Weekly Market Breadth, 23 Oct 2026: All 5 Broad Indices and 23 of 24 Sectors Fell

All five broad indices I follow fell in the week of 19 to 23 October 2026, and the damage grew as I moved down the market-cap ladder: the Nifty 50 lost 2.4%, the Nifty 500 3.8%, the Midcap 150 5.3%, the Smallcap 250 7.1% and the Microcap 250 7.4%. NSE was shut on 20 October for Dussehra, so this was a four-session week, measured from the 16 October close to the 23 October close. My question: is this a normal pullback, or is it spreading under the surface?

The broad indices: a bigger fall further down the cap ladder

For the Nifty 500 and the Smallcap 250, this was the biggest weekly fall in the last 26 weeks. The Nifty 50, at -2.4%, was the second worst weekly fall of that period for that index.

The breadth readings tell the same story, only louder. The share of stocks above their 50-day average more than halved in a week in most of these indices, and on Friday between 46% and 79% of the stocks in each index closed at a new 10-day low.

Index	Week change	Stocks above their 50-day average	New 10-day lows / highs (Friday)	Stocks 20%+ above their 52-week low
Nifty 50	-2.4%	16% (from 30%)	46% / 8%	18% (March low: 24%)
Nifty 500	-3.8%	10% (from 21%)	73% / 2%	36% (March low: 32%)
Midcap 150	-5.3%	8% (from 17%)	79% / 1%	29% (March low: 32%)
Smallcap 250	-7.1%	9% (from 20%)	77% / 2%	38% (March low: 31%)
Microcap 250	-7.4%	6% (from 21%)	76% / 1%	38% (March low: 28%)

Two things stand out. First, the Midcap 150 is where the new-low count is highest: 79% of its stocks closed at a new 10-day low on Friday, against only 1.3% at a new high. Second, the Nifty 50 holds up best on the index level and on new lows (46%), but even there only 16% of stocks are above their 50-day average, down from 30% a week earlier.

The last column is a washed-out meter: the share of stocks that trade at least 20% above their 52-week low. When that falls below 40%, it is a rare zone. All five indices are below 40% now. The Nifty 50 is at 18%, which is also below the 24.5% it showed at its March 2026 low. The Midcap 150 (29%) is also below its March reading (32%), while the Nifty 500 (36%), Smallcap 250 (38%) and Microcap 250 (38%) are still above theirs.

The sectors: 23 of 24 fell, and only IT held up

Across the 24 sectoral and thematic indices I track, 23 fell for the week and 1 rose. IT was the only gainer, at +0.2%. The weakest were Sugar & Ethanol (-10.7%), IPO (-7.5%), Chemicals (-7.2%) and India Internet (-7.0%).

The count of stocks above their 50-day average shows how thin participation is. IT is the only sector where most stocks are above that average (8 of 10). Media has 4 of 10 and Bank has 4 of 14. In 7 sectors, none of the stocks are above their 50-day average: Auto, Chemicals, FMCG, Metal, Mobility, Power, Realty.

Sector or theme	Week change	Stocks above 50-day average (23 Oct)	Share a week earlier
Sugar & Ethanol	-10.7%	1 of 15	40%
IPO	-7.5%	22 of 106	35%
Chemicals	-7.2%	0 of 20	10%
India Internet	-7.0%	3 of 26	46%
Capital Mkts	-6.0%	1 of 17	24%
Power	-5.7%	0 of 21	14%
New-age EV Auto	-5.5%	2 of 38	8%
Metal	-5.4%	0 of 15	13%
Media	-5.1%	4 of 10	50%
Realty	-5.0%	0 of 10	10%
New-age Consumption	-4.9%	5 of 75	31%
Infra & Logistics	-4.7%	6 of 100	16%
Energy	-4.6%	1 of 40	15%
FMCG	-4.3%	0 of 15	13%
Mobility	-3.9%	0 of 30	10%
Fin Services	-3.7%	3 of 20	35%
Auto	-3.5%	0 of 15	0%
Consumption	-3.0%	2 of 30	20%
Bank	-2.8%	4 of 14	36%
Healthcare	-1.9%	3 of 20	20%
Pharma	-1.8%	3 of 20	25%
Cement	-1.1%	1 of 16	6%
PSU Bank	-0.3%	1 of 12	17%
IT	+0.2%	8 of 10	90%

Sugar & Ethanol is an IndexBreadth-built thematic index with daily data only. All numbers are as of the 23 October 2026 close, with the weekly change measured from 16 October.

How I read this together

This was a broad, not a narrow, week. When the Nifty 50 falls 2.4% but the Nifty 500 falls 3.8% and the Smallcap 250 falls 7.1%, the selling sits mostly outside the largest stocks. The sector table says the same: nearly every sector fell, and almost none of them has most of its stocks above their 50-day average.

The washed-out meter is the useful counterweight. All five indices sit in the rare zone below 40%, which means very few stocks are trading well above their 52-week lows. That describes where the market is. It does not tell you when, or whether, it turns.

What I am watching next

• Whether new 10-day lows fall back from 76-79% in the Midcap 150, Smallcap 250 and Microcap 250.
• The share of stocks above their 50-day average in the Nifty 500 (9.6% now). A turn up from here would be the first sign that selling is fading.
• Whether IT, the one sector with most stocks above the 50-day average, keeps that participation or joins the others.
• The Nifty 50 washed-out reading (18%), which is below its March low reading.

Questions

What does “stocks above the 50-day average” measure? It is the percentage of an index’s stocks trading above their own 50-day average price. A low number means few stocks are in an intermediate-term uptrend.

What is a new 10-day low? It is a stock closing below the lowest close of its previous 10 sessions. The percentage shows how many stocks in the index did that on the same day.

Is a washed-out reading a signal to buy? No. It describes how many stocks trade near their 52-week lows. It does not predict what happens next.

This is market context for study, not a signal to buy or sell.

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Tags: #MarketBreadth #WeeklyWrap #Nifty500 #Smallcap #Sectors #NewLows