Indian shares fall for second session; Axis Bank among top laggards

India’s equity benchmarks fell for a second consecutive session on Tuesday and rupee slipped beyond 91 per dollar as investors navigate persistent foreign outflows while a trade deal with the U.S. remains elusive.

The Nifty 50 fell 0.64% to 25,860.1 and the BSE Sensex lost 0.63% to 84,679.86.

The rupee breached the 91-mark against dollar for the first time on Tuesday, just 10 sessions after it first hit 90, pressured by increased hedging activity and portfolio outflows.

Fifteen of the 16 major equity indexes fell on the day. Small-caps and mid-caps lost 0.9% and 0.8%, respectively.

Axis Bank dropped 5.1% as Citi said pressure on net interest margins could persist in the December quarter. The stock was the biggest contributor to Nifty’s decline, and led financials and private banks down 0.8% and 1.2%, respectively.

Bucking the trend, Bharti Airtel rose 1.6% after Morgan Stanley upgraded it to “overweight” from “equal-weight” on strong growth prospects.

Investors are waiting for an update about the India-U.S. trade negotiations, with analysts saying that hopes for a deal before the year-end appear to be dimming.

The benchmark indexes have wavered over the last two weeks, after hitting record highs on December 1, due to the lack of major triggers and a continued wait for the trade deal.

Foreign investors have been sellers in India for seven consecutive session till Monday, as per provisional data. They have offloaded nearly $2 billion so far in December and $18 billion in 2025.

Tariff-related uncertainty and a surge in artificial intelligence-linked stocks globally has made Indian markets vulnerable to short-term, flows-driven swings, even as domestic growth remains on solid footing, said Vivek Sharma, smallcase manager and investment head at Estee Advisors.

Investor sentiment globally was subdued, with MSCI’s broadest index for Asia Pacific stocks outside Japan down 1.3%, weighed by artificial intelligence-linked stocks ahead of crucial U.S. employment data.