DayStarter

The day at a glance

Market snapshot

Equities and sectors

Indian equities opened sharply lower and stayed weak through the session. The Nifty 50 opened 225 points lower at 23,221, mainly because financial stocks fell after IRDAI proposed major changes to insurance commission structures. Weak global markets also added pressure.

After the open, the Nifty moved up towards 23,270, then traded mostly between 23,215 and 23,245 during the first half. Selling became stronger after 1:30 PM, and the index fell to around 23,050 near 2 PM. It closed at 23,063.10, down 1.64%, around 160 points below its opening level. The index never moved above Wednesday’s close. The day’s high was 23,282 and the low was 23,046.

The Sensex closed at 73,580.54, down 1.67% from 74,828.25. It traded between 73,563.92 and 74,362.29. The Nifty and Sensex fell to their lowest levels since 6 April and 8 June respectively. India VIX rose nearly 23%, showing a sharp increase in expected market volatility. Financial services make up 36.47% of the Nifty 50.

The broader market also fell. Midcap 150 lost 2.0%, Nifty 500 fell 1.7%, Next 50 and Microcap 250 fell 1.5% each, and Smallcap 250 declined 1.4%. Over the last 20 sessions, the Nifty 50 is down 4.7% and the Microcap 250 is down 0.2%.

All 15 sector indices fell. IT held up best with a 0.44% decline, while Financial Services fell the most at 2.39%. Nifty Bank fell 2.0%, Private Bank 2.2% and PSU Bank 1.1%. Pharma and Healthcare remain the strongest sectors over longer time periods. The Nifty Financial Services ex-Bank index fell 4.3%, the Nifty Mid-small Financial Services index fell 4.4%, and the Nifty Midcap 100 lost 2.3%.

Winners and losers

Financial stocks dominated the biggest F&O declines. PB Fintech fell 36% on 21 times its usual volume and also recorded the sharpest increase in implied volatility. Turtlemint closed 20% lower at ₹109.04. AIA Engineering recorded the biggest delivery spike of the day. Outside the F&O universe, Allied Blenders rose 8.5% on 14 times its usual volume.

Commodities and currency

• Crude: MCX crude oil futures were up 2.8% by 19:15 IST and were up 15.5% over 20 sessions. Natural gas rose 0.4%. Crude oil rose to nearly $94 per barrel, extending the previous session’s 1.8% gain, as renewed Middle East tensions reduced hopes of a diplomatic settlement.
• Precious and base metals: Gold futures fell 0.3% and silver fell 1.5% by 19:15 IST. Over 20 sessions, gold is down 5.2% and silver 6.2%. Among base metals, zinc rose 0.9% and aluminium 0.3%, while copper and lead were flat for the day.
• Rupee: The rupee weakened 23 paise to 95.96 against the US dollar. It opened at 95.84 and touched an intraday low of 95.98. The dollar index was at 100.99, up 0.18%.
• US yields: The US 10-year Treasury yield rose to 5.1%, its highest level since July 2007, after stronger-than-expected US manufacturing data.
• Indian corporate bonds: The average yield on top-rated 10-year Indian corporate bonds was 7.97% on Wednesday, based on Bloomberg data cited alongside Reliance Industries’ planned bond issue.

Institutional flows

• Foreign investors were net buyers of about ₹1,700 crore and domestic institutions were net buyers of about ₹4,300 crore in Indian shares on 24 September.
• Across the last ten sessions, foreign investors were net sellers on seven days. Domestic institutions were net buyers on all ten days.
• FIIs remained heavily short in index futures, with only 11% of their positions on the long side.
• FPI outflows nearly doubled to ₹60,847 crore in the first half of FY27, from almost ₹35,000 crore in the first half of FY26.

