Is this the beginning of a tsunami for the Indian stock market? The sparks of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East have now reached your demat account. The huge fall seen in Sensex and Nifty on Friday morning has broken all the records of the last 15 months. On one hand, investors are forced to stay awake all night due to oil prices crossing $100 and rupee weakening, on the other hand, pressing of the “exit button” by foreign investors has created an outcry in the entire market. Let’s understand the true depth of this decline and decide whether now is the time for a market recovery. At 10:20 am today, the Sensex fell 912.58 points (1.2%) to 75,121.84. At the same time, Nifty slipped 314.85 points (1.33%) and reached the level of 23,324.30. So far this week, Sensex has fallen by 4.5% and Nifty has fallen by 4.8%. This is the biggest weekly decline in the market since December 2024.
Crude oil prices cross $100
Following the attacks on oil tankers by Iran, fears of disruption in oil supplies through the Strait of Hormuz have further increased. At present ‘Brent Crude’ is trading at a price of $100.5 per barrel. Since India imports most of its oil needs, oil becoming expensive means increase in inflation and decrease in profits of companies.
Historic fall in rupee
The rupee today hit its all-time low of 92.37 against the US dollar. Due to weakening of rupee, imports become more expensive, which causes a double blow to the country’s economy.
Heavy selling by foreign investors (FIIs)
Foreign investors are rapidly withdrawing their money (capital) from the Indian market. On Thursday alone, he sold shares worth ₹7,049 crore. So far in the month of March, they have sold more than ₹39,000 crore.
Silence in global markets
The American market (Dow Jones) recorded a huge fall of 700 points, and for the first time this year it closed below the level of 47,000. Its impact was also clearly visible in Asian markets today—especially Japan’s Nikkei and China’s Shanghai Composite—which are currently trading with huge losses.
Selling in banking and auto stocks
Today the biggest impact of the decline was on the banking sector. Bank Nifty fell 1.75%. Shares of banks like PNB, Canara Bank and IndusInd Bank fell up to 2.5%. The auto index also fell more than 2%, fearing rising crude oil prices.
Fear of US Federal Reserve
Investors are worried ahead of the US Federal Reserve meeting on March 17. The concern is that if inflation increases due to the ongoing energy crisis, interest rates could remain high for a long time—a situation that would be poison for the stock market.
Today’s falling and rising shares
**Falling Stocks:** L&T, Tata Steel, IndiGo, UltraTech Cement and HDFC Bank.
Strong Shares:
Amidst these difficult times, stocks like Power Grid, Hindustan Unilever (HUL), ITC and Bajaj Finserv tried to support the market by making slight gains.
What should investors do?
Experts say that until tensions in the Middle East subside, the market will remain in “uncharted territory”—that is, there will be a period of uncertainty. For now, it would be wise to adopt a “wait and watch” strategy, rather than a “buy on dips” approach.
