Stock Markets: Testing Times

India's equity market enters 2026 on a cautious note after a sobering year. In 2025, domestic benchmarks lagged global peers, with the Sensex rising about 9 percent and the Nifty 10 percent.

- Himani Kothari

That marked a slowdown from the outsized gains of earlier years as persistent foreign investor selling, uneven earnings growth and elevated geopolitical risks kept volatility high.

Retail investors acted as the market's shock absorbers, preventing deeper drawdowns.

The backdrop for 2026 is complex and heavily global.