Sensex falls 353 points as Reliance and IT shares weigh on Indian markets
Indian benchmarks recovered much of their intraday losses on October 28 but closed lower as Reliance Industries and major IT stocks fell amid higher crude prices.
India’s Sensex fell 352.64 points, or 0.48%, to close at 73,246.03 on Wednesday, October 28, 2026, as Reliance Industries and IT shares declined and crude oil prices rose, according to a PTI report published by The Hindu. The Nifty 50 lost 50.90 points, or 0.22%, to finish at 22,698.85.
The Sensex recovered most of a much steeper intraday fall. It had dropped as much as 995.1 points, or 1.35%, to 72,603.57 before paring its losses. The Hindu’s PTI report also cited caution ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s policy decision as a pressure on the market.
Reliance and IT shares lead the declines
Reliance Industries shares fell 3.46%. Among the IT companies named in the PTI report, Infosys lost 3.34%, Tech Mahindra 1.83% and Tata Consultancy Services 1.68%. Bharti Airtel fell 1.42% and Tata Steel 1.37%, while engineering group Larsen & Toubro rose nearly 4% after reporting higher quarterly profit.
Larsen & Toubro reported a 32.5% rise in consolidated net profit to ₹5,202.10 crore for the quarter ended September 2026, driven by higher revenue, The Hindu reported. Trent, State Bank of India, Axis Bank and InterGlobe Aviation were also among the Sensex stocks that gained.
Crude prices and the Fed decision
Brent crude rose 0.99% to $114.50 a barrel, according to The Hindu and BusinessLine. Vinod Nair, head of research at Geojit Investments, said a fresh rise in oil prices and sharp selling in IT stocks weighed on investor sentiment. He linked the oil rebound to renewed concerns about supply disruptions following Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia, while noting ongoing diplomatic efforts.
Nair said investors would turn to the Federal Reserve’s policy guidance, particularly signals about the path of interest rates into December. The decision was still ahead when the Indian market closed; the reported caution concerns what the Fed might signal, rather than an announced policy change.
A sharper move than Tuesday’s close
The decline followed a nearly flat session on Tuesday, October 27, when the Sensex slipped 8.08 points to 73,598.67 and the Nifty fell 3.45 points to 22,749.75. Foreign institutional investors bought ₹4,240.39 crore of equities that day, according to exchange data cited by The Hindu.
Elsewhere in Asia on Wednesday, South Korea’s Kospi, Japan’s Nikkei 225, Shanghai’s SSE Composite and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng ended higher, The Hindu reported. European markets were trading lower at the time of its report, placing the Indian decline alongside mixed moves across major markets.
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Sources and context
- Sensex declines 353 points, dragged by Reliance, IT stocks, rising crude oil pricesThe Hindu; reporting credited to PTI
- Stock Market Today Highlights, October 28: Sensex declines 353 points dragged by Reliance, IT stocks, rising crude oil pricesThe Hindu BusinessLine; Team BL, KS Badri Narayanan
AI-assisted article checked against the listed sources. NewsJaws did not conduct interviews or attend the reported events.