Indian equity benchmarks reversed sharply on Friday, October 23, after opening higher. The BSE Sensex, which had closed at 73,249.39 on Thursday and opened at 73,665.64, was trading at 72,791.71 at 10:17 am — down 457.68 points, or 0.62 per cent. The NSE Nifty 50, which closed at 22,687.65 and opened at 22,742.20, was at 22,470.30, down 217.35 points or 0.96 per cent, The Hindu BusinessLine's live market report said.

Source: The Hindu BusinessLine — Sensex, Nifty live, Oct 23

A second mid-morning snapshot from Data Street put the Sensex down 383.32 points at 72,866.07, with the Nifty below 22,500, market capitalisation of BSE-listed companies down nearly ₹9.7 lakh crore — yaani about ₹9.7 trillion — to ₹449.60 trillion from ₹459.26 trillion, and the India VIX fear gauge up over 7 per cent to 16.41. Flash Finance, reporting at 11:01 am IST, likewise said the Sensex had fallen over 450 points and the Nifty had cracked below 22,500 as Brent crude surged above $113 a barrel.

72,791.71Sensex at 10:17 am, down 457.68 pts
22,470.30Nifty 50 at 10:17 am, down 217.35 pts
~$114Brent crude per barrel, near a 5-month high
₹9.7 lakh crBSE market value wiped out in the slide
16.41India VIX, up over 7%

IT stocks held up, metals and autos fell

The morning's early rebound was led by information technology stocks, reversing the previous session's 1.1 per cent sectoral decline. TCS topped the Nifty gainers, rising 3.71 per cent to ₹2,600, Infosys added 2.48 per cent to ₹1,182 and HCL Technologies gained 1.92 per cent to ₹1,449, while Bharti Airtel and Reliance Industries also rose about 1 per cent each, BusinessLine reported.

Metals and auto stocks were under pressure: Hindalco was the top Nifty loser, shedding 2.47 per cent to ₹863.75, while Tata Steel and Adani Enterprises each fell 1.49 per cent. Broader markets lagged, with midcap and smallcap indices down in early trade.

Oil remains the dominant risk

BusinessLine said Brent crude trading near $114 per barrel, close to a five-month high after seven oil tankers were attacked in West Asia overnight, remained the dominant risk for the session, alongside a technology-led selloff across Wall Street and Asia. Analysts quoted in early trade said falling US bond yields and a stronger rupee could restrain foreign-investor selling, and that over ₹3 lakh crore returning after the Jio Platforms IPO allotment may lift sentiment next week — but for Friday, crude held the upper hand.