Budget 2026, Jan. 22 -- Falling in 11 out of the 15 trading sessions in January so far, the Indian stock market's benchmark indices have lost over 3% on a month-to-date (MTD) basis in the run-up to the Union Budget. Apart from Budget-related jitters, the uncertain geopolitical environment and elusive India Inc earnings seem to be weighing on investor sentiment.

BSE Sensex closed Thursday's session at 82,307, down 3.4% against the December close. Its broader NSE counterpart, Nifty 50, has lost 3.28% in the same period as it trades below the 25,300 level.

The pain is deeper as you move down the rung, as Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 indices are down 4.2% and 5.8%, respectively, in January alone.

While the markets are in a perfe...