Friday brought a third consecutive day of losses for the benchmark indices, with the BSE Sensex sliding more than 1 per cent to as low as 76,829.10, shedding close to 835 points. The NSE Nifty slumped by more than 227 points to a morning low of 23,945.20. All 16 major sectors declined on the day, with no corner of the market left unscathed.
Two forces combined to push markets lower. First, crude oil. Brent crude surged past $106 per barrel after Iran demonstrated fresh military assertiveness at the Strait of Hormuz, following the collapse of peace negotiations. The ceasefire between the US and Iran has now been extended indefinitely by President Donald Trump, but the direction of the conflict has turned more volatile again, keeping energy prices elevated and investor nerves frayed.
Second, Infosys. India's second-largest IT company reported its Q4 FY2026 results after market hours on Thursday, April 23, and while the numbers themselves were solid, it was the guidance that rattled investors.
Infosys posted consolidated net profit of ₹8,501 crore for Q4 FY2026, up 20.9 per cent year-on-year, with revenue of ₹46,402 crore, up 6.6 per cent y-o-y (up 4.1 per cent in constant currency terms.
While FY2026 revenue crossed the $20 billion mark for the first time, FY2027 revenue growth estimate of just 1.5 per cent to 3.5 per cent in constant currency, with an operating margin band of 20 per cent to 22 per cent, sounded too cautious an outlook. The Infosys stock fell at least 4.5 per cent on Friday, dragging the broader IT index down more than 2.5 per cent.
The sell-off did not limit itself to IT. Small-caps and mid-caps fell about 0.5 per cent each shortly after the opening bell, and went further down after.
