Sensex Slumps Over 1,200 Points and Nifty Drops Below 23,100 Amid Global Yield Surge and Oil Spike

Indian equity benchmark indices witnessed intense selling pressure on Thursday, September 24, 2026, as weak global cues, spiking US bond yields, and surging energy prices dampened investor sentiment. The BSE Sensex plunged over 1,200 points to touch an intraday low of 73,604.03, while the broader NSE Nifty50 slid 370 points, or 1.58%, slipping well below the 23,100 mark to trade around 23,076.55 during afternoon trade.

The sharp drop pulled Indian benchmark gauges down to three-month lows, reflecting an across-the-board sell-off across large-cap and broader market segments. The Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 indices each retreated by approximately 1%.

Major Decliners and Sectoral Drag

Every sectoral index on the National Stock Exchange traded in negative territory, with financial counters taking the brunt of the hit:

• Bajaj Finance: Emerged as the biggest laggard on the benchmark Sensex, tumbling more than 5%.
• Private Lenders: Axis Bank and Bajaj Finserv faced significant selling, dropping between 3% and 4%.
• Large Caps: Stocks such as IndiGo, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Asian Paints, HDFC Bank, and Trent declined between 1% and 2%.
• Sectoral Indices: The Nifty Private Bank and Nifty Financial Services indices fell roughly 2% each.

Primary Drivers Behind the Market Fall

Spike in US Treasury Yields A primary catalyst for the decline was a steep rise in US government bond yields following economic data indicating that US business activity expanded at its strongest pace in more than five years in September. The benchmark US 10-year Treasury yield surged by 13.89 basis points to 5.106%—its highest level since 2007 and its sharpest single-day climb since April 2025. Concurrently, the policy-sensitive 2-year yield moved above 4.9%, its highest point since May 2024. Elevated yields have reinforced expectations of prolonged restrictive monetary policy by the US Federal Reserve, triggering a global reallocation of capital from emerging-market equities into fixed-income assets.

Crude Oil and Currency Pressures Rising energy costs further rattled domestic market sentiment, with international benchmark Brent crude topping $106 per barrel. Because India imports more than 85% of its crude requirements, elevated oil prices threaten to widen the current account deficit, spur domestic imported inflation, and put pressure on the Indian rupee.

Regulatory Changes in Insurance Financial and insurance stocks also experienced localized selling following proposed regulatory reforms from the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI). The regulator proposed overhauling insurance commissions and integrating motor insurance products into Market Infrastructure Institution (MII) platforms such as Bima Sugam, raising concerns over near-term commission revenue models for financial intermediaries and bank-led insurance distributors.

Tags: BSE Sensex Nifty50 Bajaj Finance Axis Bank IRDAI US Federal Reserve