The macro view

Energy and power

• LNG storage: India is considering 15 additional overground LNG storage tanks at an investment of ₹15,000 crore. This would add about two weeks of storage cover to the existing 12 days across more than 20 tanks.
• Pipeline tariffs: The gas regulator may add a surcharge of about 10% to pipeline tariffs paid by sectors such as city gas and fertilisers. Current tariffs are ₹54 per mmBtu for up to 300 km and ₹110.86 beyond 300 km.
• Gas imports: India imports nearly half of the natural gas it consumes. Before the war, about 55% of LNG imports came from West Asia through the Strait of Hormuz. Natural gas imports were worth $13.4 billion in FY26.
• Suppliers: Qatar supplied about 42% of FY26 gas imports but only about 3.8% of LNG imports in FY27, with the US becoming the top supplier. India has eight operational onshore LNG terminals with 52.7 mmtpa of regasification capacity.
• Electricity policy: The power ministry sent the draft National Electricity Policy 2026 for inter-ministerial consultation. The new policy will replace the 2005 policy.
• Tariff reform: From FY27, the draft requires state electricity commissions to set cost-reflective tariffs without creating regulatory assets, which are currently around ₹3 trillion. It also proposes automatic annual tariff revisions linked to an index when no tariff order is passed, and allows multiple distribution licensees in the same area.
• Power shortages: Night-time power shortages have risen to as much as 7.7 GW this month, above April-May levels, as what could become the driest monsoon in 17 years reduces hydropower generation.
• Power semiconductors: MeitY, the power ministry and Powergrid invited industry participants for a pre-RfP consultation on developing Indian power semiconductors and modules for power grids.

Payments and banking

• UPI MDR: NPCI is unlikely to make an immediate change to the reintroduced UPI merchant discount rate. MD and CEO Dilip Asbe said the organisation will wait for more data before reviewing it.
• The framework: Under the framework brought back by the finance ministry on 15 September, a 0.4% MDR applies to person-to-merchant UPI transactions above ₹2,000, capped at ₹300 per transaction.
• Adoption: Asbe said mobile payment adoption in India is 35-40%, compared with around 90% in countries such as Brazil. Around 20 million merchants use soundboxes, and NPCI has already used most of its IT budget for the year.
• ATM cash: The RBI and the government have told banks to ensure enough cash is available at ATMs from 15 October, when the UPI fee takes effect. Cash with the public rose about 16% between 31 March 2025 and 31 August 2026.
• FCNR-B liquidity: RBI deputy governor Rohit Jain said banks are expected to deploy additional liquidity from FCNR-B deposits over the next few months. Banks mobilised $133 billion under the scheme, which closed on 31 August.

Insurance and markets regulation

• Commission limits: IRDAI proposed commission limits based on insurance type, product and distributor. Agent commissions on life policies would range from 6.25% for premium terms below five years to a maximum of 25% for terms of 10 years or more.
• Loan bundling: First-year commissions on life insurance bundled with loans are proposed at 2-2.5% for distribution entities, compared with effective payouts of about 45% currently. IRDAI also proposed banning compulsory bundling of insurance with loans.
• Expense limits: Expense-of-management limits would fall to 15% of gross direct premium within two years and 12.5% within five years for life insurers, and to 25% and 20% for general insurers.
• Bank and broker impact: Bernstein Research said health-insurance commissions for banks and brokers could fall from more than 30% on new sales and 20% on renewals to 15% and 5%.
• FPIs in commodities: Sebi allowed FPIs to participate in physically settled non-agricultural commodity derivatives, provided positions are squared off before the tender or staggered delivery period, three days before expiry.
• PMS overhaul: Sebi approved an overhaul of portfolio management services rules. PMS providers can offer mutual-fund-only schemes and invest in listed foreign equities, listed debt, overseas mutual funds and REITs. The minimum investment remains ₹50 lakh.
• Settlement framework: Under a revised settlement framework, Sebi expects the gap between settlement amounts and final penalties to narrow from about eight times to four times. Cases with settlement amounts up to ₹10 lakh will get a fast-track process.
• Closing Auction Session: Sebi has received about 3,500 responses on its review of the Closing Auction Session. Comments are open until 3 October.

Growth and trade

Four of the five agencies analysed now expect India to grow by at least 7% in FY27. The revisions were linked to stronger June-quarter GDP growth of 7.8%.

