Indian Markets Dip Amid Crude Oil Spike, RBI Meet

The Cliff News | 7 October 2026

Indian stock markets, represented by the benchmark Sensex and Nifty, experienced a downturn in early trading on Wednesday. This decline followed a two-day rally and was primarily attributed to a surge in crude oil prices and investor caution ahead of the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) monetary policy announcement.

The 30-share BSE Sensex saw a significant drop, falling by 460 points to trade at 72,599.05 in early deals. Concurrently, the 50-share NSE Nifty declined by 164.80 points, reaching 22,610.85.

Market Movers and Shakers

Among the constituents of the Sensex, several prominent companies were observed to be among the laggards. These included Titan, Asian Paints, Bharat Electronics, Maruti, Axis Bank, and Mahindra & Mahindra. Conversely, Bajaj Finance and Bharti Airtel showed gains, providing some support to the indices.

The global oil benchmark, Brent crude, continued its upward trajectory, trading 1.01 per cent higher at USD 101.6 per barrel. This sustained increase in oil prices is a significant factor influencing market sentiment.

RBI Policy Decision in Focus

Market participants are keenly awaiting the RBI's monetary policy decision, scheduled to be announced by Governor Sanjay Malhotra at 10 am on Wednesday. This announcement marks the conclusion of the three-day meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee.

"The focus of the market today will be on the monetary stance and the message from the RBI Governor," stated V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Investments Limited. He also noted that Brent crude's return above USD 101 and the continued Foreign Portfolio Investor (FPI) outflows are key concerns.

Exchange data revealed that Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net sellers on Tuesday, offloading equities worth Rs 2,961.30 crore. This outflow adds another layer of pressure on the domestic market.

Global and Domestic Economic Influences

Geopolitical risks remain a significant overhang in the global market, while crude oil prices have seen a modest rebound from recent lows, with WTI crude trading near USD 90 a barrel and Brent remaining above USD 100.

In Asian markets, a mixed trend was observed, with South Korea's Kospi, Japan's Nikkei 225 index, and the Hang Seng index quoting lower. In contrast, US markets had ended higher on Tuesday, indicating varied performance across global trading sessions.

Despite the early morning decline, domestic liquidity and expectations of robust second-quarter earnings are providing some underlying support to the Indian market, according to analysts.

Previously, on Tuesday, the Indian equity markets had closed on a strong positive note. The Sensex had surged by 685.34 points, or 0.95 per cent, to finish at 73,067.81, while the Nifty had climbed 220.35 points, or 0.98 per cent, ending at 22,776.10.