Sensex and Nifty Plunge Amid Rising Oil Prices and Middle East Tensions
Mumbai, March 23, 2026 – Indian equity markets suffered a sharp decline on Monday, with the BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty falling sharply amid weak global cues and escalating tensions in the Middle East.The 30-share Sensex dropped 1,836.57 points (2.46%) to close at 72,696.39, hitting an intraday low of 72,558.44. The 50-share Nifty fell 601.85 points (2.60%) to end at 22,512.65.
Among Sensex constituents, Titan led the losses with a 6.24% decline, followed by Trent, UltraTech Cement, Bharat Electronics, InterGlobe Aviation, Tata Steel, and HDFC Bank. On the other hand, HCL Tech, Power Grid, Infosys, and Tech Mahindra were the few gainers.
Rising Brent crude oil prices, which increased 0.97% to USD 113.3 per barrel, along with foreign fund outflowsand a weakening rupee, contributed to a cautious investor sentiment.
Global markets also reflected similar pressure. Asian indices, including South Korea’s Kospi, Japan’s Nikkei 225, Shanghai SSE Composite, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng, ended sharply lower, with the Kospi falling 6.49%. European markets opened with steep losses, while the US market closed significantly lower on Friday.
The BSE MidCap Select index fell 3.82%, and the SmallCap Select index dropped 3.66%. All sectoral indices ended in red, with consumer durables (-4.91%), metal (-4.76%), realty (-4.75%), services (-4.70%), and BSE PSU Bank (-4.39%) among the worst performers.
A total of 3,798 stocks declined, while 635 advanced and 123 remained unchanged on the BSE.
Since the conflict began on February 28, the Sensex has tumbled 8,590.8 points (10.56%), and the Nifty has lost 2,666 points (10.58%). Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) sold equities worth Rs 5,518.39 crore on Friday, while Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) bought stocks worth Rs 5,706.23 crore. Total FII outflows from Indian equities this month have reached Rs 88,180 crore (approx. USD 9.6 billion).
On Friday, the Sensex had recovered slightly, climbing 325.72 points (0.44%) to settle at 74,532.96, while the Nifty gained 112.35 points (0.49%) to end at 23,114.50.
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