• India-NZ FTA: India and New Zealand finalised a free-trade agreement that comes into force on 20 October. Indian exporters will receive duty-free access across all New Zealand tariff lines. India has offered concessions on about 70% of tariff lines, covering about 95% of bilateral trade.
• Bilateral trade: India-New Zealand bilateral trade was about $1.16 billion in 2025-26. Indian exports to New Zealand fell 20%, pushing India back into a trade deficit.
• Metal-waste exports: The Material Recycling Association of India asked the government to intervene over India’s proposed exclusion from EU metal-waste exports. The commerce ministry said it remains engaged with the EU.
• Copper GST: Copper producers, including Hindalco, asked the GST Council to reduce GST on copper products to 5% from 18%, arguing that the present rate locks up more than ₹49,000 crore in working capital.

Consumer and health regulation

• Silver hallmarking: The consumer affairs department plans to publish a list of about 25,000 BIS-registered silver retailers before mandatory silver jewellery hallmarking, which is likely to begin in October. India consumes around 7,000 tonnes of silver a year and produces about 800 tonnes.
• Medicine quality: The drug regulator plans a digital platform where consumers can access batch-level medicine quality-test reports. India has more than 3,000 drug companies and 10,500 manufacturing facilities in a $60 billion industry.
• Paneer labelling: FSSAI issued a draft notification on 23 September that would stop non-milk products from using the word “paneer” in names, labels or advertising. The proposal is open for comments for 60 days. The paneer market is worth $10.8 billion, according to IMARC.
• NCLT infrastructure: The Supreme Court asked for a status report on NCLT infrastructure. As of 13 July 2026, the tribunal had 26 judicial and 25 technical members against a sanctioned strength of 31 each. Ongoing insolvency processes averaged 713 days as of March 2025.

Corporate action and earnings

NSE listing and capital markets

• Listing: NSE shares listed at ₹1,800 on BSE, a 0.84% premium to the IPO price, and closed at ₹1,818.
• Turnover: NSE recorded ₹9,483.28 crore of turnover on BSE, equal to 46% of BSE’s total equity cash turnover of ₹20,672.36 crore. NSE was the most traded stock by turnover. BSE’s total turnover was more than twice its fiscal-year average of ₹10,117 crore.
• Delivery ratio: NSE recorded a delivery ratio of 48.78% on BSE, with 25.1 million of 51.5 million shares traded taken for delivery. Macquarie Equity Research has a 12-month target of ₹1,965, based on 32.5 times FY29E earnings.
• BSE market share: BSE had a 7% share of the equity cash market in 2025-26. Analysts estimate this could rise to around 8.29% if NSE contributes about 20% of BSE’s average daily turnover.
• HSBC broking: HSBC is returning to India’s equity broking business after leaving in 2013. It is hiring senior executives for cash equities and institutional broking.
• ECM moves: Sachin Khandelwal, MD and co-head of ECM at Nuvama, joined Emirates NBD Capital India to head its equity capital markets business. Emirates NBD recently completed its acquisition of a 60% stake in RBL Bank for about $2.75 billion.
• Reliance bonds: Reliance Industries plans to raise up to ₹10,000 crore, around $1 billion, through 10-year AAA-rated bonds as early as next week at a possible 7.90% coupon. It borrowed ₹12,000 crore through five-year securities at 7.47% last week.
• Escorts Kubota stake: HDFC Mutual Fund sold a 1.45% stake in Escorts Kubota for ₹453 crore at an average ₹2,794 per share, reducing its holding to 5.49% from 6.94%. Nippon India Mutual Fund bought 1.16% for ₹361.69 crore.

Insurance distribution fallout

• PB Fintech: PB Fintech co-founder and group CEO Yashish Dahiya told analysts that the proposed commission caps would severely affect the company’s non-life business and could lead to spending cuts and slower hiring. The stock’s biggest one-day fall erased more than ₹31,400 crore, or $3.27 billion, of market value.
• Commission caps: The proposals would bring back commission caps across life, health and motor insurance that IRDAI removed in 2023.

