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Informist, Friday, Mar. 20, 2026

 

By Arya S. Biju

 

MUMBAI – The benchmark equity indices came off their intraday highs to close 0.4-0.5% higher as crude oil prices rose towards the end of Friday's session. Israel continued to carry out air strikes in Tehran a day after it pledged to refrain from striking a key Iranian gas field. In retaliation, Iran attacked Kuwait's largest oil refinery, Mina Al-Ahmadi.

 

The headline indices had opened higher after witnessing their biggest single-day fall in nearly two years Thursday as crude oil prices retreated in early trade after US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Washington might soon lift sanctions on Iranian oil already at sea. Sentiment was also lifted by US President Donald Trump saying he would not "put troops anywhere" when asked about moving forces towards Iran.

 

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told reporters that his government is assisting US efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, according to reports. In a joint statement, European countries and Japan also expressed "readiness to contribute to appropriate efforts to ensure safe passage through the Strait".

Netanyahu further said Iran no longer has the capability to enrich uranium or produce ballistic missiles, adding that the war could end sooner than many expect. However, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps denied this. "There are no concerns regarding our rocket manufacturing or our military stockpile, and we produce missiles even under wartime conditions," The Wall Street Journal quoted a spokesman for the corps saying.

 

Friday, the Nifty 50 closed at 23114.50 points, up 112.35 points or 0.5%. The BSE Sensex settled at 74532.96 points, up 325.72 points or 0.4%. On a weekly basis, both indices remained largely flat after their worst weekly performance since June 2022 in the previous week.

 

Friday's rebound followed a sharp correction in the previous session, which made a "lot of stocks become very appealing in terms of valuation", G. Chokkalingam, founder and head of research at Equinomics Research, said. Further, "there is a strong belief that this war cannot go on for very long. It cannot last for more than a month or maximum 6 weeks or 8 weeks," he said. "This war is different. This war is a (threat to the) backbone of global economy due to the oil supply. So the pressure will build up to find some compromise very soon."

 

In the broader market, all indices except the Nifty Smallcap 50 ended the day's session in positive territory. Sectoral indices were mixed, with the Nifty Realty being the worst hit, down 0.9%, while the Nifty IT was the top gainer, up 2.2%.

 

Shares of most information technology companies rose Friday after technology giant Accenture raised the lower band of its sales growth guidance for its financial year 2025–26 (Sept-Aug) and the rupee fell to a new low against the dollar. The global technology firm now expects its full-year sales growth at 3–5% in local currency compared with the guidance of 2–5?ter the November quarter. However, commentary by Accenture's management suggests the demand environment for IT services is stable rather than improving sharply. Clients are still prioritising large, strategic transformation programmes while keeping overall spending patterns in 2026 broadly similar to those in 2025, Emkay Global said in a report citing the company. 

 

Shares of most metal companies moved higher with the Nifty Metal index closing 1.5% higher after falling for two sessions. Global brokerage Macquarie highlighted that steel price hikes of 12–13% since mid-December are beginning to reflect in spreads, which have improved from $260 per tonne in December to around $340 per tonne now, CNBC-TV18 reported. This recovery is expected to support profitability, with earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation per tonne seen rising by over INR 1,500 in the March quarter, with further upside anticipated in the June quarter if current price trends are sustained, the brokerage said. Healthy domestic demand, rising regional steel prices, and moderation in Chinese steel production are seen as factors supportive of the sector.

 

In a separate report, HSBC raised its target price on Tata Steel to INR 250 and increased its earnings estimates for the two-year period starting with the financial year 2026-27 (Apr-Mar) by 5–14%. The brokerage cited stronger import protection across key markets, following tariff measures in the UK, Europe's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, and India's safeguard duties.

 

Shares of oil marketing companies rallied Friday as crude oil prices cooled in early trade. The positive sentiment around the stocks was boosted after reports said these companies had raised the price of premium petrol by INR 2.0-INR 2.3 per litre, effective immediately. This comes amid concern that rising crude oil prices will hit the margins of oil marketing companies. However, there is no change in the price of regular petrol at present.

 

* Of the Nifty 50 stocks, 35 rose and 15 fell

* Of the Sensex stocks, 21 rose and 9 fell

* On the NSE, 1,884 stocks rose, 1,337 fell, and 104 were unchanged

* On the BSE, 2,414 stocks rose, 1,863 fell, and 155 were unchanged

* Nifty IT: up 0.3%; Nifty PSU Bank: up 2.1%; Nifty Realty: down 0.9%

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BSE                                              NSE

Sensex: 74532.96, up 325.75 points or 0.4%       Nifty 50: 23114.50, up 112.35 points or 0.5%

