Market Close Report Today, October 28, 2026: Sensex, Nifty Decline As Oil, Fed Fears Loom Amid Strong Jio Debut

Mumbai, October 28: Indian equity benchmark indices ended lower on Wednesday, with the Nifty slipping below 22,700 as rising crude oil prices weighed on investor sentiment ahead of the US Federal Reserve’s monetary policy decision. Selling in information technology and oil and gas stocks dragged the benchmarks lower, while gains in automobile and pharmaceutical shares limited the losses. Jio Platforms’ much-anticipated stock market debut remained a key focus for investors.

The Sensex fell 352.64 points, or 0.48%, to close at 73,246.03, while the Nifty 50 declined 50.90 points, or 0.22%, to settle at 22,698.85.

Market breadth was mixed, with 2,178 shares advancing, 1,957 declining and 185 remaining unchanged.

IT, Oil and Gas Stocks Lead Losses

Information technology stocks were among the biggest drags on the market, with the Nifty IT index falling 2%. Infosys, HCL Technologies and other technology shares faced selling pressure. Reliance Industries, ONGC and Bharti Airtel were also among the top Nifty 50 laggards.

The Nifty Oil & Gas index declined around 2%, while realty, energy and FMCG stocks lost around 0.5% each.

Brent crude climbed above $115 per barrel after an attack on a refinery in Saudi Arabia, renewing concerns about potential supply disruptions and inflation. Higher oil prices are a particular concern for India, a major crude importer, as they can increase the import bill, put pressure on the rupee and squeeze corporate profit margins.

Investors also awaited the Federal Reserve’s policy decision and commentary for clues on the outlook for interest rates and inflation.

Auto, Pharma Stocks Cushion Decline

Automobile, consumer durable, media and pharmaceutical stocks bucked the broader weakness, with their sectoral indices rising around 1% each.

Apollo Hospitals, Larsen & Toubro (L&T), Trent, SBI Life Insurance and InterGlobe Aviation featured among the top Nifty 50 gainers. Bajaj Auto and L&T also attracted buying after reporting quarterly results, helping offset some of the pressure from technology and energy stocks.

Broader markets outperformed the benchmark indices. The Nifty Midcap index rose 0.4%, while the Nifty Smallcap index advanced 0.9%.

Jio Platforms Jumps 21% on Market Debut

Jio Platforms made a strong stock market debut on Wednesday, with shares opening at Rs 1,358, a premium of around 21.4% over the IPO issue price of Rs 1,119. The listing followed the company’s record Rs 30,213-crore public offering, which attracted bids worth around $77 billion.

The listing valued Jio Platforms at approximately $131.5 billion, making it India’s second-most valuable listed company by market capitalisation, behind its parent Reliance Industries. The debut marked the first stock market listing from the Reliance conglomerate in two decades.

Despite the broader market weakness, the strong debut underscored investor appetite for Jio’s telecom and digital businesses, which serve more than 530 million customers.

Rupee, Crude Oil and Fed Decision in Focus

The rupee ended 11 paise weaker at 95.23 against the US dollar, compared with its previous close of 95.12, as elevated oil prices and global monetary policy uncertainty kept currency traders cautious.

Going forward, investors will monitor crude oil prices, foreign portfolio investor flows and the Federal Reserve’s policy guidance for cues on the direction of Indian equities. Persistent energy price pressures remain a key risk for inflation and corporate earnings, even as selective buying in domestic-facing sectors offers some support to the market.

Source

•  NSE
• BSE