Deals, investment and funding

• Adani in West Bengal: Adani Group plans to invest more than ₹1 lakh crore in West Bengal by 2035 across ports, logistics, energy, roads, green cement and data centres.
• Kolkata hospital: Gautam Adani said the group will spend ₹4,000 crore on a 2,000-bed not-for-profit hospital near Kolkata, creating 10,000 jobs.
• Adani Properties: Adani Properties plans luxury projects in Mumbai. These include an invitation-only Bandra Reclamation development of around 140 homes priced near ₹1,20,000 per sq. ft and the first phase of its ₹36,000 crore, 142-acre Motilal Nagar redevelopment in Goregaon West.
• Navitas Solar: Navitas Solar plans to invest ₹10,000 crore over five years in Gujarat and Maharashtra across solar ingots, wafers, cells and modules, battery storage and renewable generation.
• Carnelian PE fund: Carnelian Asset Management is raising a ₹2,000 crore private-equity fund, consisting of a ₹1,200 crore base and an ₹800 crore greenshoe. It expects a first close of about ₹1,000 crore by the end of September and a final close by December. Around 65-70% of the portfolio is expected to be in manufacturing, pharma and healthcare.
• Azure Hospitality: InterGlobe Enterprises is set to acquire a controlling stake in Mamagoto parent Azure Hospitality for $15-20 million. Goldman Sachs and Max Ventures are expected to partially exit. The deal is expected to close at the end of September.
• JSW-Volkswagen: JSW Group wants Volkswagen to cover a $1.4 billion local tax liability as a condition of their planned partnership, in which JSW is seeking a majority stake in Skoda Auto Volkswagen India.
• Amazon quick commerce: Amazon plans to invest $3 billion to expand its quick-commerce business in India by 2030, its largest planned investment in the segment.
• PhonePe hiring: PhonePe plans to hire 20,000 additional on-roll sales employees over the next year and deploy more than 5 million devices to increase merchant acceptance in smaller towns and villages.
• Microsoft data centre: Microsoft opened its India South Central data-centre region in Telangana. The state is targeting 5 GW of data-centre capacity by 2029, with around $30 billion of potential investment.

Sectors and companies

• Tata Sons: Tata Sons wrote to Tata Trusts chair Noel Tata on 24 September defending N. Chandrasekaran’s reappointment. It cited legal opinions from former Chief Justice of India U.U. Lalit and former judge B.N. Srikrishna. Tata Trusts continues to argue that the resolution was invalid under Article 121.
• Holding structures: Family-business advisers say promoters are reviewing Trust and LLP holding structures after the Tata Sons episode. The founders of Havells, Prestige Estates, Sona Comstar and Amara Raja hold shares through Trusts.
• Vedanta Oil & Gas: Vedanta Oil & Gas kept its Rajasthan operating cost broadly stable at $16.4 per barrel in FY26, compared with $16.6 a year earlier, even as production from older fields declined.
• Maruti Suzuki: Maruti Suzuki commissioned a 300 kW green-hydrogen electrolyser pilot at Manesar and aims to reduce manufacturing-related emissions from 6.15 lakh tonnes to 2.66 lakh tonnes by FY31.
• Oil India vs ONGC: Oil India shares have gained 15% over three months, while ONGC shares fell 0.4%. Kotak expects Oil India’s FY27 oil and gas sales volume to rise 13.8% to 6.5 mtoe, compared with 2.4% growth for ONGC to 42 mtoe. Oil India trades at 8 times FY27 earnings against 5.8 times for ONGC.
• Voltas: Voltas’ room AC market share reached 18.6% in July, compared with 15.9% in FY26. Its EBITDA margin fell to 4.5% in FY26 from 7.2% in FY25. The stock trades at 50 times estimated FY27 earnings.
• SpiceJet: SpiceJet’s domestic market share fell to 1.2% in August, a five-year low. Around 48.05% of its flights were delayed by more than two hours, compared with 1.39% for scheduled domestic airlines.
• Digital advertising: Digital advertising impressions rose 44% year-on-year from January to July. Services accounted for 47% of impressions. OpenAI had a 3% share, ahead of Google and Facebook, based on TAM AdEx data.
• Microdrama and colourants: Redseer expects microdrama advertising revenue to rise from ₹24 crore to ₹5,000-5,500 crore by FY32. India’s hair-colourants market grew to ₹7,390 crore in 2025 from ₹4,330 crore in 2020, according to Euromonitor.
• NTPC dividend: NTPC paid a final dividend of ₹3,394 crore for 2025-26, equal to 35% of paid-up equity share capital.
• C-suite changes: C-suite changes include Himanshu Agarwal as CFO of Info Edge, Gaurav Jain as MD and CEO of Tata Realty & Infrastructure, and Pushkar Jauhari as CEO of private equity and venture capital at Kotak Alternate Asset Managers.

