Nifty 50 fell 488.05 points, or 2.06%, to 23,151.10
Sensex dropped 1,460.50 points, or 1.93%, to 74,563.92
The fear in the market was visible in the volatility index too. The India VIX jumped 6.32% intraday and finally settled 5.23% higher at 22.65, showing that traders are expecting more turbulence ahead.
Broader markets also saw strong selling pressure:
Nifty MidCap fell 2.62%
Nifty SmallCap declined 2.52%
The broader backdrop remained worrying. Gas supply fears intensified as the conflict continued, and markets reacted to the possibility of a prolonged supply shock in energy markets.
Impact On The Stock Market
Sector-wise, the market was clearly in risk-off mode.
The Nifty Metal index was the worst-performing sector, crashing nearly 5%. Rising energy costs, weaker global growth expectations, and a stronger dollar all combined to hit metal stocks hard.
Other badly hit sectors included:
Nifty PSU Bank
Nifty Media
These sectors underperformed as investors moved away from economically sensitive stocks.
Among individual Nifty losers, Mahindra & Mahindra, Eicher Motors, and Maruti Suzuki India were among the biggest drags, highlighting how badly the auto sector got hit.
The Nifty Auto index remained one of the weakest parts of the market, as curbs on gas supplies and fears of broader shortages hurt sentiment around auto demand and production costs.
The Nifty FMCG and Nifty Realty indices also underperformed, reflecting concerns around inflation, consumer demand, and margin pressure.
The Nifty Oil and Gas index emerged as the top-performing sectoral index in Thursday’s session. That makes sense in a market where energy security has suddenly become the biggest theme.
| Sector/Index | Performance |
| IT & BPM sector | -1.72% |
| Healthcare sector | -1.80% |
| Oil & Gas sector | -2.18% |
| Real estate sector | -1.35% |
| PSU Bank in India | -3.72% |
Top gainers today
| Company | Share Price (in ₹) | Change % |
| TATA Cons. Prod | 1,083.60 | 2.44 |
| HUL | 2,160.00 | 1.08 |
| Bharti Airtel | 1,803.40 | 0.12 |
Top losers today
| Company | Share Price (in ₹) | Change % |
| Larsen | 3,439.00 | -7.54 |
| Hindalco | 910.05 | -6.16 |
| Tata Steel | 183.51 | -5.15 |
| JSW Steel | 1,119.30 | -4.55 |
| UltraTechCement | 10,616.00 | -4.27 |
Market aftermath: Impact on stocks
L&T Slides As Middle East Exposure Comes Under The Spotlight
Larsen & Toubro was one of the biggest casualties of the day.
The stock plunged 7.5% to ₹3,445, emerging as the top Nifty loser. The fall has been severe this month, with the stock already down more than 20% in March so far. Its market capitalisation also slipped below the ₹5 lakh crore mark.
The reason is simple: the market is worried about L&T’s heavy exposure to the Middle East.
According to company disclosures:
- For the nine months ended 31 December 2025, international orders stood at ₹1,91,084 crore, contributing 55% of total order inflow
- In the December quarter, international orders stood at ₹66,848 crore, contributing 49% of total inflow
- International revenues were ₹38,775 crore, or 54% of total revenues
- The Middle East accounts for roughly 39–40% of the total order book as of 9MFY26, according to Motilal Oswal
- CLSA estimates the region contributes around 33–35% of L&T’s inflows, backlog and revenue
That is why the market is now worried that a prolonged war in the Gulf region could slow project execution, raise supply chain costs, hurt margins or even lead to project damage or cancellations.
Brokerages are still constructive on the company over the long term, but they have clearly become more cautious in the near term. Motilal Oswal cut its core business valuation multiple to 25x from 27x and lowered its two-year forward target price to ₹4,400 from ₹4,600, though it retained a buy rating.
The bigger message from the market is this: when geopolitical uncertainty rises, companies with major overseas execution risk get hit first.
FMCG Stocks Attract Defensive Buying
While most sectors were bleeding, investors moved towards safer corners of the market. That is where FMCG stocks stepped in.
