Investor sentiment remained fragile due to escalating tensions in West Asia, as the conflict involving Iran, Israel, and the US intensified over the weekend. The developments pushed global oil prices higher and added pressure on emerging markets.

Meanwhile, the Indian rupee hit a record low of 92.3575 against the US dollar, reflecting growing stress on emerging market currencies amid rising geopolitical risks and a sharp increase in global crude prices. Market volatility was also influenced by the weekly Nifty futures and options expiry.

Nifty ended below the 24,050 mark. Barring the Nifty IT index, all other sectoral indices on the NSE ended in the red, with metal, PSU bank and bank shares experienced the steepest declines.

As per provisional closing data, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex tanked 1,352.72 points or 1.71% to 77,566.16. The Nifty 50 index dropped 422.40 points or 1.73% to 24,028.05. In two consecutive trading sessions, the Sensex dropped 3.06% while the Nifty fell 2.97%.

The broader market underperformed the key equity indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index tumbled 1.98% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index slumped 2.46%.

The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 994 shares rose and 3,354 shares fell. A total of 200 shares were unchanged.

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, soared 17.51% to 23.36.

IPO Update:

The initial public offer (IPO) of Rajputana Stainless received bids for 44,84,700 shares as against 2,09,00,000 shares on offer, according to stock exchange data at 15:25 IST on Monday (9 March 2026). The issue was subscribed 0.21 times.

The issue opened for bidding on 9 March 2026 and it will close on 11 March 2026. The price band of the IPO is fixed between Rs 116 and 122 per share.

Economy

India's foreign exchange reserves went up by $4.88 billion to reach record high of $728.5 billion in the week ending February 27, latest data released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) showed.

For the week ended February 20, foreign currency assets, a major component of the reserves, increased by $561 million to $573.13 billion, the data released by the central bank showed.

The value of the gold reserves increased by $4.141 billion to $131.63 billion during the week, the RBI said. The Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) were up by $26 million to $18.866 billion, the apex bank said.

India's reserve position with the IMF was also went up by $158 million to $4.873 billion in the reporting week, according to the apex bank's data.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Realty index slumped 2.27% to 780.50. The index rose 0.23% in the past trading session.

Godrej Properties (down 3.97%), Sobha (down 3.56%), Phoenix Mills (down 3.48%), Brigade Enterprises (down 3.18%), Prestige Estates Projects (down 2.93%), Lodha Developers (down 2.4%), Oberoi Realty (down 1.52%), DLF (down 1.21%) and Anant Raj (down 1.19%) declined.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Neogen Chemicals jumped 5.38% after the company's board approved the allotment of 10 lakh equity shares with a face value of Rs 10 each aggregating to Rs 161 crore, to promorter entity Cadamba Solutions on a preferential basis.

Paras Defence and Space Technologies declined 3.78%. The company has secured an order Rs 80.28 crore from the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), under the Ministry of Defence, to develop a high-precision optical system for air defence applications.

Puravankara fell 3.07%. The company said that it has entered into a joint development agreement for a 4-acre land parcel on Hennur Road in Bengaluru, with an estimated gross development value (GDV) of over Rs 1,300 crore.

Meesho locked in the lower circuit of 10% after the company received an income tax demand notice amouting to Rs 1,500 crore from the Income Tax Department for the assessment year 2023-2024.

Shares of state-run oil marketing companies declined sharply as global crude prices surged, raising concerns about pressure on their margins. Hindustan Petroleum Corporation dropped 5.07%, Bharat Petroleum Corporation fell 6.25% and Indian Oil Corporation slipped 4.24%.

Shares of paint manufacturers came under pressure as crude oil prices surged sharply, triggering concerns about higher raw material costs for the sector. Asian Paints declined 2.52%, Kansai Nerolac Paints fell 2.27%, Indigo Paints slipped 3.97%, Berger Paints India lost 2.09%, Sirca Paints India eased 4.60%, Shalimar Paints declined 4.18% and Akzo Nobel India fell 1.99%.

