Sensex͏ Crashes 1,500͏ Points, Nifty ͏S͏lips͏ Below 22,70͏0 as Rupee Hits Record Low A͏m͏id Globa͏l S͏ello͏ff

Mumbai, March ͏23: Indian ͏equity b͏enchmarks witne͏ssed a s͏harp se͏ll-off on Monday m͏orni͏ng, with͏ the BSE S͏ensex plung͏ing over 1,500 points and the NSE Nifty 50 slipping below th͏e 22͏,͏700͏ ͏m͏ark, as a combinat͏ion of glo͏bal and domestic trigg͏ers weighed heavily o͏n͏ market͏ performan͏ce. The decl͏ine͏ comes after͏ a brief pau͏se in l͏o͏sses ͏on Friday, signalling c͏ontinue͏d pressure acro͏ss equit͏y markets.

͏The downturn was accom͏panied by a fresh record lo͏w in the Indian rupee, weakness across all sectoral indices͏,͏ and sharp ͏d͏e͏clines in g͏loba͏l m͏arkets, ͏par͏t͏icularly acr͏os͏s͏ As͏ia͏.͏

Sensex Fal͏ls 1,5͏55 P͏oints to 72,977 as Nifty Hit͏s͏ 22,63͏4

Indian market͏s opened sh͏arply lo͏wer, with th͏e Sensex dropping as much as ͏1,555 poi͏nt͏s ͏(2.1%) to ͏72,͏9͏7͏7, whil͏e the Nifty 50 declined͏ 2.1% to 2͏2,͏634 during ear͏ly͏ trade͏. The Nifty fu͏rth͏er ext͏en͏ded ͏losses t͏o͏ n͏early 400 points, trading around 22,700, mar͏king its ͏lowest level͏ since ͏April 17,͏ 2025.

In the ͏p͏re-opening ͏s͏e͏ssion it͏self,͏ ͏t͏he ͏Se͏nsex had already͏ fal͏len over 850 points, in͏dicating stron͏g n͏egative sentiment at the ͏sta͏rt of the t͏r͏ading day. ͏The͏ N͏ifty also slippe͏d be͏low 22,850 ͏during this phase͏, setti͏ng ͏t͏he tone fo͏r the broader market ͏d͏e͏cline.

Market breadth remained decisively negative, with the advance-decline ratio on the NSE at 1:10, highlighting that declines significantly outnumbered advances.

49 Nifty Stocks Decline as Broader Markets Drop Over 2%

Selling pressure was widespread, with 49 out of 50 Nifty stocks trading in the red, indicating a near-uniform decline across the index. Broader markets also mirrored the weakness, as both midcap and smallcap indices slipped more than 2% each.

Frontline indices were down over 2%, while broader indices recorded similar losses, reflecting a deep and broad-based correction across market segments.

Banking Index Drops 1,200 Points as HDFC Bank Extends 17% Monthly Fall

The Nifty Bank index remained under pressure, falling over 1,200 points to around 52,200, within its broader 53,000–54,500 range. Banking stocks were among the key contributors to the decline.

HDFC Bank shares extended their losses, declining over 17% in March, adding significant weight to the index. Other major banking stocks, including State Bank of India, ICICI Bank, and Kotak Mahindra Bank, also traded near their 52-week lows, intensifying the pressure on financial stocks.

Metal And PSU Stocks Lead Losses; Tata Steel, Hindustan Zinc Slide

Metal stocks were among the worst hit, with Tata Steel, JSW Steel, and Hindalco Industries witnessing sharp declines. Tata Steel emerged as one of the biggest laggards on the Nifty 50 index.

Hindustan Zinc shares fell more than 5%, slipping below the ₹500 level in early trade. The Nifty Metal index declined nearly 2.9%, reflecting sustained selling in commodity-linked stocks.

PSU bank stocks also saw heavy losses, with the Nifty PSU Bank index dropping over 3%, making it the worst-performing sectoral index during the session.

All 15 Sectoral Indices Trade Lower; Pharma Falls Least at 1.2%

All 15 sectoral indices on the NSE traded in negative territory, highlighting the extent of the market-wide sell-off. While sectors such as PSU banks, metals, auto, and media fell around 2% to 3%, even relatively defensive sectors recorded declines.

The Nifty Pharma index fell around 1.2%, marking the smallest decline among sectoral indices, while realty and banking indices dropped between 2% and 2.5%.

Seven Nifty Stocks Hit 52-Week Lows, Including TCS and ITC

The ongoing decline pushed several key stocks to their 52-week lows, including Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, ITC, Kotak Mahindra Bank, and Tata Consultancy Services.

This reflects sustained pressure across both financial and IT sectors, which together hold significant weight in benchmark indices.

Top Losers Fall Up to 7% As Jaiprakash Power Slides

Among individual stocks, Jaiprakash Power Ventures fell over 7% in early trade, making it one of the biggest intraday losers.

Other notable declines included Hindustan Copper (down 5.86%), Petronet LNG (down 5.50%), MMTC (down 5.32%), KIOCL (down 5.09%), and Rajesh Exports (down 5.00%) as of 09:35 AM IST.

Select Gainers Include ONGC, Gujarat Alkalies in Weak Market

Despite the broad sell-off, a few stocks managed to trade in positive territory. Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) was the only stock trading higher within the Nifty 50 index.

Other gainers included Gujarat Alkalies & Chemicals (up 2.12%), DSJ Keep Learning (up 2.20%), and GACM Technologies (DVR) (up 2.57%) as of 09:27 AM IST.

Crude Oil Holds Above $112 As Energy Concerns Persist

Crude oil prices remained elevated, with Brent crude at $112.11 per barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate stood at $98.17 per barrel. Although both benchmarks saw marginal declines of 8 cents and 6 cents, respectively, they followed a 2.27% rise in the previous session.

The sustained high oil prices continue to impact sectors such as oil marketing companies, which saw declines of up to 4.49% in early trade.

Asian Markets Fall Up to 5.8% Amid West Asia Conflict

Global markets remained under pressure, with Asian indices witnessing sharp declines. South Korea’s Kospi dropped 5.8%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 3.5%, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng declined 3.4%.

China’s Shanghai Composite slipped 2.5%, while Australia’s ASX 200 fell 0.8%. Japan’s Topix index declined 4.4%, and South Korea’s Kosdaq dropped nearly 5%.

Trading in South Korea was briefly suspended after Kospi 200 futures fell more than 5%, reflecting the severity of the global sell-off.

Multiple Triggers Weigh on Markets Simultaneously

The sharp decline in Indian markets is linked to a confluence of factors, including escalating geopolitical tensions between the United States and Iran, concerns over disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, and crude oil prices holding above $110 per barrel.

Additional factors include persistent foreign institutional investor selling, rising US bond yields, and continued weakness in the Indian rupee. These developments have collectively contributed to the broad-based decline across equities.

Indian equity markets declined sharply on March 23, 2026, with benchmark indices falling over 2% amid global market weakness, rising crude oil prices, and currency depreciation. Broad-based selling across sectors, record lows in the rupee, and simultaneous declines in Asian markets highlight the extent of the downturn, reflecting heightened sensitivity of domestic markets to global developments.