Sensex slips 850 pts; Nifty below 25,900: Why are markets falling today?

Indian benchmark indices, the Sensex and Nifty, fell on Thursday, January 8, 2026. Domestic markets declined for the fourth consecutive day with Sensex falling 1,600 points and Nifty around 470 points. Intra-day, Sensex declined 851 points or 1 per cent to the day’s low at 84,110.1, and Nifty50 slipped 282 points or 1 per cent to the day’s low at 25,858.45. 

 

At close, the 30-stocks index was at 84,180.96, down 780.18 points or 0.92 per cent and NSE Nifty50 quoted 25,876.85, down 264 points or 1 per cent.   On BSE, TCS, Tech Mahindra, L&T and Reliance Industries were among the top laggards, while Eternal, Bajaj Finance, Bharat Electronics (BEL), and ICICI Bank were the top gainers. 

 

Meanwhile, broader market indices also closed lower with Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 down 1.96 per cent and 1.99 per cent respectively. 

 

On the sectoral front, all indices traded in red. Nifty Metal was the top laggard, down over 3 per cent, followed by Nifty PSU Bank and Nifty information technology (IT), both falling over 1 per cent.   India's volatility gauge which measures the market's expectation of volatility, India VIX closed 6.53 per cent higher to 10.6.

Here are key reasons why Sensex and Nifty fell today

Trump backs Bill proposing 500 per cent tariff on buyers of Russian oil

US President Donald Trump reportedly has backed a Bill that threatens to raise tariffs on countries buying energy products, including oil, from Russia, to at least 500 per cent. If approved, the Bill will add pressure on countries like India, China, and Brazil, which continue to purchase Russian oil despite US sanctions. 

This proposed action has more of a sentiment impact on markets than a real economic one, reckons independent analyst Ambareesh Baliga.  

 

“While there are concerns around tariffs linked to trade with Russia, the US cannot realistically afford to cut off key dependencies such as Indian IT services, agricultural produce, and food products. Despite tariff-related noise over the past several months, India has continued to post healthy gross domestic product (GDP) growth, showing that the overall impact has been limited. However, specific sectors like textiles have felt the pressure,” he said. 

Geopolitical concerns

Geopolitical uncertainty has surged following a major US military operation in Venezuela over the weekend, which resulted in the capture of President Nicolas Maduro and his wife on charges of narco-terrorism and drug trafficking. 

 

Vijayakumar, chief investment strategist, Geojit Financial Services, noted that markets are currently in a highly volatile phase. He suggested that investors should consider increasing their cash holdings while staying invested. "The heightened uncertainty from these unprecedented geopolitical developments calls for a prudent approach, with a higher cash buffer to capitalise on any sudden market fluctuations," he added.

Metal stocks decline

Metal stocks faced significant selling pressure on Thursday, with several companies dropping as much as 6 per cent on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) due to profit booking. Hindustan Zinc and National Aluminium Company (Nalco) were the hardest hit, both sliding 6 per cent in intraday trade. Other major players, including Jindal Stainless, Vedanta, Hindustan Copper, Jindal Steel, NMDC, Hindalco, JSW Steel, and Lloyds Metals, also saw declines ranging between 4 per cent and 5 per cent. 

 

Weak global cues

Markets across Asia were trading lower with mainland China’s CSI 300 down 0.92 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 1.71 per cent, and Japan’s Nikkei was down 1.64 per cent. Among the European markets, the Financial Times Stock Exchange (FTSE) fell 0.74 per cent. 

FII selling 

Analysts believe the consistent selling by foreign investors is also affecting the mood of markets. In January so far, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) have offloaded Indian equities worth ₹4,650.39 crore.

F&O expiry 

Thursday marks the weekly expiry for Sensex derivatives, a day typically associated with heightened market activity. On such days, traders tend to close out or roll forward their positions, which often results in elevated trading volumes and sharper price swings.