Upcoming events

Global pulse

Global indices

In Europe, the CAC 40 fell 0.4% and the DAX fell 0.2%.

Bonds, oil and rates

• 30-year Treasuries: The yield on 30-year US Treasuries rose by as much as four basis points to 5.44%, the highest since 2004. The move came as another rise in oil prices extended a global bond sell-off.
• Global bonds: The average yield on government debt worldwide is close to 4%, the highest since 2007, based on Bloomberg’s Global Aggregate Treasuries index. Global government bonds have lost around 2.4% this year after gaining 6.8% last year.
• US curve: US two-year yields have risen more than 150 basis points since the US-Iran war began, while 30-year yields are up more than 80 basis points. Five-year US yields moved above 5% on Wednesday for the first time since 2007.
• Auctions: A five-year US government debt auction this week ranked as the second-worst by one measure since 2018. Japanese government bond yields reached levels last seen in 1996.
• West Asia risk: Iranian officials warned that the conflict could spread further if the US or Israel launches another attack, reducing optimism around possible US-Iran talks.
• Oil: Oil prices rose as attacks resumed after a short ceasefire between Iran and the US, while Houthi forces in Yemen blocked important supply routes.

Trade and diplomacy

• US-China truce: US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced a two-month extension of the US-China trade truce to a 10 January deadline as Xi Jinping arrived in Washington for his first state visit in eleven years. China had not confirmed the date.
• Summits ahead: The extension covers two leader summits in Shenzhen and Miami later this year. Bessent said some deliverables “have not been perfect on the Chinese side”. China’s exports of rare-earth magnets remain well below pre-truce levels.

Global corporate and tech

• SoftBank: SoftBank raised $11.1 billion through dollar- and euro-denominated bonds, the largest high-yield corporate bond sale on record. The bonds were priced at yields of 7.125% to 9.75% and will help finance its OpenAI investment.
• SoftBank debt: SoftBank’s net debt has more than doubled to ¥10.8 trillion since it began investing in OpenAI. It also sold a record ¥1 trillion, around $6.3 billion, of retail bonds in Japan at a 4.75% coupon. S&P and Fitch rate the company BB+.
• BlackBerry: BlackBerry raised its full-year revenue forecast after QNX reported record quarterly revenue of $80.3 million, up 27%.
• Meta glasses: Meta introduced camera-free Ray-Ban Meta Audio glasses starting at $349, shipping from 3 October, and third-generation camera Ray-Bans starting at $449, up from $379. CTO Andrew Bosworth said inflation and component shortages were the main reasons for the higher price.
• Qualcomm and Apple: Qualcomm renewed its global licensing agreement with Apple, effective April 2027. Apple accounts for more than one-fifth of Qualcomm’s revenue.
• AMD and OpenAI: AMD crossed $1 trillion in market capitalisation, becoming the 16th company in that group. OpenAI expects to burn $278 billion in cash between 2026 and 2030 as revenue rises from $36 billion to $350 billion, according to the Financial Times.
• McDonald’s: McDonald’s plans to spend $8.5 billion over the next decade to modernise its 46,000 restaurants worldwide.

Management chatter

Feature: Falling indices, full IPO calendar

The Nifty 50 closed at 23,063.10 on Thursday, its lowest level since 6 April, after its worst single-day fall since 9 March. The index is down 4.7% over the last 20 sessions. Through the previous Friday, it had fallen for six straight weeks, the longest weekly losing streak since 2020. At the same time, September has become the busiest month for mainboard IPOs since 1996.

How the slide built up

The Nifty fell 2.09% to 23,398 in the week to 11 September, marking a fifth straight weekly decline. The rupee weakened 1.12% to 95.54 per dollar during the same week. On 15 September, the Nifty lost 474 points in one session. The US Federal Reserve then raised its policy rate by 25 basis points to 3.75-4.00%, and the rupee moved past 96 per dollar in the following days. A rebound on Friday, 18 September recovered more than half of the 15 September fall, but the Nifty still ended the week lower and extended its losing streak to six weeks.

