Mumbai: Indian stock markets continued to fall on Wednesday amid weak global signals and rising geopolitical worries. After a steep fall in the previous session, both benchmark indices slipped further in early trade. Around 11:13 am, the Sensex was down 677 points, or 0.82 percent, at 81,502. The Nifty fell 186 points, or 0.74 percent, to 25,045.
On Tuesday, the Sensex and Nifty had dropped around 1.3–1.4 percent, marking their biggest single-day fall in over eight months. Both indices also closed at their lowest levels in more than three months, weakening investor confidence further.
Heavy Selling Across Stocks
Selling pressure was seen across sectors. In the Nifty 50 pack, stocks such as Trent, Eicher Motors and ICICI Bank fell up to 3 percent. A few stocks, including Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles and Power Grid, managed small gains of around 1 percent.
Market breadth remained weak. About 2,325 stocks declined, while only 1,180 stocks advanced and 141 remained unchanged, showing broad-based selling.
Rupee Hits Record Low
One of the biggest worries for investors was the sharp fall in the rupee. The Indian currency slipped 31 paise to hit an all-time low of 91.28 against the US dollar. Strong dollar demand, rising global tensions and continued foreign fund outflows have put pressure on the rupee and other emerging market currencies.
Foreign Investors Continue to Sell
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) continued their selling streak. On Tuesday alone, FIIs sold equities worth nearly ₹2,940 crore. January has seen continuous selling by foreign investors, with just one session showing net buying so far.
Weak Global Cues and Rising Volatility
Asian markets such as Japan, South Korea and Hong Kong were trading lower, tracking sharp overnight losses on Wall Street. US indices fell over 1.7–2.4 percent, adding to global risk aversion.
Market volatility also increased, with India VIX rising about 4 percent to 13.22. Higher VIX levels usually signal fear and uncertainty among investors.
Geopolitical and Technical Pressure
Geopolitical tensions linked to tariff threats and global political statements kept sentiment weak. At the same time, the sharp fall in the previous session broke key technical levels, leading to more selling by short-term traders and keeping recovery attempts under pressure.
