Reliance Industries, Bharti Airtel, and other major Indian equities plunged to their lowest levels in a year as persistent geopolitical tensions and global bond yield hikes weighed heavily, sparking fears of prolonged market instability.
Reliance Industries, Bharti Airtel, Hindustan Unilever, Mahindra & Mahindra and Maruti Suzuki India all fell to fresh 52-week lows on Thursday as the BSE Sensex slipped for a fourth straight session, with traders still unnerved by the risk of prolonged disruption to oil supplies from West Asia. Business Standard reported that the weakness spread well beyond the benchmark, with 14 stocks in the BSE 100 and 55 in the broader BSE 500 also touching year lows during intraday trade.
The slide came against a backdrop of persistent foreign selling and heavy domestic buying. According to the report, foreign institutional investors were net sellers for a fifth consecutive session, unloading equities worth more than ₹10,148 crore on Wednesday, September 30, 2026, while domestic institutional investors put in ₹11,271 crore. Over the past four trading days, the Sensex has lost 2.5%, and it is down 8.4% over the past two months. The same report said foreign funds sold equities worth ₹20,128 crore in the last two sessions, even as they continued to channel money into the primary market and, in some cases, into mid- and small-cap names. Rising US 10-year bond yields, which have climbed to 5.3%, have added to the pressure on emerging markets.
V K Vijayakumar, chief investment strategist at Geojit Investments, told Business Standard that the current weakness looks like a short-term phase and argued that markets could recover if crude prices ease further. He pointed to Brent crude slipping below $98 and said investors may find opportunities to build positions in high-quality large-cap stocks in growth sectors where valuations are becoming more attractive. The article noted, however, that the oil shock has now stretched into a seventh month, with no clear sign of a near-term normalisation.
Among individual shares, PB Fintech was among the hardest hit after the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India proposed a major overhaul of insurance distribution rules. The stock dropped 7% to ₹988.30, slipping below ₹1,000 for the first time in a multi-year downturn, and has fallen 48% in six trading sessions. Jefferies said in an analyst note that the consultation paper could hurt earnings, while PB Fintech has been looking at slower hiring and reduced marketing spend to cushion the impact. Maruti Suzuki India also lost 5% to ₹11,366, its lowest level since January 2024, and is down 32% so far in calendar 2026. The company reported September sales of 236,013 units, including 185,252 domestic units and 44,219 exports. UPL, meanwhile, fell 4% to a 52-week low of ₹515.55 after reporting first-quarter operating profitability of 15.8%, down from 16.2% a year earlier, as freight, logistics and other costs rose. Crisil Ratings said the company’s shift towards differentiated and sustainable products could support a gradual recovery in margins over the medium term.
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