Sensex falls for a third day as crude tops $110 and RBI minutes rule out near-term rate cuts
The Sensex lost 460 points and the rupee weakened to 94.81 per dollar as Brent crude rose above $110, a day after RBI minutes signalled the next move can only be a hike or a pause.
Photo: Rutiknatekar, CC BY-SA 4.0
The Sensex fell 460.30 points (0.62 percent) to 73,249.39 and the Nifty 50 fell 123.70 points (0.54 percent) to 22,687.65, the third straight losing session. Losing stocks outnumbered gainers by about two to one.Sources:1IANS (The Hans India): Sensex, Nifty extend losing streak to 3rd day as rising oil prices weigh on sentiment, IANS (The Hans India), 22 October 2026 (source, opens in a new tab)2HDFC Sky: Market Close Report Today: Nifty, Sensex Fall For Third Straight Session As Oil Tops $110, HDFC Sky, 22 October 2026 (source, opens in a new tab)3UNI: Stock Markets end lower with Nifty below 22,700, UNI, 22 October 2026 (source, opens in a new tab)
Brent crude rose above $110 a barrel after fresh Houthi attacks in Saudi Arabia led the US to order some diplomats to leave. The rupee fell about 30 paise to 94.81 against the dollar. Reliance Industries was among the biggest drags.Sources:1IANS (The Hans India): Sensex, Nifty extend losing streak to 3rd day as rising oil prices weigh on sentiment, IANS (The Hans India), 22 October 2026 (source, opens in a new tab)2HDFC Sky: Market Close Report Today: Nifty, Sensex Fall For Third Straight Session As Oil Tops $110, HDFC Sky, 22 October 2026 (source, opens in a new tab)
Minutes of the RBI's October meeting, released on 21 October, showed all six members voted to raise the repo rate by 25 basis points to 5.50 percent. Two members, Nagesh Kumar and Ram Singh, opposed changing the stance to "calibrated tightening". Governor Sanjay Malhotra said rate cuts are off the table in the near term and the next action can only be a hike or a pause, pointing to "increasing signs of generalisation of inflation".Sources:2HDFC Sky: Market Close Report Today: Nifty, Sensex Fall For Third Straight Session As Oil Tops $110, HDFC Sky, 22 October 2026 (source, opens in a new tab)4Deccan Chronicle: RBI MPC Minutes Signal More Policy Tightening, Deccan Chronicle, 22 October 2026 (source, opens in a new tab)
The committee raised its FY27 retail inflation forecast to 5.2 percent and its GDP growth forecast to 7.1 percent.Sources:4Deccan Chronicle: RBI MPC Minutes Signal More Policy Tightening, Deccan Chronicle, 22 October 2026 (source, opens in a new tab)
Where it happened
Who is involved
- Reserve Bank of IndiaReleased minutes signalling a tightening biasIndia's central bank
- Sanjay MalhotraSaid rate cuts are off the table; next move a hike or a pauseGovernor of the Reserve Bank of India
- Poonam GuptaBacked the 25 basis point hike, citing rising inflationDeputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India
- Nagesh KumarDissented on the change of stanceMember of the RBI Monetary Policy Committee
- Ram SinghDissented on the change of stanceMember of the RBI Monetary Policy Committee
- Reliance IndustriesAmong the top drags on the indicesIndia's largest conglomerate and parent of Jio Platforms
Related stories
Separate stories that sources connect to this one.
- Deadly attack on Saudi airport in Dammam as US orders staff out of Saudi ArabiaAn attack on King Fahd International Airport in Dammam killed two people and wounded eight, Saudi authorities said, after the US ordered non-emergency staff to leave Saudi Arabia over Houthi threats.Sources:HDFC Sky: Market Close Report Today: Nifty, Sensex Fall For Third Straight Session As Oil Tops $110, HDFC Sky, 22 October 2026 (source, opens in a new tab)
- Jio Platforms IPO, India's largest ever, is oversubscribed more than five times on day twoReliance's Jio Platforms drew bids for more than five times the shares on offer by day two of its roughly Rs 30,200-crore IPO, after a record anchor book.Sources:The Week: Retail portion of Jio IPO gets fully subscribed on day 2 despite Sensex, Nifty slump, The Week, 22 October 2026 (source, opens in a new tab)
- Oil tops $110 after Houthi strikes on Saudi Arabia's Shaybah field and Dammam airportBrent crude rose to its highest since May after a deadly drone strike near Saudi Aramco's Shaybah oilfield and an attack on Dammam's airport, on top of the Iran-war risk at Hormuz.Sources:HDFC Sky: Market Close Report Today: Nifty, Sensex Fall For Third Straight Session As Oil Tops $110, HDFC Sky, 22 October 2026 (source, opens in a new tab)
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- Rubio skips Delhi, meets Ambani, Adani and Tata chief on a business-focused India tripUS Secretary of State Marco Rubio toured Reliance's Jamnagar refinery and met top Indian business leaders, saying the US wants Reliance to refine more Venezuelan crude and that a trade deal is close.21 Oct 2026
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Topics
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