Indian equities declined for a sixth consecutive week as investor sentiment remained cautious amid global uncertainties, crude oil price fluctuations, and geopolitical tensions in West Asia, with market support seen in banking shares despite persistent foreign outflows.
Indian equities head into the September 21-25 week under pressure after a sixth straight weekly decline, their longest losing run since 2020. The Nifty fell 0.22% over the week to 23,346, while the Sensex dropped 0.65% to 74,294, with much of the damage coming in Tuesday’s sell-off before a partial recovery later in the week. Global cues remained the main force behind sentiment, as investors weighed the US Federal Open Market Committee meeting, crude oil prices, US bond yields and tensions in West Asia. The rupee also weakened for a second consecutive week, adding to the cautious tone.
For the Nifty, the 23,000-23,100 band is now being watched as the nearest important support, with the index trying to stabilise near its June 2026 lows. Market technicians say the benchmark has slipped into oversold territory, while the daily relative strength index has started to recover, which can sometimes precede a short-term bounce. Dr Ravi Singh, chief research officer at Master Capital Services, said the index could rebound towards 24,600 if it holds above support, although he warned that the broader trend remains weak and that traders should stay cautious.
The Sensex’s weekly decline was also shaped by selling in Tata Group stocks amid a governance dispute, which weighed more heavily on the index than on the Nifty. Looking ahead, market direction is likely to remain tied to the same external triggers that drove trading last week: Brent crude, which stayed close to $103 a barrel; movements in US bond yields; and developments in West Asia, where any escalation could feed back into oil prices and inflation expectations. A late-week pullback in oil helped ease yields slightly, but investors are still treating the energy market as a major risk factor for the domestic outlook.
Banking shares may offer some support to the broader market. Bank Nifty fell 0.44% for the week, extending its losing streak to four weeks, but it is attempting to build a base in the 55,600-55,700 zone, which also lines up with a key horizontal support area. Singh said the index could recover towards 57,000, near its 55-day exponential moving average, and described a cautious buy-on-dips approach as reasonable as long as recent lows hold. Foreign institutional investors remained net sellers for a fifth straight week, offloading shares worth Rs 7,619 crore, while domestic institutions bought Rs 11,232 crore, highlighting how local buying has continued to offset foreign outflows even as global uncertainty persists.
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