The Sensex closed 281.09 points, or 0.36 per cent, lower at 77,728.16 on Monday, while the Nifty ended 78.35 points, or 0.32 per cent, down at 24,287.65, with IT stocks the biggest drag on both indices.

The Nifty IT index fell nearly 2 per cent during the session, a sharper decline than the broader market, as elevated crude oil prices and persistent geopolitical tensions weighed on investor sentiment.

For founders in India’s technology and services sectors, a sustained pullback in listed IT stocks is a signal worth tracking closely — public-market sentiment toward the sector often filters through to how growth-stage tech startups are valued in subsequent private funding rounds.

The broader market told a different story: the Nifty Midcap index rose 0.05 per cent and the Nifty Smallcap index gained 0.36 per cent, with gains in metal, realty and select financial stocks helping offset the IT-led decline, suggesting the pullback was sector-specific rather than a broad risk-off move.

Elevated crude oil prices remain a persistent headwind for the broader economy, with knock-on effects for input costs, logistics and consumer spending that matter for founders across sectors, not just those directly exposed to energy markets.

With Indian equities showing a cautious tone for a second consecutive week, founders planning fundraises or public listings in the near term should factor in the possibility of continued sector-specific volatility rather than assuming broad market conditions will remain stable.

Analysts said the divergence between the IT-led decline in the headline indices and gains in broader midcap and smallcap stocks pointed to selective, sector-specific selling rather than a broad-based sell-off across the market.

In the broader markets, the Nifty Midcap index ended 0.05 per cent higher while the Nifty Smallcap index gained 0.36 per cent, showing resilience even as the headline indices declined.

Persistent concerns over elevated crude oil prices, hovering near $89 a barrel, weighed on investor sentiment throughout Monday’s session.

Photo by Kumar Appaiah, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0