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S&P BSE Sensitive Index	Nifty 50
Lifetime High: 86159.02 (Dec. 1, 2025)	: Lifetime High: 26373.20 (Jan. 5, 2026)
Record Close High: 85836.12 (Sept. 26, 2024)	: Record Close High: 26328.55 (Jan. 2, 2026)
2026 1st day close: 85188.60 (Jan. 1)	: 2026 1st day close: 26146.55 (Jan. 1)
2026 Closing High: 85762.01 (Jan. 2)	: 2026 Closing High: 26328.55 (Jan. 2)
2026 Closing Low: 74207.24 (Mar. 19)	: 2026 Closing Low: 23002.15 (Mar. 19)
2026 High (intraday): 85883.50 (Jan. 5)	: 2026 High (intraday): 26373.20 (Jan. 5)
2026 Low (intraday): 73949.76 (Mar. 16)	: 2026 Low (intraday): 22930.35 (Mar. 19)
2025 1st day close: 78507.41 (Jan. 1)	: 2025 1st day close: 23742.90 (Jan. 1)
2025 Closing High: 85720.38 (Nov. 27)	: 2025 Closing High: 26215.55 (Nov. 27)
2025 Closing Low: 72989.93 (Mar. 4)	: 2025 Closing Low: 22082.65 (Mar. 4)
2025 High (intraday): 86159.02 (Dec. 1)	: 2025 High (intraday): 26325.80 (Dec.1)
2025 Low (intraday): 71425.01 (Apr. 7)	: 2025 Low (intraday): 21743.65 (Apr. 7)
2024 1st day close: 72271.94 (Jan. 1)	: 2024 1st day close: 21741.90 (Jan. 1)
2024 Closing High: 85836.12 (Sept. 26)	: 2024 Closing High: 26216.05 (Sept. 26)
2024 Closing Low: 70370.55 (Jan. 23)	: 2024 Closing Low: 21238.80 (Jan. 23)
2024 High (intraday): 85978.25 (Sep. 27)	: 2024 High (intraday): 26277.35 (Sept. 27)
2024 Low (intraday): 70001.60 (Jan. 24)	: 2024 Low (intraday): 21137.20 (Jan. 24)
2023 1st day close: 61167.79 (Jan. 2)	: 2023 1st day close: 18197.45 (Jan. 2)
2023 Closing High: 72410.38 (Dec. 28)	: 2023 Closing High: 21778.70 (Dec. 28)
2023 Closing Low: 59288.35 (Feb. 27)	: 2023 Closing Low: 17311.80 (Oct. 17)
2023 High (intraday): 72484.34 (Dec. 28)	: 2023 High (intraday): 21801.45 (Dec. 28)
2023 Low (intraday): 58699.20 (Jan. 30)	: 2023 Low (intraday): 17098.55 (Jan. 17)
2022 1st day close: 59183.22 (Jan. 3)	: 2022 1st day close: 17625.70 (Jan. 3)
2022 Closing High: 63284.19 (Dec. 1)	: 2022 Closing High: 18812.50 (Dec. 1)
2022 Closing Low: 51360.42 (Jun. 17)	: 2022 Closing Low: 15293.50 (Jun. 17)
2022 High (intraday): 63583.07 (Dec. 1)	: 2022 High (intraday): 18887.60 (Dec. 1)
2022 Low (intraday): 50921.22 (Jun. 17)	: 2022 Low (intraday): 15183.40 (Jun. 17)
2021 Closing High: 61305.95 (Oct. 14)	: 2021 Closing High: 18338.55 (Oct. 14)
2021 Closing Low: 46285.77 (Jan. 29)	: 2021 Closing Low: 13634.60 (Jan. 29)
2021 High (intraday): 61353.25 (Oct. 14)	: 2021 High (intraday): 18350.75 (Oct. 14)
2021 Low (intraday): 46160.46 (Jan. 29)	: 2021 Low (intraday): 13596.75 (Jan. 29)
2020 Closing High: 47751.33 (Dec. 31)	: 2020 Closing High: 13981.95 (Dec. 30)
2020 Closing Low: 25981.24 (Mar. 23)	: 2020 Closing Low: 7610.25 (Mar. 23)
2020 High (intraday): 47896.97 (Dec. 31)	: 2020 High (intraday): 14024.85 (Dec. 31)
2020 Low (intraday): 25638.90 (Mar. 24)	: 2020 Low (intraday): 7511.10 (Mar. 24)
2019 High (intraday): 41809.96 (Dec. 20)	: 2019 High (intraday): 12293.90 (Dec. 20)
2019 Low (intraday): 35287.16 (Feb. 19)	: 2019 Low (intraday): 10583.65 (Jan. 29)
2018 High (intraday): 38938.91(Aug. 28))	: 2018 High(intraday): 11760.20 (Aug. 28)
2018 Low (intraday): 32483.8 (Mar. 23)	: 2018 Low (intraday): 9951.9 (Mar. 23)
2017 High (intraday): 34005.37 (Dec. 26)	: 2017 High(intraday): 10515.10 (Dec. 26)

 

End

 

US$1 = INR 93.71

 

Edited by Rajeev Pai

 

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