Nifty falls as oil, yields and foreign selling weigh on Indian equities

Indian equities weakened in a broad risk-off session on Monday. Market reports linked the selling to renewed uncertainty over the US-Iran conflict after US President Donald Trump rejected Iran’s proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. The prospect of continued disruption supported higher oil prices, while rising US Treasury yields and foreign outflows added pressure.

Bajaj Finance, Kotak Mahindra Bank and HDFC Bank were among the stocks cited as leading the Sensex decline. Reports also named Reliance Industries, SBI, ICICI Bank, Adani Ports, L&T and Power Grid among the large-cap laggards. The explanation offered was primarily macro-driven selling rather than a common company-specific trigger. Analysts also pointed to concern about a higher rate outlook and possible pressure on banks’ net interest margins.

Pharma, IT and telecom were relatively more resilient, but the available reports did not identify a specific catalyst for those sectors. Their relative performance is consistent with investors favouring areas seen as less directly exposed to energy costs; that is an interpretation, not a confirmed explanation. Oil, power and infrastructure stocks lagged amid the broad sell-off, with no separate sector-specific trigger established in the material.

US shares closed lower on Monday as Treasury yields rose and oil remained elevated amid the impasse over the Strait of Hormuz. The rise in global yields can make dollar assets more competitive with emerging-market equities; for India, the combination of expensive energy and a weaker rupee also raises concern about import costs and inflation. Those are potential channels of pressure, not proof of a direct cause for any one stock move.

Monday’s Asian market closes were mixed, with losses in Japan, South Korea and mainland China while Hong Kong was higher. Foreign institutional investors were provisional net sellers of Rs 5,353.22 crore in Indian equities on Monday, while domestic institutions were net buyers of around Rs 5,189 crore, according to exchange data cited by Moneycontrol. Domestic buying provided a counterweight but did not offset the foreign selling and broader risk aversion.

The National Statistics Office reported that industrial production grew 8.0% year-on-year in August, compared with 6.7% in July. Manufacturing output rose 9.0% year-on-year and electricity and gas supply increased 12.3%. The August figure is a quick estimate and can be revised. Economists cited in reports cautioned that a favourable base effect, including inventory adjustments a year earlier ahead of GST rate cuts, supported the comparison.

The Reserve Bank of India accepted Rs 25,000 crore of securities in an open-market sale auction on September 28, according to auction reporting. The benchmark government bond yield also rose, with market reports citing higher US yields, elevated oil and currency pressure as factors. These developments matter for domestic borrowing costs, though the available material does not establish the auction as the cause of the yield move.

Separately, media reports said SEBI was considering a panel to examine rules for stock exchanges listing their own shares. The report was not confirmed by SEBI in the available material. Shares of NSE and BSE came under pressure amid the news; any rule changes would raise governance and conflict-of-interest questions for exchange operators.

On company disclosures, NCC reported a Rs 1,076.71 crore water-supply contract from the Andhra Pradesh government, excluding GST. IRFC said it signed a Rs 4,200 crore term-loan agreement with Damodar Valley Corporation to finance renewable-energy projects in Jharkhand and West Bengal. Vikram Solar disclosed a 400 MW module-supply order for decentralised solar projects in Maharashtra, with deliveries scheduled to begin in October. These announcements add to the companies’ reported order or financing pipelines; the available material did not provide market expectations against which to assess them.

Zydus Lifesciences said the US Food and Drug Administration inspection at its Ahmedabad SEZ II facility had concluded with one observation. Ola Electric’s board approved a rights issue of partly paid-up shares to raise up to Rs 1,000 crore, subject to regulatory and statutory approvals. Coforge appointed Akhil Kumar Gupta as chairman, according to reports.

Among reported quarterly results, Rays of Belief posted Q1 consolidated revenue of Rs 25.3 crore, against Rs 10.7 crore a year earlier, and net profit of Rs 2.79 crore, compared with a loss of Rs 0.53 crore. Prasol Chemicals reported Q1 revenue of Rs 433.6 crore versus Rs 319.6 crore a year earlier, and profit of Rs 61 crore versus Rs 24.3 crore. Consensus estimates were not available in the material, so a beat-or-miss comparison cannot be made.

The primary-market calendar is active, with four SME IPOs scheduled to open and a larger group of issues due to close on September 29. Varmora Granito is scheduled to list. Reported IPO calendars provide the event schedule, but the material available does not establish final subscription levels or listing outcomes.