Stock Market Today: Sensex crashes 800 pts below 74,500, Nifty slips under 23,500

Indian stock market benchmarks opened sharply lower on Monday, with the Sensex falling over 800 points and the Nifty slipping below 23,500, as oil prices increased on renewed tensions between the US and Iran.

The BSE Sensex opened at 74,807.97 against its previous close of 75,237.99. At 9:15 AM, the index was trading 833.01 points, or 1.11 per cent, lower at 74,404.98.

The NSE Nifty 50 opened at 23,482.20, down from its previous close of 23,643.50. The index was trading lower by 161.30 points, or 0.68 per cent, at 23,482.20 in early trade.

Power Grid, Tata Steel among top losers

Power Grid Corporation, Tata Steel, and Titan Company emerged as the top losers on the Nifty50 index in opening trade.

The weakness remained broad-based across sectors. Nifty PSU Bank and Nifty Realty led sectoral losses, falling 1.75 per cent to 7,886.45 and 743.05, respectively. Nifty Consumer Durables declined 1.64 per cent to 34,973.90, while Nifty Financial Services 25/50 slipped 1.37 per cent to 27,304.65.

Nifty Metal, Nifty Auto, and Nifty Private Bank indices also dropped over one per cent each. Nifty Oil & Gas fell 0.79 per cent to 11,162, while Nifty FMCG declined 0.57 per cent to 50,759.60. Nifty Healthcare and Nifty Pharma witnessed relatively smaller declines of 0.45 per cent and 0.21 per cent, respectively.

In the broader market, the Nifty MidCap and Nifty SmallCap indices were down 1.66 per cent and 2.15 per cent, respectively, indicating widespread selling pressure.

Sectorally, Nifty Consumer Durables, Realty, PSU Bank, and Media indices underperformed the broader market, while Nifty IT showed relative resilience.

Global tensions keep investors on edge

Investor sentiment remained cautious after US President Donald Trump warned Iran in a social media post, saying that time was “ticking fast” and that if Tehran failed to make a decision soon, “nothing will be left.”

Brent crude futures for May delivery traded 1.78 per cent higher at $111.13 per barrel on the Intercontinental Exchange. Rising crude prices remained a key concern for Indian equities, given India’s heavy dependence on oil imports.

Global cues also remained weak. On Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 573 points and closed near the day’s low. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 410 points, while the S&P 500 declined 93 points, marking their sharpest single-day fall since March 27.

The Indian rupee weakened further, falling 20 paise to close at a record low of 95.97 against the US dollar on Friday. During intraday trade, the rupee touched an all-time low of 96.14 per dollar.

Commodities see sharp volatility

Commodity markets also witnessed sharp volatility. LME copper dropped 3 per cent, its steepest one-day fall since January 30, while aluminium declined 2.5 per cent. Silver prices on COMEX plunged 9 per cent on Friday, while gold prices fell nearly 3 per cent.

Gold prices dropped Rs 3,431 to settle at Rs 1,58,547, while silver prices declined Rs 19,102 to Rs 2,71,886. Over the last two sessions, gold has fallen Rs 5,950 and silver has corrected nearly Rs 33,000.

FIIs continue buying

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) continued to show selective buying interest. FIIs increased their long positions in index futures for the second straight session to 12.43 per cent from 11.86 per cent earlier.

FIIs were net buyers of Rs 1,329 crore in the cash market and recorded overall net buying of Rs 1,523 crore across cash, index futures, and stock futures segments.

Domestic institutional investors (DIIs), however, turned net sellers on Friday, offloading equities worth Rs 1,958 crore after 15 consecutive sessions of buying.

Q4 earnings in focus

Meanwhile, several companies are scheduled to announce their March quarter earnings on Monday.

Key companies set to report Q4FY26 results are Astral, Indraprastha Gas, Indian Oil Corporation, Ola Electric Mobility, Puravankara, Strides Pharma Science, Timken India, Triveni Turbine, VRL Logistics, and Zydus Wellness, among others.