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Informist, Thursday, Sept. 24, 2026

 

By Adhithya Aji

 

MUMBAI – Benchmark equity indices ended sharply lower Thursday as crude oil prices rose to around $106 per barrel. Crude oil rose after Iran said that if the US continues military action, then the war may extend to the Indian Ocean. The Nifty 50 touched a three-month low of 23045.15 intraday. Banking and financial services shares were the major laggards. Insurance companies slumped following new proposals from the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India. 

 

The Nifty 50 ended 1.6% lower at 23063.10, while the BSE Sensex closed 1.7% lower at 73580.54. The Nifty 50 closed more than 8?low its level before the war in West Asia. Only three stocks in the 50-stock index closed higher on Thursday. Cipla and Oil and Natural Gas Corp. closed around 1% higher each, while NTPC ended 0.2% higher. ONGC gained on the sharp rise in crude oil prices.

 

On Thursday, Brent crude futures rose more than 3% intraday to a high of $106.5 per barrel. Crude oil prices rose after declining from recent highs in the previous few sessions. A senior advisor to Iran's Supreme Leader warned that the war could expand to the Indian Ocean if the US or Israel launched further attacks. This sparked concerns that the West Asia war could escalate and disrupt oil supplies.   

      

Financial services players – Bajaj Finance and HDFC Life Insurance Co. – were the worst-hit stocks in the Nifty 50, each ending around 6% lower. Bajaj Finserv, Jio Financial Services, Shriram Finance, and Kotak Mahindra Bank fell 2-5%. The heavyweight HDFC Bank ended 1% lower. Axis Bank closed nearly 5% lower, while State Bank of India ended nearly 2% lower. Banking and financial services shares fell after IRDAI proposed capping commissions for insurance distributors. A cap on commission for distributors is expected to affect the revenue of banks and non-banking financial services companies, according to an analyst tracking the sector. 

 

Shares of L&T Finance ended 9% lower and hit a three-month low of INR 279 intraday. The company earns around 26% of its profit before tax from insurance commissions. Max Financial Services shares ended nearly 10% lower. The company is expected to be more affected by the proposed changes. Max Financial Services sells most of its higher-cost channel products through banks. A cap on distributor commissions and expense reforms will lead to lower insurance premium volumes for the company, according to the analyst.

  

PB Fintech was another company that took a major hit from IRDAI's proposed norms. The stock ended 36% lower and touched an over two-year low. The company, which sells insurance products through its Policybazaar.com platform as a third-party distributor, saw its shares fall sharply. Analysts said the commission cap would lead to lower earnings for the insurance aggregator. Brokerage firm Bernstein said PB Fintech could face near-term pain, as the cuts proposed in IRDAI's draft regulations would hurt the company significantly because call-centre costs would not be sustainable at these rates, according to a CNBC-TV18 report.

 

Broader market indices also declined. Midcap indices ended 2.0-2.6% lower, while smallcap indices closed 1.4-1.6% lower. All sectoral indices ended lower, with Nifty Financial Services and Nifty Private Bank falling the most, by more than 2?ch. Nifty Bank fell 2%. "Investor sentiment turned increasingly risk-averse as concerns over the interest rate trajectory intensified, driven by lingering uncertainties around inflation and economic growth," Vinod Nair, head of research at Geojit Investments, said in a note. 

 

Among the insurance companies, ICICI Lombard General Insurance was the only constituent to end higher. The stock closed 5.1% higher. Oil India, an oil explorer and peer of ONGC, ended nearly 2% higher amid the rise in crude oil prices. 

 

Among other stocks, Vikran Engineering ended nearly 9% higher after the company received a INR-1.54-billion order from Power Grid Corp. of India Ltd. for a 400-kilovolt air-insulated switchgear extension substation package. H.G. Infra Engineering's shares ended nearly 4% higher after the company said it received a certificate of completion for its six-lane urban extension road project worth INR 13.93 billion in Delhi. 

 

* Of the Nifty 50 stocks, 3 rose, 47 fell

* Of the Sensex stocks, 29 fell, 1 unchanged 

* On the NSE, 943 stocks rose, 2,587 fell, and 99 were unchanged

* On the BSE, 1,473 stocks rose, 2,884 fell, and 216 were unchanged
* Nifty Financial Services: down 2.4%; Nifty Private Bank: down 2.2%; Nifty IT: down 0.4%

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BSE                                            NSE

Sensex: 73580.54, down 1247.71 points or 1.7%  Nifty 50: 23063.10, down 383.70 points or 1.6%

 

