After opening the day lower, the benchmark indices continued their downward momentum and ended the session in the red.

Indian equity market indices, Sensex and Nifty, settled sharply lower, following weak global cues after the US Federal Reserve cut interest rates as expected but hinted it may be the last cut of 2025. Investors also stayed cautious ahead of updates on U.S.-China trade talks.

At the closing bell, the BSE Sensex closed lower by 593 points (down 0.7%).

Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty closed 176 points lower (down 0.7%).

Bharat Elec, Maruti Suzuki, Aand dani Ports are among the top gainers today.

Bharti Airtel, Power Grid Corp, and Tech Mahindra, on the other hand, were among the top losers today.

The GIFT Nifty was trading at  26,022, lower by 232 points at the time of writing.

The BSE MidCap index ended 0.1% higher, and the BSE SmallCap index ended 0.1% lower.

Sectoral indices are trading positively, mixed with stocks in the oil & gas and realty sectors witnessing buying. Meanwhile, stocks in the media sector and the telecommunications sector witnessed selling pressure.

The rupee is trading at Rs 87.6 against the US$.

Gold prices for the latest contract on MCX are trading 0.2% higher at Rs 120,965 per 10 grams.

Meanwhile, silver prices were trading 0.3% higher at Rs 146,649 per 1 kg.

Here are four reasons why Indian share markets are falling:

#1 US Fed Rate Cut

The US Federal Reserve cut rates by 25 bps to 3.75%, while cautioning that December's move is uncertain. US Federal Reserve Governor Jerome Powell said future actions will depend on evolving economic data and risks.

#2 F&O Expiry Watch

Sensex October derivatives expire today with a Put-Call Ratio of 0.7. This reflects higher open interest in Calls compared to Puts.

#3 Asian Market Cues

Trump cut tariffs on Chinese goods to 47% after meeting Xi Jinping in South Korea. However, Asian market sentiment remained subdued despite lower tariffs and the US rate cut.

#4 Profit Booking Trend

Markets saw profit-taking as Sensex and Nifty neared record highs after a 5% monthly gain.
 

L&T Q2 Results

In the news from engineering sector, shares of Larsen & Toubro (L&T) came into after the company reported its Q2 FY26 results.

L&T's revenue from operations for the quarter under review was at Rs 6,789.4 bn marking a growth of 10.4% from Rs 6155 billion (bn) reported in the fourth quarter of FY25.

The company's EBITDA increased 7% year over year (YoY) to Rs 68.1 bn in Q2 FY26 from Rs 67 bn in Q4 FY24. Compared to 10.3%, its margin was nearly unchanged at 10.1%.

As of September 30, 2025, the Group's consolidated order book was worth Rs 66,704.7 bn, which represented a 15% increase from March 2025. 49% of the order book is made up of international orders.

For the quarter ending 30 September of the fiscal year 2025-2026, Larsen and Toubro (L&T) reported a 15.6% increase in its consolidated net profit, which came to Rs 39.3 bn.
 

LIC Housing Finance Q2 Result

Moving on to the news from finance sector, shares of LIC Housing Finance came into after the company reported its Q2 FY26 results.

According to LIC Housing Finance's regulatory filing, the mortgage entity's total income increased to Rs 71.7 bn during the quarter from Rs 69.3 bn during the same period last year.

Interest income increased to Rs 70.3 bn during the quarter, up from Rs 68.5 bn during the same period last year.

The quarter's total expenses went up from Rs 52.6 bn to Rs 54.6 bn compared to the same period in the previous fiscal year.

At the end of the second quarter of the previous fiscal year, net non-performing assets (NPAs), also known as bad loans, decreased from 1.57% to 1.19%.

On a consolidated basis, the company reported a 1.5% rise in net profit to Rs 13.4 bn as against Rs 13.3 bn in Q2FY25.

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