Sensex Falls Nearly 1,000 Points, Nifty Slips Below 22,550 as Crude Surge Triggers Sell-Off

Sensex Falls Nearly 1,000 Points, Nifty Slips Below 22,550 as Crude Surge Triggers Sell-Off​

Indian Stock Market Extends Losses for Second Straight Session​

Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty 50 witnessed intense selling pressure for the second consecutive session on March 30, as rising crude oil prices and global uncertainties weighed heavily on investor sentiment.

At 09:18 AM IST, the Sensex was down 996.80 points or 1.35 percent at 72,586.42, while the Nifty 50 declined 294.70 points or 1.29 percent to 22,524.90.

Market breadth remained weak, with 686 shares advancing, 2,212 declining, and 176 remaining unchanged, indicating broad-based selling across sectors.

Rising Crude Prices Rattle Markets​

A sharp surge in global crude oil prices emerged as a key trigger behind the market decline.

Brent crude jumped 3 percent to $115.98 per barrel, taking its monthly gains to 60 percent. US crude also rose 3 percent to $102.52, marking a 53 percent increase for the month.

The escalation of the US-Israeli war on Iran, now in its fifth week, has intensified geopolitical tensions across the Middle East. Over the weekend, Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis launched attacks on Israel, raising concerns over potential disruptions to critical shipping routes around the Arabian Peninsula and the Red Sea.

At the same time, Pakistan indicated it is preparing to host meaningful talks to end the conflict, while Tehran signaled readiness to respond if US ground troop deployment occurs.

Banking Stocks Drag as RBI Tightens Forex Norms​

Banking stocks came under pressure, with the Bank Nifty falling over 2 percent following fresh regulatory measures by the Reserve Bank of India.

The central bank has directed lenders to cap their net open rupee positions in the foreign exchange market at $100 million by the end of each business day, with compliance required by April 10.

The move is aimed at curbing volatility in the weakening rupee and is expected to trigger dollar selling by banks as they unwind existing arbitrage positions.

These trades involved buying dollars in the onshore market and selling them in the non-deliverable forward segment to benefit from price differentials. The spread between these segments had widened amid increased volatility and pressure on the rupee driven by oil prices and global risk aversion.

The size of such arbitrage positions is estimated to be between $25 billion and over $50 billion.

Persistent Foreign Investor Selling Adds Pressure​

Foreign portfolio investors continued their selling streak, further dragging market sentiment.

On Friday, FPIs offloaded shares worth ₹4,367 crore, according to provisional data.

Data shows that FPIs have been net sellers on all trading days in March so far, with total outflows reaching ₹1,18,093 crore through exchanges as of March 27.

The sustained selling has been driven by multiple factors, including weakness in global equity markets amid the West Asia conflict, depreciation of the rupee, concerns over remittance flows from the Gulf region, and the potential impact of elevated crude prices on India’s economic growth and corporate earnings.

Volatility Likely Amid Monthly F&O Expiry​

Markets are also expected to remain volatile due to the monthly Nifty F&O expiry on March 30.

Additionally, with markets closed on March 31 due to a holiday, traders are likely to adjust positions, contributing to heightened intraday swings.