Bear grips D-Street: Sensex, Nifty down over 3% in 7 sessions, investors lose ₹14.6 lakh crore

Continuing its losing streak for the seventh straight session, the Indian share market ended marginally lower on Monday, highlighting persistent bearish sentiment and a lack of conviction among market participants.

In the last seven sessions, the BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty have fallen over 3% each amid persistent concerns about U.S. President Donald Trump’s fresh tariffs on pharma, coupled with the H-1B visa fee hike and the U.S. Federal Reserve's cautious stance on rate cuts. The 30-share Sensex has lost 2,649 points, while the Nifty50 tumbled 789 points during the same period.

Investors lost nearly ₹14.6 lakh crore in seven trading days as the overall market capitalisation of BSE-listed firms dropped to nearly ₹451.7 lakh crore from ₹466.28 lakh crore as on September 18.

Markets extend fall on Monday

The Sensex settled at 80,364.94, down 61.52 points or 0.08%, and the NSE Nifty50 fell 19.8 points to 24,634.9 on Monday. The broader market witnessed mixed trend, with the Nifty MidCap 100 index rising 0.27%, while the Nifty SmallCap 100 index slipped marginally by 0.07%. 

On the sectoral front, PSU banks, oil & gas, construction, metals, and energy space saw some value buying, while auto and pharma sectors witnessed selling pressure.

According to analysts, market participants remained cautious ahead of the upcoming RBI monetary policy outcome, which is expected to be the next key trigger for direction. The lack of clarity in the U.S.-India trade deal and prolonged pressure on IT and pharma indices remained near-term concerns for the market.

"The domestic market concluded a volatile session on a flat note as investors turned more cautious ahead of a holiday-led truncated week and continued FII selling… Investors await the RBI policy outcome this week; the central bank is expected to keep the rates unchanged to contain volatility in the rupee,” said Vinod Nair, head of research, Geojit Investments.

The supportive fiscal measures and a stronger demand outlook for H2FY26 may lead the central bank to upgrade its FY26 GDP growth forecast, he added.

Top gainers and losers

On the BSE Sensex pack, 18 out of 30 stocks ended in the green territory, while in the broader Nifty50, 26 advanced, 23 declined, and one settled unchanged.

Titan was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rising 2.6%, followed by State Bank of India (SBI) , which climbed 1.63%. Other notable gainers included NTPC , Trent , Eternal (Zomato) , BEL, M&M, and Tata Steel, rising between 1% and 2%.

On the flip side, Axis Bank was the biggest loser, falling 1.63%, followed by Maruti Suzuki , which dropped 1.47%. Other laggards included Bharti Airtel (-0.81%), ICICI Bank (-0.79%), Larsen & Toubro (-0.72%), HCL Tech (-0.47%), and Kotak Bank (-0.40%).

Technical outlook

The markets broke their six-day losing streak, with the Nifty index forming a high wave candlestick pattern, suggesting a potential pause in the ongoing downtrend, said Nilesh Jain, head–technical and derivatives research (equity), at Centrum Broking.

“With the monthly F&O expiry approaching, we anticipate continued volatility in the markets. While a pullback is possible, a decisive move above the 24,800 level is crucial to trigger a short-covering rally towards the 25,000 mark. On the downside, immediate support is seen at 24,600, followed by 24,500," he said.

Vatsal Bhuva, technical analyst at LKP Securities, said that derivative data showed put writing at 24,600 and 24,500 strikes, highlighting immediate support zones, while call writers at 24,700 and 24,800 indicated resistance. “Based on these technical and derivative cues, the index is likely to trade in a short-term range of 24,500–24,850 with volatility and a sideways-to-bearish undertone. A sustained move above its 50-day EMA is needed to turn bullish."

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