Barometers trade with major losses; Nifty trades below 22,550 mark

The domestic equity benchmarks traded with deep cuts in the afternoon trade due to negative global signals. Rising geopolitical tensions in the Middle East raised concerns about potential disruptions to energy supplies and their impact on global economic growth. Investor sentiment also remained cautious amid a weakening rupee and a spike in market volatility, with the volatility index rising over 18%. Market participants largely adopted a risk-off approach, resulting in broad-based selling pressure across sectors. The Nifty slipped below the 22,550 mark. All the sectoral indices on the NSE were traded in the red, with consumer durable, auto and realty declining the most.

At 13:25 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex tanked 1,887.44 points or 2.53% to 72,645.52. The Nifty 50 index plunged 610.85 points or 2.63% to 22,503.65.

The broader market underperformed the frontline indices. The BSE 150 MidCap Index dropped 3.98% and the BSE 250 SmallCap Index slipped 4.24%.

The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 514 shares rose and 3,801 shares fell. A total of 147 shares were unchanged.

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, surged 18.60% to 27.06.

The rupee slipped against the dollar, hovering at 93.9025 versus its previous close of 93.5350, pressured by rising geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and concerns over energy supply disruptions.

Gainers & Losers:

HCL Technologies (up 1.20%), Tech Mahindra (up 0.62%), Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (up 0.19%) and Power Grid Corporation of India (up 0.05%) were the major Nifty50 gainers.

Shriram Finance (down 7.15%), InterGlobe Aviation (down 5.76%), Titan Company (down 5.56%), Jio Financial Services (down 5.43%) and UltraTech Cement (down 5.19%) were the major Nifty50 losers.

Stocks in Spotlight:

DCX Systems surged 10.53% after the company secured an order worth Rs 563.45 crore from a domestic customer for the manufacture and supply of maritime patrol radar systems (MPR) for airborne applications.

Airfloa Rail Technology slipped 3.28%. The company said that it has secured a Rs 22.91 crore contract from BEML for supplying lighting systems for metro coaches under Phase II of the Chennai Metro Rail Project.

Waaree Energies dropped 4.36%. The company announced a top-level management reshuffle, appointing Jignesh Devchandbhai Rathod as whole-time director and chief executive officer (CEO) and Abhishek Pareek as chief financial officer (CFO), both effective 21 March 2026.

Ashok Leyland fell 4.53%. The company announced that the company has approved an investment of up to GBP 30 million (approximately Rs 375 crore) in its UK-based subsidiary, Optare Plc, to be made as equity in one or more tranches.

Monarch Surveyors and Engineering Consultants shed 0.85%. The company said that it has secured a consultancy contract from the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) for preparation of a Detailed Project Report (DPR) for a six-lane road project in Haryana.

Piramal Finance lost 3.94%. The company announced that its board of directors will meet on Friday, 27 March 2026, to consider and approve a proposal for raising funds through the issuance of non-convertible debentures (NCDs) on a private placement basis.

Global Markets:

European and Asian markets traded sharply lower on Monday, as investors fled risk assets amid escalating conflict in the Middle East that has entered its fourth week.

President Donald Trump said on Saturday that he would ?obliterate? Iran?s power plants if Tehran failed to fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz ? a vital artery for global energy flows ? within 48 hours.

Iran pushed back, threatening to target energy infrastructure and desalination facilities in the Gulf if the U.S. carries out its ultimatum.

Singapore?s core inflation jumped to 1.4% in February 2026 from a year earlier, official data showed on Monday.

Overnight in the U.S., the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.96% to close at 45,577.47 and the S&P 500 fell 1.51% to end at 6,506.48 while the Nasdaq Composite futures pulled back by 2% to end at 21,647.611.

The three major indices ended last week lower, with the S&P 500 declining by more than 1.5% and falling below its 200-day moving average for the first time since May. The Dow, which saw its first four-week losing streak since 2023, and the Nasdaq each fell around 2% for the week.

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