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Informist, Friday, Jan. 23, 2026

By Arundathi A R

MUMBAI – Benchmark equity indices fell sharply to close at an over three-month low Friday, as ongoing geopolitical tensions, rising crude oil prices, and rupee depreciation weighed on sentiment. The Nifty 50 index fell around 1%, with the decline in index heavyweights ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, and Reliance Industries also weighing on the index.

The Nifty 50 index ended 1% lower, or 241.25 points, at 25048.65 points. More than half of the Nifty 50 constituents ended in the red. The BSE Sensex also closed 0.9% lower, or 769.67 points, at 81537.70 points. The India VIX rose 6.3%, signalling increased market nervousness. The volatility index has risen in nine out of the last 11 sessions.

The broader market peers underperformed their benchmark indices. The small- and mid-cap indices ended almost 2% lower. Sectoral indices were also in line with the benchmark indices, with all of them ending in the red. The Nifty Realty index, which closed lower in 12 out of the last 13 sessions, performed the worst among the sectoral indices, closing 3.3% lower on Friday.

Adani Enterprises was the worst-hit Nifty-50 constituent, closing nearly 11% lower. The stock was down after reports said the Securities and Exchange Commission sought permission from a US court to issue legal summons to Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani and his nephew Sagar Adani in an alleged fraud and a $265 million bribery case. Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone followed Adani Enterprises, closing down over 7%.

Dr. Reddy's Laboratories was the top gainer in the 50-stock index and closed nearly 1.5% higher. The stock closed higher for the second session, gaining nearly 7% during the period.

Pharmaceutical major Cipla closed 4% lower after it reported a 57% on-year fall in its consolidated net profit to INR 6.76 billion for the December quarter. This was way lower than the Street estimate of INR 12.42 billion. The company's revenue for the quarter was largely unchanged on year to INR 70.74 billion but below the Street estimates of INR 74.65 billion.

Premier Energies ended the session nearly 8% lower at its record closing low of INR 683.1. Post market hours Thursday, the company reported a 53% on-year rise in its net profit for the December quarter to INR 3.92 billion, beating analysts' estimate. However, its revenue from operations for the reporting quarter was INR 19.36 billion, lower than expectations of INR 20.93 billion. 

Shriram Finance ended marginally lower. The company posted a net profit of INR 25.22 billion for the December quarter, down over 29% on year. Adjusted to the exceptional item reported in the year-ago quarter, the company's net profit grew 21% on year. This was marginally higher than the analysts' view of INR 25 billion. The net interest income for the December quarter increased 16% on year to INR 67.64 billion while assets under management were up 15% at INR 2.92 trillion as of Dec. 31.

InterGlobe Aviation settled over 4% lower after it's bottom line for the December quarter fell 75% on year. The airline company reported a net profit of INR 6.13 billion, which was way lower than analysts' expectations of INR 16.47 billion. Its top line for the December quarter grew 6.2% on year to INR 234.72 billion.

JSW Steel ended the session over 1% lower. The company reported its consolidated net profit for the December quarter at INR 21.39 billion, around three times the INR 7.17 billion reported in the corresponding quarter a year ago. This was also higher than the Street's estimate of INR 14.09 billion. Its revenue for the quarter was INR 459.91 billion, higher than INR 445.11 billion estimated. 

Home First Finance Co. closed over 6% higher after the company reported an on-year rise of 44% in its bottom line for the December quarter to INR 1.40 billion. Its revenue grew nearly 19% on year to INR 4.82 billion. The assets under management rose 25% on year and 5% on quarter to INR 149.20 billion for the reporting quarter. 

Shares of APL Apollo Tubes ended over 1% higher at a record closing high of INR 2,000.1. The stock closed higher for the second session after the company raised its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation per tonne guidance for the March quarter to INR 5,500 post market hours Thursday. APL Apollo Tubes posted a consolidated net profit of INR 3.10 billion, nearly 43% higher on year and up 3% sequentially.

Shares of Petronet LNG ended over 1% higher after global brokerage Macquarie upgraded the stock to 'outperform' from 'underperform' and raised the target price 19% to INR 310. Macquarie cited an "undemanding valuation" and a decent 3-4% dividend yield as the reason to upgrade the stock, according to NDTV Profit.

* Of the Nifty 50 stocks, 12 rose and 38 fell

* Of the Sensex stocks, 7 rose and 23 fell

* On the NSE, 880 stocks rose, 2,301 fell, and 78 were unchanged

* On the BSE, 1,321 stocks rose, 2,887 fell, and 153 were unchanged

* Nifty Realty: down 3.3%; Nifty Media: down 2.5%; Nifty PSU Bank: down 2.3%

BSE                                                 NSE

Sensex: 81537.70, down 769.67 points or 0.9%        Nifty 50: 25048.65, down 241.25 points or 0.95%

End

IST, or Indian Standard Time, is five-and-a-half hours ahead of GMT

Edited by Saji George Titus and Akul Nishant Akhoury

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