Indian equity benchmark -- Nifty ended sharply lower on Monday amid surge in cured oil prices due to persistent geopolitical tensions between US-Iran after US President Donald Trump said he has rejected an Iranian proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and end fighting. Index made a gap down start following weak cues from other Asian markets. Besides, persistent foreign fund outflow dampened investors sentiments, as per exchange data, foreign institutional investors (FII) offloaded Indian equities worth Rs 3,693.93 crore on September 25, 2026. Traders remained cautious as the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data indicated that India's forex reserves dropped by $14.88 billion to $765.90 billion during the week ended September 18 due to a fall in foreign currency assets. Further, index extended its losses and continued to trade under pressure throughout the day to end below its crucial 22,800 mark, as market participants avoided risky ahead of monthly F&O expiry.
All sectorial indices ended in red. The top gainers from the F&O segment were Dixon Technologies (India), Dr. Reddy's Laboratories and Voltas. On the other hand, the top losers were Manappuram Finance, Yes Bank and Bank of India. In the index option segment, maximum OI continues to be seen in the 22900 - 23100 calls and 21900 - 22100 puts indicating this is the trading range expectation.
