Sensex and Nifty drop in early trade as October retail inflation hits 6.09 percent

Stock markets opened lower on Friday, November 13, 2026, after a three-day winning streak due to profit-taking and fears of a central bank rate hike. The 30-share BSE Sensex dropped 460 points to 81,441.17, while the 50-share NSE Nifty fell 179.05 points to 25,119.50.

Market Movers

Mahindra & Mahindra, HDFC Bank, InterGlobe Aviation, Trent, Bharat Electronics, and Bajaj Finserv led the losses among Sensex firms. Tech Mahindra, Sun Pharma, HCL Tech, and Hindustan Unilever posted gains during the session. Retail inflation climbed to 6.09 percent in October from 5.54 percent in September, crossing the upper tolerance limit of the Reserve Bank of India for the first time in two years. Food inflation jumped to 8.94 percent from 7.74 percent, driven by a continuous rise in food and drinks, restaurant services, and transport costs.

Global Cues

Foreign Institutional Investors purchased equities worth 7,830.60 crore rupees on Thursday. Brent crude oil traded lower by 0.44 percent at 95.40 dollars per barrel. South Korea's Kospi and Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell, while Japan's Nikkei 225 and Shanghai's SSE Composite traded in positive territory. US equity markets closed lower on Thursday.

Context

Retail inflation tracks changes in the retail prices of goods and services purchased by consumers. When inflation breaches the central bank's comfort zone, authorities often raise interest rates to cool down price rises across the economy.