Market trades with major losses; financial services shares drop

The domestic equity benchmarks traded with deep cuts in the afternoon trade, as sentiment remained unsettled amid escalating hostilities between the U.S., Israel, and Iran, fueling fears of a deeper energy supply shock, higher crude prices, renewed inflationary pressures, and a clouded global growth outlook.

The Nifty traded below the 24,600 level. Financial services shares dropped after advancing in the past trading session.

At 12:30 ST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, slumped 632.40 points or 0.79% to 79,412.48. The Nifty 50 index fell 177 points or 0.72% to 24,588.90.

In the broader market, the BSE 150 MidCap Index fell 0.10% and the BSE 250 SmallCap Index rose 0.04%.

The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 1,958 shares rose and 1,955 shares fell. A total of 231 shares were unchanged.

Derivatives:

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, rallied 4.85% to 18.73. The Nifty 30 March 2026 futures were trading at 24,706, at a premium of 117.10 points as compared with the spot at 24,588.90.

The Nifty option chain for the 30 March 2026 expiry showed a maximum call OI of 66.5 lakh contracts at the 26,000 strike price. Maximum put OI of 56.3 lakh contracts was seen at 24,000 strike price.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Financial Services index dropped 1.33% to 26,874.10. The index rose 0.80% in the past trading session.

ICICI Bank (down 2.23%), Bajaj Finserv (down 2.06%), HDFC Life Insurance Company (down 1.85%), HDFC Bank (down 1.78%), Axis Bank (down 1.74%), State Bank of India (down 1.69%), Cholamandalam Investment & Finance Company (down 1.65%), ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company (down 1.09%), Muthoot Finance (down 1.03%) and Jio Financial Services (down 0.95%) declined.

On the other hand, BSE (up 0.42%), Shriram Finance (up 0.10%) and Power Finance Corporation (up 0.08%) edged higher.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Rajesh Power Services advanced 2.13% after its wholly-owned subsidiary, Rajesh Power Projects, signed a Battery Energy Storage Purchase Agreement (BESPA) with Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam (GUVNL).

NMDC rallied 2.17% after the company announced a price hike for Baila Lump iron ore (65.5%, 10-40MM) and Baila Fines (64%, -10 mm), with revised rates effective from 6 March 2026.

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