Sensex, Nifty Crash Over 3% to Near One-Year Lows as Oil Spike and West Asia Tensions Shake Markets

Sensex, Nifty Crash Over 3% to Near One-Year Lows as Oil Spike and West Asia Tensions Shake Markets​

Sharp Sell-Off Erases Recent Gains​

Mumbai, March 19: Benchmark equity indices Sensex and Nifty plunged more than 3 per cent on Thursday, closing near one-year lows as a surge in crude oil prices and weak global cues rattled investor sentiment. The sharp decline followed escalating attacks on energy infrastructure in West Asia, which triggered fears of prolonged supply disruptions.

Breaking a three-day rally, the 30-share BSE Sensex tumbled 2,496.89 points or 3.26 per cent, marking its steepest single-day fall since June 2024, to settle at 74,207.24. This is its lowest closing level since April 7, 2025. During intraday trade, the index dropped as much as 2,753.18 points or 3.58 per cent to 73,950.95.

The NSE Nifty also mirrored the downturn, falling 775.65 points or 3.26 per cent to close at 23,002.15. The decline wiped out gains from the previous three sessions, during which Nifty had risen 2.68 per cent and Sensex had advanced 2.8 per cent.

Heavyweights Drag Markets Lower​

Among Sensex constituents, Eternal, Bajaj Finance, Mahindra and Mahindra, HDFC Bank, Larsen and Toubro, and Bajaj Finserv were among the major losers.

HDFC Bank shares fell 5.13 per cent after Chairman Atanu Chakraborty resigned, citing ethical concerns.

Oil Price Surge Triggers Global Risk-Off​

Brent crude prices surged 6.75 per cent to USD 114.8 per barrel following attacks by Iran on key energy infrastructure in the Gulf region. The escalation included strikes on a natural gas facility in Qatar and oil refineries in Kuwait, along with further attacks on energy sites across the region.

The spike in oil prices intensified concerns over inflation and supply disruptions, leading to a sharp reassessment of risk across global markets.

Broad-Based Decline Across Sectors​

The sell-off was widespread, with all sectoral indices ending in negative territory. The auto index led the losses, plunging 4.07 per cent, followed by realty at 3.79 per cent and financial services at 3.66 per cent.

Other sectors including consumer discretionary, banking, industrials, services, information technology, and consumer durables also recorded losses exceeding 3 per cent.

Broader markets were also under pressure, with the BSE MidCap Select index falling 3.34 per cent and the SmallCap Select index declining 2.77 per cent.

On the market breadth front, 3,192 stocks declined, while 1,051 advanced and 161 remained unchanged on the BSE.

Global Markets Mirror Weakness​

Asian markets ended sharply lower, with declines seen across South Korea’s Kospi, Japan’s Nikkei 225, China’s Shanghai Composite, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng.

European markets were trading with significant losses, while US markets had closed sharply lower in the previous session.

Institutional Activity and Market Context​

Foreign Institutional Investors sold equities worth Rs 2,714.35 crore on Wednesday, while Domestic Institutional Investors provided some support by purchasing shares worth Rs 3,253.03 crore.

The sharp correction comes after a brief recovery on Wednesday, when the Sensex had risen 633.29 points to close at 76,704.13 and the Nifty had gained 196.65 points to settle at 23,777.80.

Key Drivers Behind the Market Fall​

The market downturn was driven by a convergence of global and domestic factors, primarily the spike in crude oil prices due to geopolitical tensions in West Asia and concerns around inflation following a hawkish stance from the US Federal Reserve.