Indian equities are heading towards one of their weakest starts to a calendar year in 15 years, with the Sensex down around 15% and the Nifty 50 lower by nearly 13% in the first nine months of calendar year 2026 (9MCY26). While the benchmarks have staged a modest recovery from their March lows in the current financial year, that bounce has done little to change the broader picture for 2026.
The Sensex and Nifty are now on course for their worst nine-month performance since 2011, when the two indices had plunged 19.8% and 18.9%, respectively, during the first nine months of the year. The current sell-off, however, has been shaped less by a domestic economic shock and more by a combination of global headwinds that have disproportionately affected large-cap stocks.
