The latest stock market correction has put the spotlight on a key question for investors: do falling share prices offer an opportunity to buy quality businesses at attractive valuations, or do they reflect deeper concerns about earnings and growth? With the Sensex and Nifty under pressure, investors need to look beyond the extent of the decline and assess whether a sector's fundamentals justify its current valuation.
On Monday, the Sensex fell 547 points to 71,924, while the Nifty declined 157 points to 22,363.
In the month of September all four benchmark indices saw a steep decline. The Nifty 50 fell 6.06 percent and the broader Nifty 500 lost 5.88 percent. Midcaps took the hardest hit, with the Nifty Midcap 150 down 7.09 percent. Smallcaps held up best with the Nifty Smallcap 250 down by 3.12 percent, less than half the drop in the Nifty 50.
As the correction unfolds, the focus is shifting from how much the market has fallen to which sectors may be better placed to recover. However, a steep fall in share prices does not automatically make a stock cheap. Investors need to examine the reasons behind the decline, the outlook for corporate earnings and the price they are paying for future growth.
The Nifty Realty index was the worst performer among the sectors mentioned, plunging 13.29 percent in the month leading up to October 9, 2026. It was followed by the FMCG index, which fell 9.95 percent, while the auto index declined 9.55 percent. The Financial Services index lost 8.41 percent, and the Nifty IT index slipped 5.1 percent over the same period.