Samvat 2082 sees a year of losses for Dalal Street! Sensex, Nifty fall up to 12%; is the worst over?

Indian stock markets witnessed a decline during Samvat 2082 , with benchmark indices BSE Sensex and Nifty 50 falling about 12 per cent over the period.

The BSE Sensex opened at 84,484.67 and closed at 74,459.53 on Friday, registering a decline of about 11.9 per cent. Similarly, the Nifty 50 opened at 25,901.20 and ended Friday's session at 23,053.10, marking a decline of about 11 per cent. Readers should note that Samvat 2082 will conclude on November 8.

Several factors contributed to the pressure on Indian equity markets during this period, including record foreign institutional investor (FII) selling, higher crude oil prices, rising US bond yields, rupee depreciation, and geopolitical uncertainties.

Equity Markets in Samvat 2082: Why did the Indian stock market decline?

Foreign investor selling remained one of the factors weighing on Indian equities. Foreign investors sold about USD 31.3 billion of Indian equities in 2026 through late October. Cumulative net sales reached USD 59.2 billion over 24 months to September 2026.

The selling reduced demand for Indian shares, particularly large-cap stocks, while domestic institutions cushioned the outflows but did not fully offset them.

Crude oil prices also came under focus during the period. Brent crossed USD 115 per barrel in late October amid Middle East tensions and the Strait of Hormuz disruption.

India imports over 90 per cent of its crude oil requirements. Higher oil prices worsen inflation, the current-account deficit, margins and rupee pressure.

US 10-year Treasury yields rose above 5 per cent, near multi-decade highs. Higher risk-free returns pulled capital towards US bonds and away from emerging-market equities, including Indian stocks.

Currency depreciation reduced dollar returns for foreign investors, making Indian equities less attractive in dollar terms and reinforcing FII selling.

Tariff and geopolitical uncertainty

US tariff threats tied to Russian-oil trade and the Middle East conflict raised concerns about trade, energy supply and inflation. These developments increased the risk premium on Indian assets and affected market sentiment.

Global AI-led capital rotation

Investors favoured markets such as the US, Taiwan, South Korea and Japan, which had stronger AI and semiconductor earnings momentum. India lacked a comparable AI-driven earnings story, resulting in global allocators shifting capital elsewhere.

Liquidity and rate concerns

Rising inflation and a tightening bias increased expectations of further rate hikes. Tighter financial conditions weighed particularly on mid-cap and small-cap stocks.

"Similar kind of time I am seeing right now where there is lot of pessimism with very strong fundamentals. If I look at next two three years of outlook, I think I cannot be more positive than what I am today when sentiments are low and fundamentals are strong," Manoj Baheti, founder and fund manager at Carnelian Capital Advisors LLP, said.

Many believe the current phase offers an opportunity to build portfolios, with the potential for sentiment and market performance to improve significantly over the coming years.

"We are very optimistic about India and I know last one year market has, you know, gone down by almost 13%, but despite that we have had very strong inflows like we just discussed on the DII front," Swati Khemani, Founder & CEO at Carnelian Asset Management and Advisors Pvt Ltd, said.

"And structurally we seem to be, you know, going very strong. So, I think sooner or later this vintage if we use in building portfolios will come about very very strong and hopefully by the next Diwali we'll you would have forgotten this past," she added.

What is Samvat, and why is it important in the Indian stock market?

Samvat is a traditional Indian calendar era, most commonly associated with Vikram Samvat, which is used to number years. In the Indian stock market, the term 'new Samvat' refers to the Diwali-based financial and investment year, which begins with the special Muhurat Trading session conducted by the National Stock Exchange (NSE) and the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).

Indian stock exchanges use Samvat as a symbolic beginning of a new market year. Every year, NSE and BSE conduct a special Muhurat Trading session on Diwali to mark the beginning of the new Samvat.

In 2026, Muhurat Trading is scheduled for November 8, marking the beginning of Samvat 2083. This makes the performance of equity markets during Samvat 2082 a measure of how benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty 50 performed over the preceding Samvat year.