India’s October Equity Outlook: Nifty Up, FIIs Cut Net Selling

NEW DELHI, November 9 – October saw the Nifty index post a modest 1.91 percent rise, making it the lone NSE constituent to end the month in positive territory. The broader market, especially micro‑cap and small‑cap stocks, experienced notable weakness.

Data from Motilal Oswal Mutual Fund indicates that the Nifty Next 50 slipped 2.92 percent, Nifty Mid‑Cap 150 declined 3.75 percent, Nifty Small‑Cap 250 fell 5.81 percent and the Nifty Micro‑Cap 250 suffered the sharpest drop at 8.95 percent.

The Nifty 500, representing the overall market, recorded a 0.80 percent decline for the month ending 31 October 2026.

Sector performance was mixed. Information technology surged 17.69 percent, outpacing all other sectors. Healthcare rose 1.93 percent and banking edged up 0.10 percent. Metal stocks were the worst performers, tumbling 7.65 percent, followed by defence (‑6.17 percent), consumer durables (‑5.74 percent), energy (‑4.58 percent), real‑estate (‑3.95 percent), autos (‑3.31 percent) and FMCG (‑2.02 percent).

The negative contribution to the Nifty 500’s fall originated mainly from Industrials, Commodities and Consumer Discretionary, each dragging the index down by about half a percent.

Globally, emerging markets closed lower: South Korea dropped 15.57 percent, Brazil 12.11 percent and Taiwan 8.37 percent.

Domestically, retail inflation accelerated to 5.54 percent from 4.83 percent. The RBI’s policy repo rate rose to 5.50 percent from 5.25 percent, while the 10‑year sovereign bond yield climbed to 7.40 percent from 7.16 percent.

Foreign institutional investors remained net sellers but reduced their net selling to ₹24,475 crore, a significant improvement from the ₹58,443 crore recorded a month earlier. Domestic institutional investors posted a net outflow of ₹28,943 crore during October.