The Nifty FMCG index was the only sectoral index trading in the green while most other sectors stayed under pressure.
Some of the notable movers were:
- Tata Consumer Products, up as much as 3%
- Hindustan Unilever, up as much as 3%
This kind of rotation is typical during uncertain times. When markets get shaky, investors often prefer companies that sell everyday products and usually see steadier demand.
Still, the sector is not completely immune. Analysts flagged an important risk: if crude stays in the $100–130 per barrel zone, it could start hurting margins for many FMCG companies.
The pressure is likely to be sharper for beauty and personal care firms, where crude-linked inputs make up 30–40% of the raw material basket. For food-focused FMCG businesses, that number is much lower, at around 10–15%, which gives them a bit more cushion.
Choice Institutional Equities estimates that such crude levels could lead to a 100–250 basis point hit to gross margins for most beauty and personal care names. If companies respond with high single-digit to low double-digit price hikes, that could hurt volumes in the near term.
So, yes, FMCG looked safe today — but even defensive stocks are not fully shielded when oil prices remain elevated.
Metal Stocks Crack As Dollar Strength And Growth Fears Build
The metal sector had one of its worst sessions in recent weeks.
The Nifty Metal index closed 4.8% lower at 11,292.5, and the fall was broad-based.
Among the biggest losers:
- Hindalco fell 6.5%
- NALCO dropped 5.5%
- Hindustan Zinc fell over 5%
- SAIL, Tata Steel, and Hindustan Copper declined between 3% and 5.5%
What changed? The market is now balancing two opposing forces.
On one hand, supply disruptions in the Middle East had earlier helped aluminium prices. On the other hand, investors are now more worried that soaring energy prices could weaken global growth and hit demand for industrial metals.
That fear showed up clearly in global prices:
- On the London Metal Exchange, aluminium slipped 1% to $3,481.50 a tonne
- Copper, zinc and nickel also moved lower
At the same time, the US dollar climbed to a more than three-month high, which usually puts additional pressure on commodity-linked sectors and emerging markets.
Analysts also pointed out that rising oil and coking coal costs are beginning to squeeze margins for large steel producers like Tata Steel and JSW Steel. Add continued selling by foreign institutional investors, and metal stocks ended up facing pressure from multiple directions at once.
Crude Oil
Crude oil remained the biggest macro story behind the market mood.
On Friday morning:
- May Brent crude futures were at $100.64 per barrel, up 0.16%
- April WTI crude futures were at $95.56 per barrel, down 0.17%
On the MCX:
- March crude futures traded at ₹8,862, up 0.66%
- April futures traded at ₹8,802, up 0.77%
The US tried to cool the market a little by issuing a 30-day licence that allows countries to buy Russian oil currently stranded at sea. The authorisation runs through 11 April and applies only to oil that was already loaded by 12 March.
The idea is to bring some extra supply into the market quickly without significantly benefiting Russia.
But there is still a much bigger issue hanging over the market: Iran’s decision to keep the Strait of Hormuz shut. If that shipping lane remains blocked or highly restricted, supply risk will stay high no matter what temporary waivers are introduced.
That is exactly why crude is still holding above $100. The market knows that short-term patches can help sentiment for a day or two, but they do not fully solve a prolonged disruption in one of the world’s most important oil routes.
Natural gas prices also stayed firm, with March natural gas futures on MCX at ₹299.80, up 0.74%.
Conclusion
It was a brutal session for Indian equities.
The Sensex fell 1,460.50 points to 74,563.92, while the Nifty 50 dropped 488.05 points to 23,151.10. Broader markets were hit just as hard, volatility rose sharply, and ₹9.5 trillion in market value was wiped out in a single day.
The biggest damage was seen in metals, PSU banks and media, while L&T came under intense pressure because of its Middle East exposure. At the same time, investors rushed into defensive FMCG names, showing that caution is clearly the dominant mood right now.
The key takeaway is simple: as long as the US-Iran conflict stays unresolved and the energy supply crunch continues, Indian markets are likely to remain highly sensitive to every move in oil, gas and global shipping routes.
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