Sector indices in Q3 2026: IT and pharma up, FMCG down

The quarter's ranking

Only six of the fifteen sector indices below ended the third quarter higher than they started it. Between the closes of 30 June and 30 September 2026, Nifty Media rose 7.1%, Nifty IT 5.3% and Nifty Pharma 4.4%. Nifty FMCG fell 8.8%.

The Nifty 50 itself fell 5.2%, from 23,865.75 to 22,620.45. All returns here are price returns from NSE's index history, so dividends are not included.

The six gainers were Media, IT, Pharma, Realty, Metal and Consumer Durables; the last of them only just, at +0.5%.

Two stories, two different years

IT rebounded inside a bad year. Nifty IT gained 5.3% in the quarter and is still down 25.3% in 2026. Its P/E went from 17.26 on 30 June to 17.43 on 30 September, a 1.0% rise against a 5.3% rise in price, so most of the gain was not a higher multiple.

FMCG kept falling. Nifty FMCG lost 8.8% over the quarter, the most of any sector in the table, after a 21.1% fall since the start of the year. Its P/E eased from 33.57 to 30.87, still well above the Nifty 50's 19.36.

Pharma was the other side. Nifty Pharma is up 15.8% in 2026, and its P/E rose from 38.69 to 40.90 across the quarter, a bigger rise (5.7%) than its price (4.4%).

Financials fell together

Nifty Bank lost 5.1%, private banks 4.4% and PSU banks 5.6%; Nifty Financial Services fell 7.2%. The spread across them is narrow, which suggests a sector-wide move rather than one lender's. For where banks sit on price-to-book, see the Nifty Bank P/B post.

Smaller companies held up better

The Nifty 50, the largest companies, did worst of the five. It lost 5.2%; the Smallcap 250 gained 0.4%, a gap of 5.6 points. Across the first nine months the gap is wider still: 19.6 points between the Nifty 50 (−14.2%) and the Smallcap 250 (+5.4%).

That does not mean small caps are cheaper or safer. Nifty Smallcap 250's P/E on 30 September was 34.45, against 19.36 for the Nifty 50. The drawdowns in small-cap funds earlier this year are in this post.

What this does not show

• One quarter is a short window. A sector that led July to September trailed in the year before, and the reverse. IT is the clearest case.
• Price indices only. Sectors that pay more dividends, such as IT (a 2.89% dividend yield on 30 September), look slightly better on a total-return basis.
• Nothing here is a recommendation to buy or sell a sector or a fund.

For the relative valuations of every NSE index, see the cheapest and dearest NSE indices.