Nifty closes at 22,688 as markets fall for third session

Indian equity benchmarks recorded their third consecutive session of losses on Thursday, October 22, with the Nifty 50 closing down 124 points, or 0.54%, at 22,688. The BSE Sensex fell 460 points, or 0.62%, to 73,249, according to Economic Times Markets, which attributed the decline to weak global cues and persistent selling.

Both benchmarks opened lower, and the Nifty lost more than 1% during the session before late buying reduced the damage. The recovery from intraday lows did not reverse the broader selling trend.

Smaller stocks lag; declines dominate

The Nifty Smallcap 100 and Nifty Midcap 100 fell around 1% each, underperforming the headline indices. On the NSE, 2,512 stocks declined, 1,026 advanced and 104 finished unchanged.

The Nifty Auto, Nifty FMCG, Nifty Metal and Nifty IT indices posted declines of up to 1%. India VIX, which measures expected market volatility, edged higher to 15.82.

Analyst identifies 22,800 as near-term hurdle

In the report’s technical assessment, Enrich Money CEO Ponmudi R said the Nifty largely traded between 22,600 and 22,785 for the remainder of the session after its early decline. He identified 22,800 as a key near-term resistance level, arguing that a move back above it would be needed to improve stability and open room for recovery.

Ponmudi placed immediate support at 22,600–22,550. He cautioned that a sustained fall below 22,500 could intensify selling and take the index towards 22,300–22,200. These are conditional technical scenarios, not assured market outcomes.

The technical reading was mixed: the relative strength index near 44 suggested a bearish bias, while a positive MACD histogram indicated that some recovery momentum remained despite the session’s decline.