The key equity benchmarks ended sharply lower on Monday, extending losses for a second straight session as surging crude oil prices, continued foreign institutional investor (FII) outflows and rupee weakness weighed on sentiment. Brent crude moved past the $100 per barrel mark amid escalating tensions in the Middle East, heightening concerns about inflation and rising input costs for businesses. Persistent FII selling and weakness in the domestic currency further pressured the market, while global volatility and risk-off sentiment led to broad-based declines. The Nifty settled below the 24,050 level, dragged down by losses in auto, PSU bank and consumer durables stocks.

The S&P BSE Sensex tanked 1,352.72 points or 1.71% to 77,566.16. The Nifty 50 index dropped 422.40 points or 1.73% to 24,028.05. In two consecutive trading sessions, the Sensex dropped 3.06% while the Nifty fell 2.97%.

State Bank of India (down 3.62%), ICICI Bank (down 2.92%) and HDFC Bank (down 2.09%) were major Nifty drags today.

The broader market underperformed the key equity indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index tumbled 1.98% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index slumped 2.46%.

The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 972 shares rose and 3379 shares fell. A total of 197 shares were unchanged.

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, zoomed 17.51% to 23.36.

Economy:

India's foreign exchange reserves rose by $4.88 billion to a record high of $728.5 billion in the week ending February 27, according to the latest data released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

For the week ended February 20, foreign currency assets, the largest component of the reserves, increased by $561 million to $573.13 billion, the RBI data showed.

The value of gold reserves rose by $4.141 billion to $131.63 billion during the week, while Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) went up by $26 million to $18.866 billion.

India's reserve position with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) also increased by $158 million to $4.873 billion in the reporting week, the central bank said.

Numbers to Track:

The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal paper added 0.67% to 6.733 compared with previous session close of 6.688.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 92.3500 compared with its close of 91.8200 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 2 April 2026 settlement fell 0.61% to Rs 160,640.

The US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was up 0.29% to 99.28

The United States 10-year bond yield jumped 1.09% to 4.178.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for May 2026 delivery surged $11.47, or 12.37%, to $104.16 a barrel.

Global Markets:

The US Dow Jones index futures are currently down by 522 points, signaling a weak opening for US stocks today.

Shares across Europe and Asia tumbled on Monday as crude oil prices breached the $100 per barrel mark, rattling global markets. The spike in oil followed production cuts by major Middle Eastern producers including Kuwait, Iran and the United Arab Emirates after the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a key global energy transit route.

In a significant development in the US-Iran conflict, Iranian state television reported that Mojtaba Khamenei, son of Iran's late Supreme Leader, has been named his successor. The announcement comes as the conflict, which began just over a week ago following the killing of his father, continues to escalate.

Asian indices saw steep losses, with South Korea's Kospi triggering its second circuit breaker in four sessions after plunging more than 8%, leading to a 20-minute halt in trading. Japan's Nikkei 225 dropped over 5%, slipping below the 53,000 mark for the first time since 6 February, while the broader Topix index declined around 3%.

On Wall Street, equities had already ended lower on Friday amid rising oil prices and weaker-than-expected labour data. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.95%, the S&P 500 declined 1.33%, and the Nasdaq Composite lost 1.59%.

Oil prices surged further after comments from US President Donald Trump, who said in a social media post that there would be no deal to end the US-Iran war without an unconditional surrender from Iran.

Meanwhile, Qatar's Energy Minister Saad al-Kaabi warned in an interview with the Financial Times that Gulf energy producers may soon be forced to declare force majeure and halt production, a scenario that could push oil prices to as high as $150 per barrel. He cautioned that a prolonged conflict in the region could severely impact the global economy.

Market sentiment was also dented by fresh labour market data from the US. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that nonfarm payrolls fell by 92,000 in February, sharply reversing the downwardly revised gain of 126,000 in January and missing expectations. The unemployment rate also edged up to 4.4% from 4.3%.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Neogen Chemicals jumped 4.44% after the company's board approved the allotment of 10 lakh equity shares with a face value of Rs 10 each aggregating to Rs 161 crore, to promorter entity Cadamba Solutions on a preferential basis.

PG Electroplast tumbled 14.07% after the company announced that the allocation of LPG quantities by its supplier has been constrained with effect from 9 March 2026, due to ongoing war in the Middle East region.

Paras Defence and Space Technologies declined 3.84%. The company has secured an order Rs 80.28 crore from the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), under the Ministry of Defence, to develop a high-precision optical system for air defence applications.

Puravankara fell 2.65%. The company said that it has entered into a joint development agreement for a 4-acre land parcel on Hennur Road in Bengaluru, with an estimated gross development value (GDV) of over Rs 1,300 crore.

Meesho locked in the lower circuit of 10% after the company received an income tax demand notice amouting to Rs 1,500 crore from the Income Tax Department for the assessment year 2023-2024.

Kwality Walls (India) declined 3.23% after the company's standalone net loss widened to Rs 178.38 crore in Q3 FY26 compared with net loss of Rs 100.16 crore in Q2 FY26. Revenue from operations fell 30.23% YoY to Rs 222.34 crore in Q3 FY26.

Lupin slipped 1.90% after the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) concluded an inspection of its manufacturing facility in Ankleshwar, India, issuing a Form 483 with two observations.

Sundaram Brake Linings dropped 3.45%. The company said that its board has approved the appointment of Hari S as chief financial officer (CFO) of the company with effect from 9 March 2026.

GAIL (India) fell 4.31%. The company said that it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with RailTel Corporation of India to collaborate in key areas of digital infrastructure development in the country.

Kernex Microsystems (India) declined 4.18%. The company said that it has entered into a joint venture agreement with Bharat Heavy Engineering to develop advanced railway signalling and train control technologies.

KPI Green Energy slipped 2.84%. The company announced that its subsidiary, Sun Drops Energia, has executed a Battery Energy Storage Purchase Agreement (BESPA) with Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam (GUVNL) for standalone battery energy storage system (BESS) projects.

Raymond Realty shed 0.43%. The company said that it has signed definitive agreements to develop a residential project at a prime location in Kandivali, Mumbai.

SML Mahindra locked in lower circuit of 5%. The company has reported commercial vehicle production of 1,679 units in February 2026, up around 16% year-on-year from 1,442 units produced in February 2025.

IPO Update:

The initial public offer (IPO) of Rajputana Stainless received bids for 62,89,800 shares as against 2,09,00,000 shares on offer, according to stock exchange data at 16:42 IST on Monday (9 March 2026). The issue was subscribed 0.30 times.

The issue opened for bidding on 9 March 2026 and it will close on 11 March 2026. The price band of the IPO is fixed between Rs 116 and 122 per share.

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