Mumbai, Oct 8: The Indian stock market witnessed a bloodbath on Thursday, with the Sensex crashing over 1,000 points and the Nifty plunging below 22,250 to hit a fresh 52-week low of 22,179, as continued selling by foreign institutional investors (FIIs) and the RBI's monetary policy tightening weighed on investor sentiment.

At the same time, Brent crude reaching USD 104/barrel also added to the pressure.

Sensex ended lower at 71,593.24, down 1045.46 points or 1.44 per cent against the previous close of 72,638.70. Nifty ended at 22,231.80, down 371.25 points or 1.64 per cent against the previous close of 22,603.05.

All broad market indices ended in the red, with Nifty Midcap 50 emerging as the top drag, declining 2.71 per cent. Sectorally, Nifty Metal emerged as the major laggard, declining over 3 per cent, followed by healthcare and pharma among others.

Ajit Mishra, SVP, Research, Religare Broking, noted, “Markets came under heavy selling pressure on Thursday, extending the prevailing corrective trend and declining nearly one and a half per cent. After a weak opening, the benchmark indices remained under pressure through most of the session and eventually settled close to the day’s lows, reflecting sustained selling pressure across the board.”

On BSE, Tech Mahindra, Axis Bank, and Infosys were the top gainers. ITC, Indi Go, Power Grid, BEL, Adani Ports, NTPC, Reliance, Maruti, Tata Steel, LT, Bharti Airtel, among others, were top drags. Likewise, on NSE, Infosys, Tech Mahindra, and Axis Bank were top gainers. Adani Enterprises, JSW Steel, ITC, Max Health, Indi Go, TMPV, Power Grid, BEL, Eicher Motors, Eternal, Asian Paints, among others, were top losers.

Mishra noted broad-based selling, led by metal, realty and energy stocks, while IT showed relative resilience. Midcap and small-cap indices fell over 2 per cent each, reflecting weak market sentiment.

“Domestic and global macro concerns continued to weigh heavily on sentiment. The RBI’s decision to raise the repo rate by 25 bps to 5.50% and shift its stance towards calibrated tightening has raised concerns over tighter financial conditions,” he further added.

Additionally, Brent crude moved above the USD 102–103 per barrel mark amid geopolitical tensions and supply concerns, while the US 10-year Treasury yield remained elevated around 5.3%, he noted.

At the time of reporting, Brent crude was trading at around USD 104.49 per barrel while crude oil was trading at around USD 91.94 per barrel.

Mishra further added, technically, Nifty has once again retested the April 2026 low of 22,182.55 after the marginal pullback, signalling further weakness in the prevailing structure.

“A decisive break below this level could open the door for a move towards the 21,700–22,000 zone. On the upside, 22,400 is likely to act as the immediate hurdle, followed by 22,700–22,800 as the next major resistance,” Mishra said.

With the index making fresh lows amid the ongoing corrective phase and market breadth deteriorating sharply, the near-term setup remains firmly cautious, he further added.

Market analyst Vipin Dixena said, “In my view, today's correction is significant because multiple macro headwinds are now working together. Brent crude moved above USD103 a barrel amid renewed Middle East supply concerns, while the RBI's 25-basis-point repo-rate hike to 5.50% and shift towards a calibrated tightening stance have raised concerns about liquidity and borrowing costs. At the same time, FII selling remains aggressive.”

“Technically, the market structure has weakened considerably. 22,200–22,180 is now an important support zone, close to the recent 52-week low, while 22,500–22,600 becomes the immediate resistance zone. A decisive break below 22,180 could accelerate the downside, whereas a recovery above 22,600 would be the first indication that selling pressure is beginning to ease. I would not interpret today's oversold conditions as an automatic buying signal,” he added.

Apart from this, both gold and silver have broken below key support at USD 4100 and USD 60, pressured by a dollar parked firmly at an 18-month high and rising bets on another Fed rate hike, noted Prithviraj Kothari, Managing Director at RiddiSiddhi Bullions Ltd.

 “The IMF has also flagged risks from high energy prices, record debt and the AI boom. Technically, gold now eyes USD 4000, while silver's head-and-shoulders breakdown points towards USD 57 next,” Kothari noted. (ANI)