Nifty, Sensex end lower on monthly derivatives expiry day, dragged by banks

The stock mark fell on Tuesday, failing to hold on to early gains as a late-session reversal dragged the benchmarks lower on monthly derivatives expiry day, while midcap stocks outperformed and helped keep market breadth in positive territory.

The Nifty 50 fell 75 points to 25,885, after briefly crossing the 26,000 mark earlier in the session, while the Sensex declined 314 points to 84,587. A sharp sell-off in the last hour, led by banking and technology heavyweights, erased most of the intraday recovery.

Banks were the biggest laggards toward the close, with the Nifty Bank index slipping to 58,820, down 350 points from its highs, as selling intensified in HDFC Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Federal Bank. In contrast, the Midcap index gained 216 points to 60,298, extending its outperformance and supporting overall market breadth, which favoured advances.

Heavyweights Infosys, HDFC Bank and Kotak Bank were among the top drags on the Nifty. Adani Enterprises was the worst-performing Nifty stock, ending 3% lower, while Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles and Trent fell around 2% each amid sustained profit-taking.

Defence electronics major BEL was the top Nifty gainer, rising 2% after securing a fresh order. Broader financials outperformed, with NBFCs continuing their positive momentum. Shriram Finance gained over 1%, while IIFL Finance, Aditya Birla Capital and Federal Bank rose 3–4% on strong volumes.

Karnataka Bank surged 10% after witnessing large block deals over the last two sessions. In the realty space, stocks reversed most of Monday’s losses, with Phoenix Mills leading gains. Midcap names also saw strong moves: Yatra Online rebounded 8% after management said the CEO transition was a planned change, while Transformers & Rectifiers rose 4% after securing a ₹390 crore order.

Spandana Sphoorty climbed over 3% after appointing a new managing director and CEO. PhysicsWallah snapped a four-day losing streak to gain more than 3%. In contrast, oil marketing companies slipped 1–2% after a downgrade from Investec.Read about our editorial guidelines and ethics policy