Thursday added a domestic shock to the existing global pressure. The Nifty opened 225 points lower and never moved above Wednesday’s close. All 15 sector indices ended lower, led by Financial Services, while India VIX rose nearly 23%.

Driver one: Oil and the West Asia war

The West Asia war, now in its seventh month, has affected Indian markets throughout the first half of FY27. Brent crude averaged $92 per barrel in April-September, 35% above the $67 average a year earlier. Higher oil raises India’s import bill, adds inflation pressure and reduces company margins.

India Inc’s net profit margin fell to a three-year low of 8.7% in the June quarter, down 170 basis points from 10.4% a year earlier. This comes from an analysis of standalone results for 2,774 non-BFSI companies.

He expects the war to reduce operating margins by another 100-150 basis points year-on-year in the September quarter. On Thursday, oil rose again as attacks resumed after a brief US-Iran ceasefire and Houthi forces blocked supply routes.

Driver two: US yields and the Fed

The US 10-year Treasury yield reached 5.1% on Thursday, its highest level since July 2007, after stronger-than-expected manufacturing data. The 30-year yield touched 5.44%, the highest since 2004. Two-year yields are more than 150 basis points higher than when the US-Iran war began.

Higher US yields can pull money away from emerging markets because investors can earn a higher low-risk return from US government bonds. Geojit’s V.K. Vijayakumar said a market recovery could remain difficult while high crude prices and the higher US 10-year yield continue to act as headwinds.

Driver three: Foreign selling and a weaker rupee

Foreign portfolio investor outflows nearly doubled to ₹60,847 crore in the first half of FY27, from almost ₹35,000 crore a year earlier. The source says a shortage of artificial-intelligence-led investment opportunities in India diverted some foreign capital towards East Asian markets such as South Korea and Taiwan.

FPIs withdrew ₹20,974 crore in September through 18 September, after being net buyers in July and August. Calendar-2026 outflows of ₹2.45 lakh crore have already exceeded the ₹1.66 lakh crore withdrawn in all of 2025.

The rupee recorded its sharpest weekly fall in four months in the week to 11 September and settled at 95.96 per dollar on Thursday. In derivatives, foreign investors held only 11% of their index-futures positions on the long side, and they were net sellers of cash equities on seven of the last ten sessions.

Driver four: Tariffs and the financials shock

Trade risk has added another layer of uncertainty. India still faces an 18% US tariff on its exports, with the additional risk of tariffs of up to 100% linked to Russian oil purchases under the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026. A year ago, markets expected the 50% US tariff shock to ease and GST rationalisation to revive consumption. By the end of the first half of FY27, Axis Direct’s Uttam Kumar Srimal said markets had started pricing in the risk of a longer disruption.

Thursday also had a domestic trigger. IRDAI’s consultation paper, released on Wednesday, proposes bringing back hard commission caps that were removed in 2023 and banning compulsory bundling of insurance with loans. Financial Services have a 36.47% weight in the Nifty. PB Fintech fell 36% in its largest one-day decline, wiping out more than ₹31,400 crore of market value, while the Nifty Financial Services ex-Bank index fell 4.3%. Equinova’s Aniruddha Sarkar said the pressure on banks could keep foreign investors cautious, making large FII inflows before January unlikely.

The cushion: Domestic money

Domestic institutions have continued to buy while foreign investors sold. They were net buyers on each of the last ten sessions, including about ₹4,300 crore on Thursday. Retail money into mutual funds also reached new highs in August. Monthly SIP contributions reached a record ₹32,297 crore, contributing SIP accounts crossed 10 crore for the first time, mutual fund assets reached ₹87.1 lakh crore, and demat accounts reached 23.8 crore at the end of August, based on Sebi’s September bulletin.

Kotak Securities’ Shrikant Chouhan said last year’s GST rate rationalisation and income-tax benefits for the middle class helped consumption and corporate earnings, which could limit the downside. BofA Global Research, in a 14 September note, changed its preference from small and mid-caps to large caps. It kept a December 2026 base case of 26,200 for the Nifty and said Fed hikes and heavy primary-market issuance could peak by October.

