Taking Stock: Market extends losing streak to third session; Sensex down 271 pts, Nifty under 25,200

Market Today

• Indian markets fall for third session; Sensex down 270 points, Nifty below 25,200
• BSE market cap dropped by Rs 1.45 lakh crore; most sectoral indices ended in red
• Rupee hit record low of 91.74 per dollar before closing at 91.70

Did our AI summary help?

The Indian equity market extended its losing streak for a third consecutive session on January 21 amid weak global cues, including geopolitical tensions over Greenland and a sharp sell-off in Japanese government debt. The sustained selling pressure dragged the benchmark indices below their 200-day moving averages for the first time in eight months.

The market opened on a negative note, and continued selling pushed the Nifty index below the 25,000 mark intraday for the first time since October 6, 2025. However, value buying in select stocks helped the index recover from the day’s low, enabling it to close above 25,100.

At close, the Sensex was down 270.84 points or 0.33 percent at 81,909.63, and the Nifty was down 75 points or 0.30 percent at 25,157.50.

The broader indices once again underperformed the benchmarks, with the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices declining about 1 percent each.

Also Read: Gold hits record as Trump tariffs, Greenland tensions fuel safe-haven demand

In today's market fall, the market capitalisation of BSE-listed companies fell by nearly Rs 1.45 lakh crore to Rs 454.37 lakh crore from Rs 455.82 lakh crore.

Except for metal and oil & gas, all other sectoral indices ended in the red, with pharma, IT, private banks, realty and PSU banks declining between 0.5-1 percent.

On the Nifty, Trent, Bharat Electronics, ICICI Bank, Tata Consumer and Apollo Hospitals were among the top losers, while Eternal, Max Healthcare, InterGlobe Aviation, Hindalco and JSW Steel featured among the gainers.

Index	Prices	Change	Change%
Sensex	74,563.92	-1,470.50	-1.93%
Nifty 50	23,151.10	-488.05	-2.06%
Nifty Bank	53,757.85	-1,343.10	-2.44%

Nifty 50 23,151.10 -488.05 (-2.06%)

Fri, Mar 13, 2026

• 1D
• 5D
• 1M
• 3M
• 6M
• 1Y
• 2Y

Biggest Gainer	Prices	Change	Change%
TATA Cons. Prod	1,083.60	25.80	+2.44%

Biggest Loser	Prices	Change	Change%
Larsen	3,439.00	-280.50	-7.54%

Best Sector	Prices	Change	Change%
Nifty FMCG	47924.15	-265.00	-0.55%

Worst Sector	Prices	Change	Change%
Nifty Metal	11292.50	-571.40	-4.82%

In today’s session, the Indian rupee touched a fresh all-time low of 91.74 per dollar before closing at 91.70, compared with its previous close of 90.97.

Also Read - Union Budget 2026: Agriculture segment eyes digital infra, rural credit reform

In stocks, Highway Infrastructure shares slipped 3% despite winning order from NHAI, Shoppers Stop shares fell 6% as Q3 profit dips 69%, IndiaMART InterMESH shares added 6% after Q3 profit increases 55%, Vikram Solar shares slipped 8% despite 5-fold increase in Q3 consolidated profit, SRF shares declined 6% despite better Q3 earnings.

Also Read - Govt likely to allocate Rs 12,511-crore to SPV for home-grown transport aircraft

More than 900 stocks touched their 52-week lows, including Kalyan Jewellers, C.E. Info Systems, Tata Chemicals, Poly Medicure, Cohance Lifesciences, IRB Infrastructure, Balrampur Chini Mills, Godrej Properties, Sapphire Foods, Havells India, Finolex Cables, Cera Sanitaryware, Inox Wind, GNFC, Dixon Technologies, Sterling and Wilson, Tube Investments of India, Afcons Infrastructure, Trent, among others. Click to View More

New Listing

Shares of Amagi Media Labs ended higher at Rs 348 after a weak stock market debut, having listed at a 12 percent discount at Rs 317 per share on the BSE, compared with its IPO price of Rs 361 per share.

Outlook for January 22

Rupak De, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities

The Nifty has fallen below the 200DMA on an intraday basis for the first time in many weeks. It usually shakes the market when the 200DMA is challenged, and it is not going to be just black and white. Over the next few days, the index may remain highly volatile.

On the lower end, support is placed at 25,125. A decisive fall below 25,125 could trigger further panic in the market. On the higher end, resistance on a closing basis is placed at 25,200.

Nagaraj Shetti, Senior Technical Research Analyst at HDFC Securities

After showing sharp weakness on Tuesday, Nifty shifted into a high volatility with weak bias on Wednesday and closed the day lower by 75 points. Nifty opened on a weak note and continued with negative trend in the early-mid part of the session. Upside recovery has emerged from near 24900 levels in the mid part, but the market was not able to sustain the recovery towards the end and closed lower.

A small green candle has been formed on the daily chart with long upper and lower shadow. Technically, this market action indicates a formation of doji type candle pattern (not a classical one), which is reflecting ongoing volatility in the market. Normally a formation of doji after a reasonable decline calls for a reversal post confirmation.

The underlying trend of the market continues to be weak. Nifty is finding difficulty in sustaining above the crucial support of 25150 levels (200day EMA). Further weakness below 24900 could possibly drag Nifty down to 24500 in the near term. However, a sustainable upmove above 25200 is likely to open short term bounce back in the market.

Disclaimer: The views and investment tips expressed by experts on Moneycontrol.com are their own and not those of the website or its management. Moneycontrol.com advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decision.