Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty closed lower on Tuesday (January 13, 2026) after a day’s respite as investors reduced exposure to index majors Reliance Industries, L&T and Bharti Airtel amid global tariff concerns.
According to traders, market sentiment also remained subdued due to a weak start to the earnings season and continued flight of foreign capital from Indian markets.
The 30-share BSE Sensex closed 250.48 points or 0.30% lower at 83,627.69 in volatile trade. It fell 615.38 points or 0.73% to 83,262.79 during the day.
The 50-share NSE Nifty fell 57.95 points or 0.22% to 25,732.30.
The session started with a negative trend after disappointing results from IT major TCS and remained in decline during most of the session, although a bounce in the last hour negated some of the losses.
“Domestic equities experienced a decline due to renewed concerns about possible US tariffs on countries trading with Iran, reducing initial optimism from the newly appointed US Ambassador’s positive statements on the trade deal. Investor sentiment remained cautious amid rupee weakness, rising crude oil prices, higher US bond yields and persistent FII outflows.
“On a positive note, India’s December CPI remained within the RBI’s target range, boosting expectations of future rate cuts. However, the third quarter earnings season started on a slow note with weak results from an IT major. There was profit-booking across most sectors, although small-cap stocks saw notable gains,” said Vinod Nair, head of research at Geojit Investments Ltd.
Among the 30-Sensex companies, Trent, Larsen & Toubro, Reliance Industries, InterGlobe Aviation, Maruti, ITC, Adani Ports and Bharat Electronics were the biggest laggards.
On the contrary, Eternal, ICICI Bank, Tech Mahindra, State Bank of India and Tata Consultancy Services were among the gainers.
Ajit Mishra, SVP, Research, Religare Broking Ltd, said, “…fresh selling in leading stocks across sectors capped gains. Ongoing geopolitical and global trade concerns also weighed on risk appetite, making trading largely stock-specific.”
TCS, the country’s largest IT services exporter, on Monday (January 12) reported a 13.91% decline in December quarter profit at Rs 10,657 crore, mainly due to the one-time impact of the new labor code.
Meanwhile, retail inflation rose to a three-month high of 1.33% in December, mainly due to higher food prices, but remained below the Reserve Bank of India’s lower tolerance level.
According to exchange data, foreign institutional investors sold equities worth ₹3,638.40 crore on Monday (January 12), while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought stocks worth ₹5,839.32 crore.
US President Donald Trump announced that any country “doing business” with Iran will have to pay a 25% tariff on its trade with Washington, a move that could impact Tehran’s major trading partners such as India, China and the United Arab Emirates.
Truth Social In a post on Monday, Mr Trump said, “Effective immediately, any country doing business with the Islamic Republic of Iran will pay a tariff of 25% on any and all trade conducted with the United States. This order is final and conclusive.”
The BSE smallcap gauge rose 0.46%, while the midcap index fell 0.1%.
BSE Telecom fell by 1.18 per cent, followed by Industrials (1.09 per cent), Capital Goods (0.67 per cent), Consumer Durables (0.63 per cent), Realty (0.56 per cent) and Energy (0.51 per cent).
“Indian equity markets witnessed sharp intra-day volatility at the weekly close, with early gains giving way to profit-booking as the session progressed. Initial optimism was tempered by global tariff-related concerns, mixed reactions on Q3 earnings and general expiry-driven volatility,” said Ponmudi R, CEO of online trading and wealth tech firm Enrich Money.
On Monday (January 12), US markets closed in positive territory.
published – January 13, 2026 06:04 PM IST