Rupee hits record low, markets fall sharply

The Indian rupee hit a new record low of 91.95 against the US dollar on Friday.

This happened because many people and companies wanted to buy US dollars, and there were worries about the world's political situation.

The Indian central bank, called the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), is trying to help, but the rupee is still weak.

The price of oil and the value of the US dollar in other markets also changed.

Additionally, the stock market in India went down, and foreign investors sold a lot of Indian stocks.

The forex reserves of India increased to $701.36 billion during the week ended January 16, 2026.

Despite the weak market, a few stocks managed to gain.

Hindustan Zinc rose over 4 percent as silver prices touched record highs.

Bandhan Bank emerged as the top midcap gainer, climbing 5 percent after reporting strong Q3 results.

However, small-cap stocks have been hit hard, with nearly 500 small-cap stocks crashing 10-30% in January so far.

Investors have cumulatively lost nearly ₹5.6 lakh crore.

Some experts believe that selective bottom-up stock-specific approach can create wealth in the next one to two years, while others think that small and mid-caps continue to look expensive, and more pain is expected in the space.