Sensex and Nifty Plunge as Fiscal Year Concludes
Mumbai, March 30 – The Sensex and Nifty benchmark indices experienced a significant decline on Monday, marking the end of the 2025-26 fiscal year. The downturn was driven by ongoing geopolitical tensions in West Asia and rising crude oil prices, negatively impacting investor sentiment.The 30-share BSE Sensex closed at 71,947.55, down 1,635.67 points or 2.22%. During the day, the index fell by 1,809.09 points or 2.45%, closing at 71,774.13. The 50-share NSE Nifty plummeted 488.20 points or 2.14%, closing at 22,331.40.
A total of 3,563 stocks declined, while 876 advanced and 154 remained unchanged on the BSE.
Over the past two trading sessions, the BSE benchmark lost 3,325.9 points, or 4.41%, and the Nifty fell 975.05 points, or 4.18%. The BSE benchmark dropped 5,467.37 points, or 7%, and the Nifty fell 1,187.95 points, or 5% over the entire fiscal year. The BSE MidCap Select index lost 3.13%, and the SmallCap Select index declined by 2.14%.
Sectorally, all indices ended in the red, with the auto, FMCG, consumer durables, capital goods, real estate, private banks, and PSU banks sectors declining by 2–4%. The BSE PSU Bank index fell by 4.60%, MidSmall Private Banks Quality Tilt (3.96%), Bankex (3.80%), Financial Services (3.46%), Private Banks (3.43%), BSE Top 10 Banks (3.40%), Telecommunication (3.09%), and Real Estate (3.03%).
"The downturn was primarily driven by escalating geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, which dampened expectations of de-escalation and led to higher crude oil prices, raising concerns about inflation and macroeconomic stability," said Ajit Mishra, SVP, Research, Religare Broking Ltd.
Bajaj Finance, State Bank of India, InterGlobe Aviation, Bajaj Finserv, Axis Bank, and Kotak Mahindra Bank were among the top performers. Tech Mahindra and Power Grid were the top gainers.
Brent crude, the global benchmark, rose by 2.18% to USD 115.1 per barrel. The rupee gained 7 paise in a highly volatile session to close at 94.78 (provisional) against the US dollar.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 4,367.30 crore on Friday, according to exchange data. Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) bought stocks worth Rs 3,566.15 crore. Foreign investors have pulled out Rs 1.14 lakh crore (about USD 12.3 billion) from domestic equities in March.
Disclaimer: Due care and diligence have been taken in compiling and presenting news and market-related content. However, errors or omissions may arise despite such efforts.
The information provided is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice, a recommendation, or an offer to buy or sell any securities. Readers are advised to rely on their own assessment and judgment and consult appropriate financial advisers, if required, before taking any investment-related decisions.