MUMBAI, India — Indian equity markets ended lower for a third consecutive session on Wednesday as geopolitical tensions continued to weigh on investor sentiment, with selling pressure in automobile and oil marketing stocks dragging the benchmarks down.
The Sensex closed down 102.20 points, or 0.12 percent, at 84,961.14, while the Nifty slipped 37.95 points, or 0.14 percent, to settle at 26,140.75.
Market participants said the Nifty needs to sustain a move above 26,300 to revive upward momentum toward the 26,500 level, while a decisive break below 26,000 could lead to a short-term corrective phase toward the 25,900–25,800 range.
Despite recent weakness, longer-term sentiment on Indian equities remains constructive. Global brokerage Morgan Stanley has reiterated a positive medium-term outlook, setting a base-case Sensex target of 95,000 by December 2026, implying upside potential of about 13 percent from current levels. In a more optimistic scenario, the brokerage sees the index climbing to 107,000, representing potential gains of roughly 25 percent.
On the Sensex, stocks such as Maruti Suzuki, Tata Motors’ passenger vehicle unit, Power Grid, Hindustan Unilever, Asian Paints, and Tata Steel were among the biggest drags on the index. Gains in Titan Company, HCL Technologies, Infosys, Tech Mahindra, and Sun Pharma helped limit the overall decline.
Broader markets outperformed the frontline indices. The Nifty Midcap 100 index rose 0.45 percent, while the Nifty Smallcap 100 advanced 0.39 percent.
Sectorally, auto and oil and gas stocks remained under pressure, with the Nifty Auto and Nifty Oil and Gas indices posting the steepest losses. In contrast, consumer durables and information technology stocks saw buying interest, with the Nifty IT index gaining as much as 1.87 percent during the session.
Analysts said investors remain cautious amid global uncertainties, even as longer-term projections continue to point to potential upside for Indian equities. In the current macro environment, they said markets are likely to remain range-bound, with a buy-on-dips approach focused on large-cap stocks seen as a prudent strategy. (Source: IANS)