S&P BSE Sensitive Index	Nifty 50
Lifetime High: 86159.02 (Dec. 1, 2025)	Lifetime High: 26373.20 (Jan. 5, 2026)
Record Close High: 85836.12 (Sept. 26, 2024)	Record Close High: 26328.55 (Jan. 2, 2026)
2026 1st day close: 85188.60 (Jan. 1)	2026 1st day close: 26146.55 (Jan. 1)
2026 Closing High: 85762.01 (Jan. 2)	2026 Closing High: 26328.55 (Jan. 2)
2026 Closing Low: 71947.55 (Mar. 30)	2026 Closing Low: 22331.40 (Mar. 30)
2026 High (intraday): 85883.50 (Jan. 5)	2026 High (intraday): 26373.20 (Jan. 5)
2026 Low (intraday): 71545.81 (Apr. 1)	2026 Low (intraday): 22182.55 (Apr.2)
2025 1st day close: 78507.41 (Jan. 1)	2025 1st day close: 23742.90 (Jan. 1)
2025 Closing High: 85720.38 (Nov. 27)	2025 Closing High: 26215.55 (Nov. 27)
2025 Closing Low: 72989.93 (Mar. 4)	2025 Closing Low: 22082.65 (Mar. 4)
2025 High (intraday): 86159.02 (Dec. 1)	2025 High (intraday): 26325.80 (Dec.1)
2025 Low (intraday): 71425.01 (Apr. 7)	2025 Low (intraday): 21743.65 (Apr. 7)
2024 1st day close: 72271.94 (Jan. 1)	2024 1st day close: 21741.90 (Jan. 1)
2024 Closing High: 85836.12 (Sept. 26)	2024 Closing High: 26216.05 (Sept. 26)
2024 Closing Low: 70370.55 (Jan. 23)	2024 Closing Low: 21238.80 (Jan. 23)
2024 High (intraday): 85978.25 (Sep. 27)	2024 High (intraday): 26277.35 (Sept. 27)
2024 Low (intraday): 70001.60 (Jan. 24)	2024 Low (intraday): 21137.20 (Jan. 24)
2023 1st day close: 61167.79 (Jan. 2)	2023 1st day close: 18197.45 (Jan. 2)
2023 Closing High: 72410.38 (Dec. 28)	2023 Closing High: 21778.70 (Dec. 28)
2023 Closing Low: 59288.35 (Feb. 27)	2023 Closing Low: 17311.80 (Oct. 17)
2023 High (intraday): 72484.34 (Dec. 28)	2023 High (intraday): 21801.45 (Dec. 28)
2023 Low (intraday): 58699.20 (Jan. 30)	2023 Low (intraday): 17098.55 (Jan. 17)
2022 1st day close: 59183.22 (Jan. 3)	2022 1st day close: 17625.70 (Jan. 3)
2022 Closing High: 63284.19 (Dec. 1)	2022 Closing High: 18812.50 (Dec. 1)
2022 Closing Low: 51360.42 (Jun. 17)	2022 Closing Low: 15293.50 (Jun. 17)
2022 High (intraday): 63583.07 (Dec. 1)	2022 High (intraday): 18887.60 (Dec. 1)
2022 Low (intraday): 50921.22 (Jun. 17)	2022 Low (intraday): 15183.40 (Jun. 17)
2021 Closing High: 61305.95 (Oct. 14)	2021 Closing High: 18338.55 (Oct. 14)
2021 Closing Low: 46285.77 (Jan. 29)	2021 Closing Low: 13634.60 (Jan. 29)
2021 High (intraday): 61353.25 (Oct. 14)	2021 High (intraday): 18350.75 (Oct. 14)
2021 Low (intraday): 46160.46 (Jan. 29)	2021 Low (intraday): 13596.75 (Jan. 29)
2020 Closing High: 47751.33 (Dec. 31)	2020 Closing High: 13981.95 (Dec. 30)
2020 Closing Low: 25981.24 (Mar. 23)	2020 Closing Low: 7610.25 (Mar. 23)
2020 High (intraday): 47896.97 (Dec. 31)	2020 High (intraday): 14024.85 (Dec. 31)
2020 Low (intraday): 25638.90 (Mar. 24)	2020 Low (intraday): 7511.10 (Mar. 24)
2019 High (intraday): 41809.96 (Dec. 20)	2019 High (intraday): 12293.90 (Dec. 20)
2019 Low (intraday): 35287.16 (Feb. 19)	2019 Low (intraday): 10583.65 (Jan. 29)
2018 High (intraday): 38938.91(Aug. 28))	2018 High(intraday): 11760.20 (Aug. 28)
2018 Low (intraday): 32483.8 (Mar. 23)	2018 Low (intraday): 9951.9 (Mar. 23)
2017 High (intraday): 34005.37 (Dec. 26)	2017 High(intraday): 10515.10 (Dec. 26)

 

 

End

 

US$1 = INR 95.96

IST, or Indian Standard Time, is five-and-a-half hours ahead of GMT

 

Edited by Saji George Titus

 

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