Sensex falls 300 pts from day’s high, Nifty below 23,400: Key reasons behind market decline

Fresh updates from the financial markets indicate that Key market indices The two key benchmark indices declined from day's high to trade in red on September 10 due to various reasons, including rising crude prices.

At 3:08 pm, the Sensex was down 147.74 points or 0.2% at 74,616.49, and the Nifty was down 45.65 points or 0.19% at 23,385.85. Around 1,737 shares advanced, 2,217 shares declined, and 139 shares were unchanged. Sensex declined 300 points from day's high while Nifty was trading below the psychologically important 23,400-mark.

Key reasons behind market slide

1) Rising crude prices

An intensifying Middle East conflict kept crude prices above the $102 per barrel mark.

Iran stated it attacked 10 ships near the Strait of Hormuz after the U.S. sank five Iranian oil tankers in the largest attacks on shipping in the six-month-old conflict.

Elevated crude prices are detrimental for India, the world's third-largest importer of the commodity, as they gain the import bill, worsen inflationary pressures and weigh on economic expansion and corporate profitability.

"Even though India’s forex reserves are comfortable and the current account deficit is under control, if crude stays above $ 100 for an extended period of time, it will impact India’s GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT expansion this year with its fallout on corporate earnings too. The sectors that are likely to be impacted are energy sensitive sectors like aviation, paints, adhesives, tyres and chemicals," stated V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments Limited. 2) FII selling

On September 9, 2026, Foreign Institutional Market participants (FIIs) remained net sellers, offloading equities worth Rs 583 crore, while Domestic Institutional Market participants (DIIs) continued their buying activity, purchasing equities worth Rs 1,509 crore.

HCL Technologies, the biggest laggard in the Nifty 50, extended losses and was down over 2%. The stock has been falling for seven straight session. Shares of metal firms such as JSW Steel, Hindalco Industries, and Tata Steel extended losses and were down 1–2%. Shares of Eicher Motors, Nestle India, and Trent shed more and were down around 1% each.

On the other hand, HDFC Life Insurance advanced more and was up 2%. It was the top gainer in the Nifty 50 along with Power Grid, which rose 2% as well. Shares of Index heavyweights HDFC Bank and Bharti Airtel were up over 1% each.

Broader indices remained mixed, small-cap indices were flat, and mid-cap indices declined 0.4% each. Mid-cap indices were down due to a decline of nearly 2% in Dixon Technologies and Aurobindo Pharma. Among sectoral indices, Nifty Metal was down around 1%. The index declined after rising around 2% in the previous session. Nifty Media was up 1%, fuelled by PVR Inox, which was up 3.5%, and Tips Music, which rose 3%.

HEG hit the 5% softer circuit and was the top loser in the Nifty 500.

3) Technical reason

Nifty needs to trade above 23,500 for any bullish momentum to return to the markets, stated market watchers.