Sensex settles 1,100 pts lower, Nifty ends at 24,450: Rising crude prices among key factors behind market crash

Stock market today news: Sensex, Nifty see profit booking in trade. 

• Sensex and Nifty drop amid geopolitical tensions, rising crude prices.
• Banking stocks declined as crude prices rose and FIIs sold shares.
• IT, metal, and consumer durables indices traded in the green.

Did our AI summary help?

The benchmark equity indices declined by over 1 percent on Friday after a day’s breather, as the conflict in the West Asia entered its seventh day, driving crude oil prices higher.

The Sensex tumbled 1,097 points, or 1.37 percent, to settle at 78,918.90. During the day, it sank 1,203.72 points, or 1.5 percent, to 78,812.18. The Nifty dropped 315.45 points, or 1.27 percent, to end at 24,450.45.

For the week, the Nifty and Sensex lost about 2.9% each, marking their steepest weekly decline since February 28, 2025 and December 20, 2024, respectively.

Most of the Nifty sectoral indices settled in the red, barring IT. The broader markets Nifty Smallcap100 and Nifty Midcap100 ended 0.24 percent and 0.69 percent lower, respectively.

IndiGo shares snapped the previous session’s gains, when the stock had settled nearly 3 percent higher. However, the stock is down 9.5 percent this week. ICICI Bank, Max Healthcare Institute and Bajaj Finserv were among the major laggards in the Nifty50 pack, declining up to 2 percent, while Reliance Industries and HCL Technologies were among the top gainers, rising up to 2.5 percent.

Key factors behind market decline

1) Escalating geopolitical tensions: Investor risk appetite remained fragile amid the ongoing US-Israeli conflict with Iran. The situation has raised concerns over a possible disruption in energy supplies, which could push crude prices higher, revive inflationary pressures and affect the global growth outlook.

The market is taking into account the near-term threat from oil prices, said Pankaj Pandey, head of retail research at ICICI Securities. "However, we don't yet see a macroeconomic impact from this as the broad expectation is that crude prices will not remain elevated for a long period."

2) Weak global cues: In Asian markets, South Korea’s Kospi was trading over 1 percent lower. US markets had ended lower on Thursday.

Stock Market Live Updates

3) FII outflows: Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) remained net sellers, offloading equities worth Rs 3,752.52 crore on Thursday. So far in March, FIIs have sold shares worth nearly Rs 16,000 crore.

4) Higher crude prices: Brent crude jumped about 5 percent on Thursday to a 20-month high of $86.28 per barrel. It was trading at $84.4 per barrel at around 9:15 am IST on Friday.

VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Investments Limited, said crude prices have risen about 16 percent since the start of the conflict but the spike is still moderate compared with earlier geopolitical crises.

"It is important to understand that even though crude has spiked by about 16 percent since the war began, this is not among the major spikes in crude compared to earlier geopolitical crises which impacted crude," he said.

"This reflects the potential huge supply of oil available in the global market. Once the West Asian crisis de-escalates, crude prices will dip sharply and markets will bounce back," Vijayakumar added.

He said crude prices will continue to influence markets in the near term.

"So long as Brent crude moves around $85 levels, the market is unlikely to be impacted. On the other hand, if Brent price spikes above $90 and moves towards $100, global markets will be impacted. Therefore, watch out for crude prices," he said.

5) Selling in banking shares: Banking stocks were under pressure, with the Bank Nifty falling more than 2 percent or 1,300 points. The Nifty PSU Bank and Nifty Private Bank indices were also down more than 1 percent. Sharp selling pressure was seen in frontline banking stocks, including HDFC Bank, which declined 2.34 percent. ICICI Bank settled 3.13 percent lower, while State Bank of India and Axis Bank declined 2.5 percent each.

Rising crude prices tend to push up inflation in an oil-importing country like India. Higher inflation could delay interest rate cuts by the Reserve Bank of India, which may keep borrowing costs elevated. This typically weighs on banking shares.

6) India Vix rises: The fear gauge or the volatility index rose more than 12 percent to 20.07 level. Higher Vix indicates increased uncertainity among investors.

7) Qatar remark on crude price surge: The war in the Middle East could trigger a global economic shock if it continues for weeks, with Gulf energy exporters potentially forced to halt production and oil prices surging to $150 a barrel, Qatar’s energy minister Saad al-Kaabi told the Financial Times.

Technical outlook

Anand James, Chief Market Strategist at Geojit Investments Limited, said the Nifty may see consolidation after achieving the previous day’s target.

"Having fully achieved yesterday’s objective of 24,840, a consolidation is expected today. Meanwhile, the formation of a morning star candlestick pattern encourages us to look further ahead, marking 25,000–25,150–25,480 as the near-term objectives," he said.

"Alternatively, inability to hold above 24,530 will force us to abandon such a view and bring 24,000–23,550 back into the radar," he added.

(With inputs from Reuters)

Disclaimer: The views and investment tips expressed by investment experts on Moneycontrol.com are their own and not those of the website or its management. Moneycontrol.com advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions.