalated trade tensions with Europe over Greenland, reviving fears of fresh tariffs just as the earnings season gathers momentum. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures slid 1.3%, signalling a drop of more than 600 points at the open, while S&P 500 futures fell 1.4%. Nasdaq 100 futures led the losses, sinking 1.7%, as technology stocks came under pressure following a weak close last week and heightened risk aversion driven by renewed geopolitical and trade uncertainties.

US Treasury Notes
US Treasury yields surged to four-month highs on Tuesday as markets reopened after the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday, driven by renewed geopolitical risks and tariff-related concerns. The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield jumped about 6 basis points to around 4.28%, its highest level since early September, as investors pared exposure to government debt amid fears that escalating trade tensions could stoke inflation. Market sentiment dropped after US President Donald Trump threatened high tariffs on European allies, including a possible 200% tax on French wine, prompting fears of retaliation and foreign bond sales.

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