Kwality Walls (India) declined 2.66% after the company's standalone net loss widened to Rs 178.38 crore in Q3 FY26 compared with net loss of Rs 100.16 crore in Q2 FY26. Revenue from operations fell 30.23% YoY to Rs 222.34 crore in Q3 FY26.

Lupin slipped 1.66% after the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) concluded an inspection of its manufacturing facility in Ankleshwar, India, issuing a Form 483 with two observations.

Sundaram Brake Linings dropped 4.14%. The company said that its board has approved the appointment of Hari S as chief financial officer (CFO) of the company with effect from 9 March 2026.

PG Electroplast tumbled 14.21% after the company announced that the allocation of LPG quantities by its supplier has been constrained with effect from 9 March 2026, due to ongoing war in the Middle East region.

GAIL (India) fell 3.98%. The company said that it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with RailTel Corporation of India to collaborate in key areas of digital infrastructure development in the country.

Kernex Microsystems (India) declined 3.88%. The company said that it has entered into a joint venture agreement with Bharat Heavy Engineering to develop advanced railway signalling and train control technologies.

KPI Green Energy slipped 3.05%. The company announced that its subsidiary, Sun Drops Energia, has executed a Battery Energy Storage Purchase Agreement (BESPA) with Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam (GUVNL) for standalone battery energy storage system (BESS) projects.

Raymond Realty shed 0.66%. The company said that it has signed definitive agreements to develop a residential project at a prime location in Kandivali, Mumbai.

SML Mahindra locked in lower circuit of 5%. The company has reported commercial vehicle production of 1,679 units in February 2026, up around 16% year-on-year from 1,442 units produced in February 2025.

Global Markets:

The US Dow Jones index futures were currently down by 557 points, signaling a weak opening for US stocks today.

European and Asian market tumbled across the board today as oil prices breached $100 per barrel.

In latest development on US-Iran war front, Mojtaba Khamenei, a son of Iran's late supreme leader, has been named his successor, Iranian state TV reportedly announced early on Monday, as the war that began a little over a week ago with his father's killing took a dramatic turn.

Monday saw South Korea's Kospi trigger its second circuit breaker in four sessions. The index plunged over 8%, triggering a 20-minute suspension in trading. Heavyweight Samsung Electronics plunged more than 10%, while chip counterpart SK Hynix shed 11.6%.

A circuit breaker was activated last week when the benchmark tumbled more than 12% Wednesday to record its worst single-day decline.

Japan's Nikkei 225 tumbled 5%, falling below the 53,000 mark for the first time since February 06, while the Topix was down 3%.

The sell-off comes after major Middle Eastern oil producers, including Kuwait, Iran and the United Arab Emirates, cut oil production following the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

U.S. President Donald Trump, however, posted on Truth Social that a gain in 'short term oil prices' was a 'very small price to pay' for destroying Iran's nuclear threat. 'Only fools would think differently!' Trump added.

On Wall Street, stocks fell on Friday, adding to their weekly declines, as oil prices spiked and traders reacted to an unexpected drop in new U.S. jobs data.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 453.19 points, or 0.95%, to end at 47,501.55. The S&P 500 fell 1.33% and settled at 6,740.02. Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.59% and closed at 22,387.68.

Friday's surge in crude prices was triggered by Trump's comments. POTUS stated in a social media post that there won't be a deal to end the U.S.-Iran war without an 'unconditional surrender' from the Middle Eastern country.

Qatar's energy minister, Saad al-Kaabi, told the Financial Times that Gulf energy producers may need to call force majeure in the coming days, shutting down production in a move that could send oil to $150 a barrel. The conflict in the Middle East could 'bring down the economies of the world,' he warned.

Equities were also bogged down by the latest jobs data. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that nonfarm payrolls fell by 92,000 in February, a sharp contrast from the downwardly revised January gain of 126,000 and far below the growth of 50,000 that was widely reported expected number for the month. The unemployment rate also rose to 4.4% from 4.3%.

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