The headline index Nifty 50 slipped to its 52-week low in trade on October 8, as selling pressure caused the gauge to buckle nearly 400 points. The index last touched its 52-week low on April 2, 2026. Since then, the index's 50 constituents have traded mixed, with 25 stocks seeing losses, while 25 counters saw gains.
ONGC, Infosys, and HCLTech have been among the worst-performing Nifty 50 stocks since April 2, 2026, even as some heavyweight stocks have staged a strong recovery since then.
The top laggards belong to the ailing IT sector that has seen a relentless sell-off as three of the five most impacted stocks belong to the sector. Weakness in the segment is likely to continue as discretionary spending remains restrained, with clients adopting a cautious spending approach amid macro uncertainty, as per experts.
"Commercial constructs continue to reset as clients increasingly underwrite AI-led efficiency into renewals, vendor consolidation, and cost-takeout deals," said Emkay Global in a note on IT.
Among other major laggards, ITC and Bharat Electronics have dropped 12.9 percent each, while Reliance Industries has lost 12.8 percent. Tata Steel, Maruti Suzuki and Hindustan Unilever have declined 11.4 percent, 11.1 percent and 10.7 percent, respectively.