Nifty Smallcap 100 extends fall for 5th day; Afcons, FSL skid up to 14%

In the past one week, the Nifty Smallcap 100 index has underperformed the market by falling 5 per cent, compared to 2 per cent decline in the Nifty 50.

Shares of smallcap companies remained under pressure, with the Nifty Smallcap 100 index quoting lower for the fifth straight session on a sharp sell-off in equities.

 

The Nifty Smallcap 100 index was down 2 per cent in Wednesday’s intra-day deal. In the past week, the index has underperformed the market, falling 5 per cent compared to the Nifty 50's 2 per cent decline.

 

Prior to that, in the past six months, the Nifty Smallcap 100 index outperformed by zooming 25 per cent, against a 1.6 per cent decline in the Nifty 50.

 

Individually, Afcons Infrastructure tanked 14 per cent in intra-day trading today, while Pine Labs, Tata Chemicals, Firstsource Solutions, Welspun Corp, Data Patterns (India) and Narayana Hrudayalaya were down in the range of 4 to 6 per cent.

 

 

Whirlpool of India, Ircon International, Brainbees Solutions and Afcons Infrastructure shares hit their respective 52-week lows, data showed.  All eyes on Fed decision 

 

Notably, global markets are showing a cautious tone ahead of the US Federal Reserve’s policy decision. Investors will closely track the Fed’s rate decision and forward guidance, which could influence global risk sentiment and near-term market direction.

 

FIIs continue selling streak Meanwhile, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) continued their selling streak for the fifth consecutive session, recording net equity sales of ₹2,977 crore on September 15th 2026. In contrast, domestic institutional investors (DIIs) remained supportive, making net purchases of ₹2,686 crore during the session.

 

The near-term setup remains defensive, with persistent institutional selling and weak price structure keeping sentiment under pressure. Oversold conditions in Nifty may trigger intermittent relief rallies, but these could remain vulnerable to selling at higher levels. Sustained stabilization and stronger participation from buyers would be required to improve the broader market tone, said Hitesh Tailor, Technical Research Analyst at Choice Broking.

 

Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is expected to end its accommodative monetary stance and initiate a rate hike cycle, moving the repo rate from 5.25 per cent toward 6.5 per cent. This shift is driven by accelerating inflation across retail and wholesale metrics, persistent food and fuel price pressures, and a widening gap between producer costs and consumer prices. Compounded by rising US interest rates and global market uncertainty, negative real interest rates have become unsustainable for India's macroeconomic stability, analysts at Systematix Institutional Equities said. READ MORE: RBI may hike rates by 25 bps each in Oct & Dec as inflation may cross 6%

 

“The weak market construct continues with elevated US bond yields and high crude prices contributing significantly to the weakness. So long as these two crucial macros remain high it would be unrealistic to expect a strong rebound in the market. FIIs have been sellers in the market during the last 5 days and with the US 10-year yield at 5 per cent they are likely to sell at every small rally in the market,” V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments said.

 

In today’s meeting, the Fed is most likely to raise interest rates by 25 bp. However, this is unlikely to impact the market since it is already discounted by the market. More market moving will be the Fed commentary on the evolving macro-outlook and the likely rate action going forward, added VK Vijaykumar. 

 

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