Author: Partha Halder

Dalal Street’s two-day recovery halted on Wednesday as benchmark indices retreated following the Reserve Bank of India’s first interest rate hike in 44 months. The Nifty 50 slid 173.05 points to 22,603.05 while the BSE Sensex fell 429.11 points to 72,638.70 after the MPC raised the repo rate by 25 basis points to 5.50% and shifted its stance to ‘calibrated tightening’. Renewed upward pressure on Brent crude above $101, a weakening rupee at 96.70, and steep losses in rate-sensitive consumer durables and auto stocks drove the afternoon selloff.

Dalal Street built on its turnaround on Tuesday as both the Nifty 50 and BSE Sensex closed at the high of the day, propelled by a 1.5% rally in private banks, double-digit gains in Trent, and a surprise $5-per-barrel price cut by Saudi Aramco on crude shipments to Asia. Despite lingering headwinds from US 10-year bond yields at 5.3%, stabilizing crude oil around $100 and oversold short-covering lifted the Nifty to 22,776.10 ahead of Wednesday’s crucial RBI policy outcome.

Dalal Street halted its longest weekly slump in 25 years on Monday as the Nifty 50 climbed 133.80 points to close at 22,555.75, while the BSE Sensex advanced 472.77 points to 72,382.47. A pullback in international crude prices to $101.41 following the G7’s planned emergency reserve release, combined with an unexpected slowdown in US nonfarm payroll growth, restored risk appetite across banking and non-bank financial leaders despite elevated US Treasury yields and persistent foreign outflows.

Dalal Street opened October on a negative note as benchmark indices suffered their fourth straight session of declines, locking in an eighth consecutive weekly loss—the longest weekly slump in 25 years. The BSE Sensex plunged to a fresh 52-week low of 71,292.88 before recovering to settle at 71,909.70, while the Nifty 50 closed down 198.50 points at 22,421.95. Unrelenting foreign institutional selling crossing $27.8 billion year-to-date and 24-year-high US Treasury yields at 5.34% continued to pressure equities, with the Nifty Auto index sliding over 4% despite steady delivery data.

Dalal Street closed out a bruising September on Wednesday as an intraday recovery of over 500 points in the Sensex completely unraveled before the close. The Nifty 50 ended down 95.75 points at 22,620.45, capping a monthly decline of 5.67%, while the Sensex finished nearly flat at 72,480.29. Stalled diplomatic progress over the Strait of Hormuz, relentless FII outflows of ₹24,054 crore across four sessions, and 19-year-high US Treasury yields continued to suppress risk appetite despite strong performances from large-cap IT counters.

Dalal Street witnessed a sharp second-half recovery on Tuesday as the Nifty 50 rebounded from an intraday low of 22,569.65 to close down just 64 points at 22,716.20, while the BSE Sensex recovered nearly 500 points to settle at 72,529.07. Aggressive buying by domestic institutions cushioned aggressive FII selling of over ₹5,350 crore, but elevated Brent crude at $107 and a weakening rupee past 96 continue to keep market sentiment cautious.

Dalal Street suffered another severe beating on Monday, September 28, as benchmark indices sank to their lowest levels since April. The BSE Sensex plunged 1,124.02 points to hit a fresh 52-week low of 72,716.23, while the Nifty 50 broke below key support to settle at 22,780.25. A confluence of surging Brent crude above $106, US 10-year Treasury yields crossing 5.2%, and geopolitical deadlock over the Strait of Hormuz sparked aggressive foreign institutional selling, wiping out ₹5 lakh crore within the first 70 minutes of trade.

Dalal Street mounted a resilient late-afternoon comeback on Thursday, September 25, as the BSE Sensex reclaimed 315.20 points to close at 73,895.74 and the Nifty 50 defended the 23,000 threshold to settle at 23,140.50. Bargain hunting in beaten-down financials and RBI intervention in the currency market helped stem losses, though persisting geopolitical frictions in the Strait of Hormuz and elevated US Treasury yields keep traders cautious.

Indian benchmark indices plunged to three-month lows on Thursday, September 24, with the BSE Sensex tumbling 1,247.71 points to 73,580.54 and the Nifty 50 sliding 1.64% to close at 23,063.10. An overseas bond rout that took US 10-year yields to a 19-year peak, combined with crude oil rebounding past $102 and proposed IRDAI caps hammering insurers and banks, triggered broad-based capitulation despite the historic debut of the Rs 22,569-crore NSE IPO.

Dalal Street halted its mid-week slide on Tuesday, September 23, as the BSE Sensex advanced 299.17 points to settle at 74,828.25 and the Nifty 50 climbed 0.50% to reclaim the 23,446 mark. Buoyed by Brent crude retreating below $99, an improved Flash Composite PMI reading of 56.5, and heavy buying across banking and NBFC majors, Indian benchmarks staged a measured recovery despite ongoing geopolitical concerns over the Strait of Hormuz.