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Informist, Friday, Mar. 27, 2026

 

By Arya S. Biju

 

MUMBAI – After staging a rebound in the past two sessions, bears once again took control of the market Friday as higher crude oil prices triggered another round of risk-off sentiment. The benchmark indices closed sharply lower as crude oil prices rose amid mixed signals from the US and Iran on negotiations between the two. The rupee's persistent and sharp fall against the dollar also weighed on the market sentiment, analysts said.

 

US President Donald Trump said he has extended the deadline for strikes on Iran's energy infrastructure by another 10 days till Apr. 6, on Iran's request. He also said, "talks are ongoing" with Tehran. Though Brent Crude Oil prices fell early in the day reacting to Trump's statement on extending the deadline for strikes on Iran's energy infrastructure, they resumed their rise and rose to around $110 per barrel at 1530 IST.

 

However, Iran has refuted Trump's claim, saying that it has not requested any such pause, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing mediators involved in the peace efforts. The mediators also said Tehran is yet to give a final response to the US' 15-point plan to end the war. Iranian officials have told mediators they are interested in negotiations but the country's leadership is yet to weigh in and give a final decision, the report said.

 

The Nifty 50 settled at 22819.60, down 486.85 points or 2.1%. The BSE Sensex closed at 73583.22, down 1690.23 points or 2.3%. Over the week, both the benchmark indices have lost 1.3?ch, falling on a weekly basis for the fifth straight week. The indices have declined around 9?ch since the war between the US-Israel combine and Iran began. The Nifty 50 is down over 13% from its all-time high and the Sensex is down 15%.

 

"Currently I feel that the markets are really on a sell-on-rise mode. And it really depends on how the crude price is shaped from here. If the crude manages to stay above $90 (per barrel) for any day, the markets are going to be on a sell-on-rise mode," Harshal Dasani, business head at INVasset PMS, said. "The crude has to fall below $90 (per barrel) for the markets to settle down and stable up," Dasani said.

 

Analysts also flagged rising concerns about India's economic growth as well as corporate earnings amid the sustained higher energy costs and higher transport costs due to the near closure of the Strait of Hormuz since the beginning of the West Asia conflict on Feb. 28. "If this (US-Iran war) goes on for some time, be prepared for shutdown in business as supply issues become a problem," Seshadri Sen, head of research at Emkay Global Financial Services, said in a webinar Friday. He expects domestic companies to see a sharp rise in raw material costs in the Apr-Jun quarter due to the ongoing war in West Asia. While a "large part of earnings in the Nifty 50 are protected, the broader market will be hit hard," he said, adding that information technology, metals, and pharmaceutical stocks will be somewhat protected.

 

Global brokerage Goldman Sachs Thursday downgraded Indian equities to 'market weight' from 'overweight' on a less attractive risk-reward ratio compared to North Asian markets and amid a worsening macro environment and slowing earnings growth. The brokerage also trimmed its earnings growth forecast for 2026 to 8% from 16?rlier, and that for 2027 to 13% from 14%.

 

Adding to the negative sentiment, the rupee fell below the psychologically crucial 94-per-dollar mark and settled at a record closing low of INR 94.8125 a dollar due to uncertainty over an end to the West Asia war. "The currency is also facing headwinds from persistent FPI (foreign portfolio investor) selling in both debt and equity, with outflows crossing $13 billion this month and potentially matching the pace seen in March 2020," Anindya Banerjee, head of commodity and currency research at Kotak Securities, said in a note.  

 

After cooling off in the past two sessions, the market's fear gauge, India VIX, rose Friday. The index settled at 26.8025 points, around 9% higher from the previous close, indicating increased nervousness in the market. On a weekly basis, the index rose over 17%.

 

All the broader market and sectoral indices also felt the heat of the risk-off sentiment. The Nifty mid-cap indices fell over 2?ch, and small-cap indices fell 1.7-1.9%. Among the sectoral indices, Nifty PSU Bank, Nifty Realty, Nifty Auto, Nifty Financial Services, and Nifty Bank were the worst hit, down 2.7-3.9%.

 

Shares of oil marketing companies such as Bharat Petroleum Corp., Hindustan Petroleum Corp., and Indian Oil Corp. closed 1-2% lower after rising early in the trade. In a notification issued Friday, the government announced a cut in excise duty on petrol to INR 3 per litre from INR 13 per litre and that on diesel to zero from INR 10 per litre. However, the excise duty cuts will not result in lowering of retail price of the fuels, the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas said in a press release.

 

The reduction in excise duty is not being passed on as a price cut at retail fuel pumps. Instead, it directly reduces the under-recoveries being absorbed by public sector oil marketing companies, the ministry said. This move is expected to support the margins of oil marketing companies, which were reeling under rising worries over higher crude oil prices.

 

Shares of Nifty 50 heavyweight Reliance Industries fell nearly 5?ter government's decision to impose an export tax on diesel and aviation turbine fuel. "...any refinery exporting to foreign nations will have to pay export tax," Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said in a post on 'X'. Sentiment for the stock was also affected after the company denied media reports that it had purchased crude oil from Iran. Earlier this week, Reuters reported that RIL had bought 5 million barrels of crude oil from Iran after the US granted a temporary waiver.

 

Shares of graphite electrode makers HEG and Graphite India rose 13.8% and 7.5%, respectively, after reports of US-based graphite electrode maker Graftech International announcing price hikes by a minimum of $600 to $1,200 per tonne, depending on the region, effective immediately on uncommitted volumes. This is sentimentally positive for domestic players HEG and Graphite India, ICICI Direct Research said in a report. "We see this as a positive development for the domestic graphite electrode players, which were also under profitability pressure on account of subdued pricing environment globally," the brokerage said.

 

Among individual stocks, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles fell around 5% and was among the worst hit in the Nifty 50. The stock fell following reports that production at its UK-based subsidiary Jaguar Land Rover may have been disrupted due to a temporary shutdown at its Solihull plant. JLR has stopped production of some of ‌its car at Solihull plant for less than two weeks, due to an issue regarding parts, which involves a supplier, according to a Reuters report.

 

On the other hand, Oracle Financial Services Software rose over 5?ter the company announced a $100-million deal with a US-based global bank. The company will license certain software products in perpetuity for its client. Shares of Brigade Enterprises rose 3?ter the company announced the launch of two residential projects in Bengaluru with a total revenue potential of INR 18 billion. The new launches will help Brigade Enterprises achieve its pre-sales target for 2025-26 (Apr-Mar), ICICI Direct Research said in a report.

 

* Of the Nifty 50 stocks, 6 rose and 44 fell

* Of the Sensex stocks, 4 rose and 26 fell

* On the NSE, 505 stocks rose, 2,814 fell, and 71 were unchanged

* On the BSE, 822 stocks rose, 3,544 fell, and 135 were unchanged

* Nifty PSU Bank: down 3.9%; Nifty Realty: down 3.2%; Nifty IT: down 0.4%

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BSE                                                NSE

Sensex: 73583.22, down 1690.23 points or 2.3%      Nifty 50: 22819.60, down 486.85 points or 2.1%

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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: 72696.39 (Mar. 23)	: 2026 Closing Low: 22512.65 (Mar. 23)
2026 High (intraday): 85883.50 (Jan. 5)	: 2026 High (intraday): 26373.20 (Jan. 5)
2026 Low (intraday): 72558.44 (Mar. 23)	: 2026 Low (intraday): 22471.25 (Mar. 23)
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 94.8125

IST, or Indian Standard Time, is five-and-a-half hours ahead of GMT

 

Edited by Ashish Shirke

 

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