Nifty Crashes Over 400 Points to 10-Month Low Amid Crude Oil Surge

The bears tightened their grip on Dalal Street as Indian bourses extended their losing streak, with the Nifty logging another sharp decline. The index gapped down over 580 points on weak global cues before ending the day with losses of 412 points or 1.73% at 24028, its lowest close in 10 months. From early morning lows of 23,697, the index clawed back more than 300 points to end near its daily high. Nifty has now shed nearly 2,000 points from its recent swing high just in three weeks. NSE cash volumes rose 5% from the prior session.

Wipro, Reliance, and Apollo Hospitals emerged as the top Nifty gainers. Conversely, selling pressure hit Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles, UltraTech Cement, and Maruti, which ended as the primary laggards.

The pain was visible across the board, with Nifty IT being the sole sectoral survivor. Every other index finished in the red, with Auto, PSU Banks, Consumer Durables, and Metals bearing the brunt of the sell-off.

Midcaps and smallcap indices mirrored the benchmark’s sharp fall. Although both indices recovered more than 1.5% from their intraday troughs, the Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 still closed with steep losses of 1.97% and 2.22%, respectively. Market breadth remained weak for the second consecutive session, as the BSE advance-decline ratio dipped to 3:7.

Mirroring weaknesses in Asian currencies, the Rupee tumbled 59 paise to a record 92.33 against the USD, fueled mainly by crude’s surge past $100/barrel, levels unseen since 2022. These soaring energy costs pose a significant threat to India’s trade deficit, GDP growth, and inflation, given the country’s high reliance on oil imports.

The short-term trend for the Nifty remains firmly bearish, as the index continues to trade below key moving averages. Today’s intraday low of 23,697 offers immediate support, while any relief rally is likely to face stiff hurdle in the 24,300–24,400 band.

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