Financial stocks lead decline as Brent crude tops $102 and US yields rise

Mumbai, September 24 – A combination of weak overseas cues and higher energy costs saw Indian equities open on the downside on Thursday. By 09:17 IST, the BSE Sensex was down 628 points, or 0.84%, at 74,199 and the NSE Nifty fell 207 points, a 0.88% decrease, to 23,299.

The early slump was largely driven by the financial sector. Both the Nifty Financial Services index and the Nifty Private Bank index slipped around 2%, making them the biggest detractors. A wide range of sectoral indices – including services, metals, commodities, infra, realty, oil & gas, consumption and energy – also ended the session in negative territory.

On the upside, a few large‑cap names such as Tech Mahindra, Sun Pharma, HCL Tech, TCS and Infosys posted gains. In stark contrast, many banks and industrial names – Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv, Axis Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Indigo, HDFC Bank, Asian Paints, Trent, L&T, Power Grid, Tata Steel, Mahindra & Mahindra, Bharti Airtel and ITC – were among the day's losers.

Mid‑cap and small‑cap segments mirrored the trend. The Nifty Midcap 100 slipped 606 points (‑0.97%) to 61,808, while the Nifty Smallcap 100 dropped 147 points (‑0.74%) to 19,844.

Analysts pointed to Brent crude breaking the $102 per barrel barrier and the U.S. 10‑year Treasury yield climbing to 5.11% as the primary global challenges weighing on sentiment. As long as these conditions endure, a rapid market rebound appears unlikely. Yet, robust domestic liquidity continues to support buying in mid‑cap and small‑cap growth stocks, even though valuations remain high.

The trajectory of oil prices and bond yields will be critical in determining whether large‑cap stocks can reverse their sluggishness in the coming days.