Why Is Stock Market Down Today? Key Factors Behind Sensex, Nifty Decline On September 26

Last Updated:September 26, 2025, 14:18 IST

The BSE Sensex trades lower by 778 points at 80,380 and the NSE Nifty falls 245 points to trade below the 24,650 mark at 24,647, as of 2:15 pm. Know key factors behind the fall:

Know Why Market Is Falling Today.

Why Market Is Falling Today? The Indian equity market continued to decline for the sixth day on Friday, September 26, with the domestic benchmark indices trading down by nearly 1% as compared with the previous close. The BSE Sensex traded lower by 778 points at 80,380.23 and the NSE Nifty fell 245 points to trade below the 24,650 mark at 24,647.32, as of 2:15 pm.

Broader markets saw a major decline, with the Nifty Midcap 100 and the Nifty Smallcap 100 tumbling by 1.72% and 2.03%, respectively.

Among the indices, pharma was the biggest loser to trade down by 2.22%, followed by IT (down 2.03%), PSU Bank (-1.84%), and metal (-1.68%).

Key Factors Behind Stock Market Fall Today:

1. US Tariffs On Pharma

The imposition of 100% tariffs by the US on branded pharma has deteriorated sentiments in the Indian market. US President Donald Trump announced on Friday that his administration will impose a 100 per cent tariff on branded and patented pharmaceutical products beginning October 1, 2025, unless the manufacturing companies establish production facilities in the United States.

The Nifty Pharma index dropped sharply by 2.42 per cent, touching an intraday low of 21,445.50. Leading pharma companies, including Laurus Labs, Ipca Labs, Divis, Zydus Life, Alkem Labs, Cipla, Ajanta Pharma, Dr Reddy’s, Torrent Pharma, Abbott India, and Glenmark, declined as much as 3.2 per cent.

The IT sector, which relies heavily on US earnings, continues to witness major selloff, with TCS falling 1.9%, Infosys (down 1.85%), and Wipro (-2.31%).

Market Fear Rises

The India VIX on Friday jumped 6.77% to 11.48, indicating rising fear in the market.

FII Outflows

Continuous foreign capital outflows have dented the markets significantly. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 4,995.42 crore on Thursday, according to exchange data.

“The sustained FII selling may keep the market under pressure,” V K Vijayakumar, chief investment strategist of Geojit Investments Ltd, said.

Subdued Sentiment Across Global Markets

In Asian markets, South Korea’s Kospi, Japan’s Nikkei 225 index, Shanghai’s SSE Composite index and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng traded lower on Friday.

US markets also ended lower on Thursday.

Higher Crude Oil Prices

Oil prices edged up on Friday, on track to climb more than 4% for the week, as Ukraine’s attacks on Russia’s energy infrastructure prompted Moscow to curb fuel exports and brought it close to cutting crude output.

Brent futures climbed 21 cents, or 0.3%, to $69.63 a barrel by 0635 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures gained 32 cents, or 0.5%, to $65.30 a barrel.

“Gains were supported by ongoing Ukrainian drone strikes targeting Russian oil infrastructure, NATO’s warning to Russia it is ready to respond to future violations of its airspace and Russia’s move to halt key fuel exports,” said IG analyst Tony Sycamore.

Both benchmarks are likely to log their biggest increase since the week ended June 13 when Brent soared 11.7% and WTI jumped 13% as Israel and Iran traded air strikes.

What Experts Say

“Exactly one year ago, on 26th September 2024, the Nifty 50 closed at an all-time high. Since then, the benchmark has slipped just about 5.5%, giving an impression of relative stability. But, a deeper look across the broader market reveals a far more painful reality for investors,” said Apurva Sheth, head of market perspectives and research, SAMCO Securities.

He added that out of the top 750 listed stocks, only 245 have delivered positive returns, while a striking 485 stocks are in the red (20 stocks were listed after 26 Sep 2024). The median return is -11.56%, and the average return is -6.25%, highlighting that losses are more widespread than the index alone suggests.

“The pain is more severe in the broader universe. 254 stocks have lost over 20% of their value, while only 103 have managed to gain more than 20%. Midcap, smallcap, and microcap indices have all underperformed the Nifty, with declines in the range of -8% to -9% over the past year,” he said.

This data underscores a key truth: headline indices often mask the underlying breadth of the market. While the Nifty may look like it’s holding ground, the average investor — who typically owns mid and small caps — has faced double-digit losses, Sheth said.

“The lesson is clear: relying on index-level performance can be misleading. For most investors, the past year has felt far worse than the Nifty’s mild decline would suggest. Mindless diversification in to more stocks or equity mutual funds doesn’t help. Unless you buy non-correlated assets like gold, silver, bonds, your portfolio will bleed and go through these painful periods,” he added.

Mohammad Haris

Haris is Deputy News Editor (Business) at news18.com. He writes on various issues related to personal finance, markets, economy and companies. Having over a decade of experience in financial journalism, Haris h…Read More

Haris is Deputy News Editor (Business) at news18.com. He writes on various issues related to personal finance, markets, economy and companies. Having over a decade of experience in financial journalism, Haris h… Read More