Havells India shares fell 4% after Nomura issued a neutral outlook, while Nuvoco Vistas and CreditAccess Grameen also saw declines despite reporting strong profit growth. The broader market faced selling pressure, with midcap and smallcap indices ending lower on October 23, 2026.
Indian stock markets experienced a sharp sell-off on October 23, 2026, driven by weakness in the midcap and smallcap segments. The Nifty Midcap index retreated 2.4%, while the smallcap index faced a steeper decline of 3.2%. Market breadth on the Bombay Stock Exchange remained weak, with 3,078 stocks closing lower compared to just 565 stocks that advanced. This broad-based correction overshadowed positive quarterly earnings from several companies.
Havells India shares slipped 4% after global brokerage firm Nomura issued a neutral outlook on the stock, setting a price target of Rs 1,232. While Nomura acknowledged that Havells' second-quarter EBITDA figures performed better than expected, it pointed to intensifying competition as a major risk factor. This competition remains a hurdle for future margin expansion. The brokerage also noted that the stock's current valuation, trading at 32 times its expected earnings for the 2028 financial year, already reflects a significant portion of future growth, leaving little room for further aggressive buying at these levels.
Several other companies saw their share prices decline despite announcing strong financial results, indicating that negative market sentiment was driving the sell-off rather than company-specific issues. Nuvoco Vistas Corporation saw its shares drop 2%, even after reporting a 79.2% year-on-year increase in consolidated profit, which reached Rs 65.3 crore. Although revenue grew by 13.5%, the positive news failed to stop the decline in its stock price.
CreditAccess Grameen witnessed a 6% drop in share price despite a 299% jump in standalone profit to Rs 501.6 crore. Similarly, BlueStone Jewellery and Lifestyle saw its shares fall 3% despite a significant narrowing of its quarterly losses. The company reported a net loss of Rs 3.2 crore, which was a sharp improvement from the loss of Rs 51.7 crore recorded in the same period last year. Its revenue also expanded by 45% to Rs 745 crore.
Selling pressure was widespread across the market, affecting almost all major sectors. Indices tracking consumer durables, energy, media, and metals all retreated between 1% and 3% during the session. The information technology sector was one of the few areas to remain relatively stable, acting as a shield against the broader market correction. Investors moving forward will need to monitor whether these companies can maintain their growth momentum despite the competitive pressures and if the broader market can find support as recent earnings reports are fully absorbed by investors.