Why the IPO pipeline has not slowed

The primary market has moved in the opposite direction. Mainboard IPOs raised ₹1.04 trillion from 81 companies in calendar 2026 up to 16 September, compared with ₹1.76 trillion from 103 issues in all of 2025. In August, 40 IPOs raised ₹30,195 crore, the highest count and value among the markets compared in Sebi’s global review. September then became the busiest month since 1996, with ₹38,785 crore raised across 30 mainboard offerings. NSE’s ₹22,562 crore IPO is the second-largest after Hyundai Motor India.

Pent-up supply

Primary-market activity was weak in April-June during the Middle East crisis, so companies that delayed their issues are now coming to market together. On 17 September, six companies listed in a single day, the highest number since at least 1996. Five closed above their issue prices. Together, the six IPOs received bids worth about ₹1.4 lakh crore against a combined issue size of around ₹7,100 crore.

The calendar

Companies using financial statements up to March face a 30 September deadline to launch. Many also want to list before the Shradh period begins on 27 September. SP Tulsian Investment Advisory’s Geetanjali Kedia said this has historically created a September rush.

Domestic liquidity

Regular SIP inflows give mutual funds a steady pool of cash, and mutual funds often participate in IPO anchor books. This gives new issues a dependable base of demand.

The anchor route for foreign money

Even though FPIs have been heavy sellers in the secondary market this year, they have invested around ₹48,550 crore in primary-market offerings. Anchor allocations are fixed before listing and are therefore insulated from daily price movements. NSE’s qualified institutional portion was subscribed 12.68 times, while the overall issue was subscribed 5.71 times.

Intermediaries are expanding

HSBC is returning to Indian equity broking after 13 years to participate in a strong pipeline of share sales. Emirates NBD has also hired Nuvama’s ECM co-head to lead its India capital-markets business.

The fine print

Heavy subscription does not guarantee strong returns after listing. In an analysis of India’s 20 largest IPOs, eight of the 13 that listed on days when the Sensex fell still closed above their issue price. However, as of 24 September, only seven of the 19 mega IPOs that listed before NSE were trading above their offer prices. Reliance Power was subscribed 69.6 times and still ended its first day sharply lower.

NSE itself listed at a 0.84% premium and closed about 1.8% above its issue price on a day when the Sensex fell 1.67%. Analysts linked this to demand for a distinctive market-infrastructure business, partly offset by a large free float and selling by existing shareholders.

A large part of the money raised is also going to selling shareholders rather than to companies. More than ₹66,630 crore raised this year has come through offers for sale. Average IPO returns between early June and early September were around 22%, but several 2026 listings now trade below their issue prices.

What comes next

Seventy-two companies are waiting for Sebi approval to raise about ₹1.70 lakh crore. This includes Mahanadi Coalfields at ₹10,000 crore, Carlsberg India at ₹6,300 crore and Sembcorp Green Infra at ₹3,750 crore. Jio Platforms’ proposed issue is expected to be a fresh issue of shares.

Prime Database’s Pranav Haldea said launches should continue as long as secondary markets remain stable. For the secondary market, the near-term events are the Nifty and Bank Nifty monthly expiry on 29 September, the UPI merchant fee from 15 October, the US midterm elections in November and the 10 January deadline for the US-China trade truce.

Mint, Mumbai print edition, 25 September 2026; Zerodha AfterMarket Report, 24 September 2026; Business Standard, 17 September 2026, citing Prime Database and Capitaline; Upstox News, 24 September 2026; HDFC Sky, Prime Weekly, 21 September 2026 and rupee review, September 2026; Angel One, 21 September 2026; EquityBrew Week Ahead, 14 September 2026; The Policy Edge on the Sebi Bulletin, September 2026, published 24 September 2026; Whalesbook, 20 and 24 September 2026; Sunday Guardian, 24 September 2026

Closing note

Market data: Zerodha AfterMarket Report, 24 September 2026 close. Macro, corporate and feature: Mint, Mumbai print edition, 25 September 2026. This is a news aggregation brief. Not investment advice.