The stock market news today is dominated by a sharp market sell-off, relentless foreign portfolio investor (FPI) outflows and the rupee slipping past ₹97 against the US dollar. Jarvis Invest brings you eight key updates, covering TCS’s Q2 performance, GST reforms, L&T’s growing order book and the latest developments affecting India’s financial markets.
While TCS reported higher quarterly profits and strong AI revenue, Indian equities faced intense selling pressure amid rising crude oil prices, geopolitical tensions and higher US bond yields. Meanwhile, the GST Council announced measures to simplify refunds, domestic airline passenger traffic continued to contract, and a possible delay in UPI merchant discount rates (MDR) came into focus. Here are the eight key stock market news updates investors should know today.
Stock Market News: TCS Q2 Profit Rises to ₹13,884 Crore as AI Revenue Crosses $3.1 Billion
TCS reported strong numbers for Q2FY27, with 4.01% sequential rise in net profits at ₹13,884 crore. This is almost 1.54% better than consensus street estimates. Sequential growth in net revenues was 1.26% at ₹73,188 crore. For the second quarter, AI revenues of TCS crossed $3.1 billion, with fresh deal wins (TCV) at $9.6 billion. The AI piece was led by rising demand for AI-native solutions and AI-led transformation of enterprise systems. Constant Currency (CC) growth in revenues was subdued at 0.5%. TCS reported OPM of 24%, while attrition was subdued at 13.3%.
Stock Market News: FPIs Sell ₹31,282 Crore in Indian Equities in Early October
FPI selling has been virtually relentless in the first 5 trading days of October 2026. In just 5 days, FPIs have been net sellers in Indian equities to the tune of ₹31,282 crore or approximately $3.25 billion. There was some respite on the debt front in the first 5 days of October with FPIs net buying bonds to the tune of $508 million. FPIs were still net sellers overall to the tune of $2.74 billion. Amidst the chaos, there has been little support from the IPO markets in October. Apart from rising crude prices, and geopolitics; the RBI rate hike has also put FPIs on the defensive.
Stock Market News: Nifty Falls 1.64% to an 18-Month Low as Crude Oil Surges Above $105
Dalal Street came under severe pressure as Nifty plunged over 1.64% to yearly lows. The advance-decline (AD) ratio was skewed strongly in favour of declines at 660:2950. A total of 271 companies touched 52-week lows on 08-October. Amid heavy selling by GQG group, the biggest losers were Adani Enterprises and ITC. Thanks to TCS Q2 results, IT sector held up. Not only did the price of Brent Crude cross $105/bbl amid rising tensions in the Middle East, but even the US 10-year bond yields crossed the 5.35% mark, hinting at another rate hike by the Fed in October.
GST Council Simplifies Refunds and Expands Input Tax Credit to Boost Business Liquidity
The 57th meeting of the GST Council took important steps on simplification. While taxable supply increased, effective tax rate has fallen due to the rate cuts last year. Going ahead, refunds will be acknowledged in 10 days and will be deemed correct if not found deficient. Almost 90% of claims will be system driven. Refunds will also become automatic. As expected, the meet also extended GST input tax credit (ITC) to group insurance premiums, telecom towers outside factories, and on free samples and stocks written off before expiry. This is likely to boost working capital.
Stock Market News: Rupee Slips Past ₹97 Against the US Dollar Amid Crude Oil and FPI Outflows
The rate hike by the RBI combined with a hawkish stance seems to have done little for the rupee. As Brent Crude surged to $105/bbl, the USDINR fell sharply beyond ₹97/$. For the day, the USDINR touched a low of ₹97.18/$, before easing to ₹97.10/$. However, the pressure seems to be intense, and the rising US bond yields have kept Indian yield spreads low, forcing sharp FPI outflows. The Indian rupee, obviously, has borne the brunt. The USDINR futures on the NSE indicate that the rupee was unlikely to weaken beyond ₹98/$ till the end of calendar year 2026.
India’s Air Passenger Traffic Contracts for Four Consecutive Months as Costs Rise
India’s domestic passenger traffic continues to fall. Air passenger traffic has shifted from double-digit growth to contraction in recent months, as most airlines curtailed capacity to better try and match falling demand. For the last 4 months from June to September, airline traffic growth has been in the negative. On a yoy basis, the contraction worsened from 1% in June to 7% in Sep-26. With rising fuel prices, airlines are curtailing capacity to defend margins. Nearly 70% of the cost mix of an airline is in dollars, and that has taken a hit due to the USDINR slipping to ₹97/$.
L&T’s ₹1.3 Lakh Crore Order Flows Support Strong Growth Outlook Amid Middle East Rebuilding Demand
Order flows of L&T touched ₹1,30,000 crore, largely led by projects for revival of Middle East and the NVIDIA AI factory contract. Due to robust order flows, the top line of L&T is expected to grow at a CAGR of 13-14% over the next 3 years. Order flows are estimated at ₹3.8 trillion in FY27 and at ₹4.3 trillion in FY28. With the large-scale damage to the Middle East oil infrastructure, there are major rebuilding orders coming to L&T from offshore projects, pipelines, gas plants etc. L&T is also doing a bigger chunk of fabrication in India due to the unrest in the Middle East.
Stock Market News: UPI MDR Implementation May Be Deferred to January 2027
The UPI Steering Committee is expected to meet on October 09, 2026; wherein the issue of deferment of the MDR on UPI is likely to be taken up. The MDR on UPI may be postponed to January 2027 and the NPCI will be in a position to have a broader debate before that. Retailers had expressed concerns over the impact of the MDR on festive sales. MDR was supposed to be levied at 0.4% on P2P transactions above ₹2,000. UPI has been one of the major success stories of the last 10 years, and India has to be cautious about not losing out on that advantage.
Conclusion
Today’s stock market news highlights the challenges facing Indian markets as foreign investor outflows, rising crude oil prices and rupee weakness add to market uncertainty. Jarvis Invest brings these developments together to help readers understand the key corporate, economic and policy changes shaping the market.
Despite the broader sell-off, TCS delivered quarterly profit growth and reported AI revenue above $3.1 billion, while L&T’s strong order flows point to potential growth opportunities. GST reforms could improve working capital for businesses, although continued pressure on airline traffic highlights the impact of rising operating costs. Investors will also watch the rupee, global bond yields, FPI activity and the UPI MDR decision for further signals about market conditions.
