Stock markets decline in early trade dragged by blue-chips Reliance, ICICI Bank

Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty declined in early trade on Monday (January 19, 2026) dragged by blue-chips Reliance Industries and ICICI Bank, while sustained foreign fund outflows and global tariff uncertainties also dented investors’ sentiment.

The 30-share BSE Sensex declined 320.69 points to 83,249.66 in early trade. The 50-share NSE Nifty went down by 124.60 points to 25,573.40.

From the 30-Sensex firms, ICICI Bank dropped 3% after its consolidated profit for the December quarter declined 2.68% to ₹12,537.98 crore, hit by an RBI-mandated ₹1,283-crore provision for agricultural loans wrongly classified as priority sector advances.

On a standalone basis, the country’s second-largest lender reported an over 4% decline in the October-December profit at ₹12,883 crore.

Reliance Industries dipped over 2% after the company on Friday reported almost a flat net profit of ₹18,645 crore for the third quarter, as a decline in gas production and weakness in its retail business offset gains in other segments.

Sun Pharma, Infosys, Adani Ports and Bharti Airtel were also among the laggards.

However, Tech Mahindra, InterGlobe Aviation, Axis Bank and Hindustan Unilever were among the gainers.

Foreign institutional investors offloaded equities worth ₹4,346.13 crore on Friday (January 16, 2026), while Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) bought stocks worth ₹3,935.31 crore, according to exchange data.

“Upside is expected to remain capped by persistent FII outflows, global tariff uncertainties and geopolitical concerns, keeping overall risk appetite cautious,” Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money, an online trading and wealth tech firm, said.

In Asian markets, South Korea’s Kospi index and Shanghai’s SSE Composite index traded higher, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 index and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index quoted lower.

U.S. markets ended marginally lower on Friday (January 16, 2026).

“President Trump’s announcement of fresh tariffs on several European nations, with rates set to rise from 10 per cent to 25 per cent by June unless a Greenland deal is reached, added to global jitters,” Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities Ltd, said.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, climbed 0.16% to $64.23 per barrel.

On Friday (January 16, 2026), the Sensex climbed 187.64 points or 0.23% to settle at 83,570.35. The Nifty rose 28.75 points or 0.11% to 25,694.35.