Over 50% of the Nifty 500 stocks have fallen into bear-market territory amid a broad sell-off driven by global geopolitical tensions, rising borrowing costs, and changing macroeconomic conditions, signalling a significant shift in India’s equity landscape.
More than half of the Nifty 500 universe has now slipped into bear-market territory as India’s equity sell-off deepens, underscoring how broad the damage has become across sectors and market capitalisations. Business Today reported that 56 per cent of Nifty 500 stocks are at least 20 per cent below their 52-week highs, a common threshold for defining a bear market, while nearly 20 Nifty 50 constituents have also crossed that line. The decline has left more than a dozen stocks down by more than half from their peaks, and more than 100 companies have erased at least a third of their market value from recent highs.
The most severe falls have clustered in names that were once strong momentum plays. Reliance Power and KPIT Technologies have each dropped 62 per cent from their highs, according to the Business Today report, while KEC International, Inox Wind, Kaynes Technology India, Avanti Feeds and Brainbees Solutions are down between 55 and 60 per cent. A separate LiveMint report said more than 25 Nifty 50 stocks were trading more than 20 per cent below their recent highs, showing that the weakness is not confined to the broader market and is also weighing on the benchmark index.
The sell-off has been driven by a difficult mix of foreign outflows, higher global borrowing costs and renewed geopolitical risk. Ankur Punj, managing director at Equirus Wealth, told Business Today that Indian shares are still feeling the pressure from overseas investor selling, rising US bond yields, elevated crude oil prices and the knock-on effect of the conflict in the Middle East, which has also helped weaken the rupee. LiveMint separately linked the downturn to rising oil prices and war-related anxiety in the region, both of which have hurt sentiment across technology, automotive and financial stocks.
The macro backdrop remains just as important as stock-specific weakness. SBI Funds Management said in a note quoted by Business Today that inflation is proving persistent, with input costs broadening rather than easing, and that the market is shifting from a liquidity-driven phase to one more dependent on investment and capital expenditure. That shift may support nominal growth and infrastructure-related assets over time, but it also brings more volatile bond markets, stickier inflation and a greater need for financing.
Even so, some market strategists argue that the present phase is less about a collapse in fundamentals than a reset in expectations. Anand Rathi Share & Stock Brokers said in a note cited by Business Today that investors are increasingly focused on businesses with visible demand, structural tailwinds, and the ability to convert opportunity into earnings growth through order execution, new capacity, higher utilisation, product expansion or better margins. For now, though, the immediate picture is one of caution: market breadth remains weak, sentiment is fragile and the list of stocks in correction or bear territory keeps growing.
Disclaimer: This article is intended to inform and educate, not to recommend or endorse any financial product, investment or strategy. Please consider your own financial circumstances and seek professional advice where appropriate before making financial decisions.
