Indian shares fell sharply on Tuesday, with second-line stocks succumbing to heavy selling pressure, after capital market regulator SEBI directed exchanges to initiate action against 331 suspected shell companies.
The restrictions include limiting trading in the affected companies' stocks to once a month and curbs in the trading of shares held by the promoters and directors of the companies.
The benchmark BSE Sensex fell as much as 358 points to hit an intra-day low of 31,915.20 before finishing down 259.48 points or 0.80 percent at 32.014.19.
The broader Nifty index hit as low as 9,947 before closing at 9,978.55, down 78.85 points or 0.78 percent from its previous close.
The BSE mid-cap and small-cap indexes lost 1.2 percent and 1.3 percent, respectively.
Coal India, IOC, Infratel, BPCL and Dr Reddy's Laboratories were the worst performers in the Nifty pack, with losses ranging between 3 percent and 5 percent.
Tata Steel rallied 2.3 percent after it swung to a profit in the June quarter. Hindalco Industries jumped 3.4 percent after its subsidiary Novelis posted strong Q1 results.
Globally, Asian markets ended mixed as a stronger yen hit exporters in Japan, oil prices slipped on concerns about major oil producers' wavering commitment to output caps and China reported disappointing trade data.
European stocks were sluggish in early trade as data out of China, Germany and France disappointed investors and the euro extended gains against the dollar in lackluster trade.
For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com
Market Analysis
April 17, 2026 15:29 ET The ongoing conflict in the Middle East continues to raise concerns for policymakers who worry about the impact of the supply shock and high energy prices on the real economy. Producer price data and various survey results on the housing market were the main news from the U.S. this week. In Europe, industrial production data for the euro area gained attention. GDP figures out of China and the policy move by the Singapore central bank were in focus in Asia.