On Wednesday, October 21, the SENSEX and NIFTY50 indices pared early gains and fell into negative territory during the afternoon session. The SENSEX dropped as much as 0.8% to an intraday low of 73,281.78, while the NIFTY50 tumbled as much as 0.95% to a session low of 22,672.25. At 1:50 PM, the S&P BSE SENSEX was down 498.48 points, or 0.67%, to 73,354.42, and the NSE’s NIFTY50 stood at 22,687.90, a decline of 201.05 points, or 0.88%.

The sell‑off was driven by a combination of factors, including a decline in defence stocks, elevated global crude oil prices and foreign institutional investor (FII) outflows. Brent crude futures for December delivery remained high at about $109 per barrel. The India VIX peaked at 9.5%, reaching an intraday high of 16.17. Defence shares such as HAL, BEL and BDL fell amid Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s visit to India, where he urged New Delhi to scale up energy trade and purchase American technologies.

Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) shares rose as much as 2.7% to an intraday high of ₹1,234.30 on the NSE, following the opening of the initial public offering (IPO) of its digital and technology arm, Jio Platforms, at 10 AM. The IPO, priced between ₹1,065 and ₹1,119 per share, became fully subscribed within hours and will close on October 23. The offering is the largest public offering in India to date, marking a significant milestone for the company and the capital markets.

L&T Technology Services (LTTS) shares surged 14.7% to a session peak of ₹4,143 after announcing a 66.8% year‑on‑year increase in consolidated net profit to ₹548.2 crore for Q2 FY27, up from ₹328.7 crore a year earlier. Revenue from operations rose 12.06% YoY to ₹3,040.4 crore. The board declared an interim dividend of ₹20 per equity share, with a record date of October 27, 2026.

Transrail Lighting experienced a 9.74% rally to an intraday high of ₹494.65 after securing fresh orders worth ₹927 crore, mainly in domestic power transmission and conductor supply to the United States. The company’s order intake for the year rose to ₹3,356 crore, with more than ₹2,300 crore in orders declared in the last three weeks. Hindustan Zinc also gained up to 3.98% to ₹559.85 after reporting a 142% rise in consolidated net profit to ₹6,412 crore for Q2 FY27, driven by higher metal prices and a stronger dollar.

Other notable movements included Bajaj Finance shares falling 3.6% to ₹923.30 amid margin pressure concerns, while Piramal Finance shares rose 4.6% to ₹2,038 after reporting a 67% increase in consolidated net profit to ₹545 crore for Q2 FY27. Zydus Lifesciences received USFDA approval for its Estradiol and Levonorgestrel Transdermal System, and HFCL hit a 52‑week high of ₹282.25 after reporting a 434.79% YoY rise in net profit to ₹362.91 crore. HD Fire Protect debuted at ₹335, a 23.62% premium over its IPO issue price.