Markets tumble: Sensex down 350+, Nifty below 25,500 amid heavy selling in Asian Paints, Bajaj Finance

Sensex falls over 350 points, Nifty dips below 25,500; Asian Paints, Bajaj Finance lead losses.

Indian equity markets extended their losses on Tuesday as investors stayed cautious amid rising global uncertainties. Stock-specific movements continued during the ongoing Q3 earnings season.

By 9:45 AM, the BSE Sensex was trading near 82,900, down 346 points (0.42%), while the Nifty50 slipped 118 points (0.46%) to 25,467.

Top laggards on the Sensex included Bajaj Finance, IndiGo, Asian Paints, Bajaj Finserv, Tech Mahindra, Eternal, Trent, Bharti Airtel, Sun Pharma, TCS, Power Grid, HCL Tech, Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, and Infosys, with losses of up to 3%.

Broader markets also struggled, with the Nifty Midcap index down 1.31% and the Nifty Smallcap index falling 1.28%. Sectoral declines were led by Nifty Realty (-2.2%), followed by Nifty IT (-1.3%) and Nifty Auto (-0.9%).

Asian markets extended their slide, dragged by Japan’s Nikkei 225 and South Korea’s Kospi, while sentiment in Japan remained fragile after Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi called for an early general election next month. Wall Street remained closed for the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday.