Equities Hit 10-Month Low as $120 Oil Shock Pushes Nifty Into Correction

An end-of-day recap of all that transpired in the Indian markets, highlighting the major price movements and the factors driving them

India Stocks fall

By Dehuti Jani

March 9, 2026 at 11:42 AM IST

Indian equity benchmarks experienced their sharpest drop in a month on Monday, with Nifty 50 entering technical correction as oil prices surged near $120 per barrel amid escalating conflict in West Asia. The Nifty50 finished down 1.73% at a 10-month low, while the BSE Sensex fell 1.71% to an 11-month low. Both indices have declined over 10% from January highs and about 4.6% since the start of the Iran war. India VIX jumped to a 21-month high, highlighting investor anxiety as rising oil prices threaten inflation, current account deficit, and the rupee’s stability.

Broader markets underperformed the benchmarks, with the Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 declining 1.97% and 2.22% respectively, as broad-based selling gripped equities across the board. Nifty PSU Bank was the worst-performing sectoral index, plunging 3.97%, with banking, auto, metal, media and realty all declining sharply in a clear risk-off move. Nifty IT was the sole index to end in positive territory, edging up a marginal 0.08% to 30,162.05, while FMCG and pharma fell comparatively less, reflecting cautious rotation into defensives amid the market-wide pressure.

Top Movers of the Day

Indian Oil Corp slipped nearly 3% as oil marketing companies continued to face pressure from elevated crude prices.

BPCL and HPCL also declined around 5-6% as rising crude costs raised concerns over refining margins.

InterGlobe Aviation (IndiGo) fell over 3% amid persistent pressure on aviation stocks due to higher fuel costs.

DLF dropped roughly 2% as real estate stocks saw profit booking during the session.

Tata Steel declined nearly 3% as metal stocks remained volatile in the broader market.

Emcure Pharmaceuticals rose 9% to ₹1,537 on the BSE, nearing its 52-week high of ₹1,585.50 from 19 January 2026, with strong trading volume despite a weak market.

Apollo Pipes jumped 19% to ₹416.90 on the NSE, drawing strong buying despite a weak market.

Cement stocks dropped as much as 7% amid concerns over operating margins due to rising crude oil prices. Ramco Cements fell 7%, JK Cement 6%, UltraTech Cement and Birla Corporation 5% each, India Cements 5%, and Shree Cement 4%.

GAIL India signed an MoU with Railtel Corporation to explore digital infrastructure and telecom opportunities; immediate share price impact was unclear.

Meesho dropped to a record low of ₹143.20, hitting the 10% lower circuit on the BSE as heavy trading worsened investor sentiment.

Futures & Options
Nifty March 2026 futures closed at 24,090.10, just 62.05 points above spot Nifty, which dropped 422.40 points (1.73%) to 24,028.05. The reduced premium highlights weaker market sentiment and lower interest in leveraged longs amid a technical correction. India VIX jumped 17.51% to a 21-month high of 23.36 as West Asia tensions and higher oil prices spurred volatility. HDFC Bank, Reliance Industries, and SBI led F&O trading on the NSE. These contracts expire on 30 March 2026.

Bonds
Indian government bond yields jumped on Monday as rising West Asia tensions caused Brent crude prices to surge 25% to $115.92 per barrel. The benchmark 6.48% 2035 bond yield hit 6.7503% intraday and closed at 6.7184%, its largest single-day increase since February. This spike reflected concerns that higher oil prices could fuel inflation, increase the current account deficit, and complicate Reserve Bank of India policy.

Forex
The Indian rupee fell to a fresh all-time low on Monday, with the currency hitting 92.3475 per dollar before closing down 0.6% at 92.3275, as fears of a prolonged West Asia war rattled regional currencies and surging oil prices heightened concerns over global growth and inflation. Crude oil climbing above $100 per barrel for the first time since mid-2022 heaped significant pressure on oil-importing Asian economies, with India particularly exposed given its heavy dependence on energy imports. Likely dollar-selling intervention by the Reserve Bank of India helped avert steeper losses, though the rupee remained under severe pressure as the geopolitical situation showed no signs of near-term resolution.

Crypto
Crypto markets demonstrated notable resilience on Monday, holding firm even as oil prices surged past $110 and Asian equity markets tumbled sharply, defying the typical risk-off pattern of investors liquidating positions to raise cash. Bitcoin edged up 0.79% to $67,458.64, having traded as high as $66,124.97 in early trading before consolidating in the $67,000–$68,000 range, with its market capitalisation standing at over $1.34 trillion on trading volume of $37.3 billion. The broader crypto market also moved slightly higher to $2.31 trillion, with Ethereum, Solana, Dogecoin and Cardano all posting gains, reinforcing the growing narrative of Bitcoin acting as a store of value rather than a purely speculative risk asset during periods of geopolitical stress.

US Stock Futures
US stock futures plunged at the start of the week as surging oil prices amid the US-Iran conflict stoked fears that sharply higher energy costs could dramatically slow the US economy. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures fell 489 points or 1% by early morning, having pared earlier losses that saw them down over 1,000 points, while S&P 500 futures lost 0.9% and Nasdaq 100 futures dropped 1%. The Dow is coming off its biggest weekly slide in nearly a year, underscoring the growing toll that the West Asia conflict is taking on investor confidence in the outlook for US economic growth.

US Treasury Notes
Yields on US Treasury climbed to a one-month high Monday as rising oil prices fuelled inflation concerns and prompted bond selling. The 10-year note yield jumped to 4.19% and the 2-year yield to 3.63%, reflecting a shift in market sentiment due to geopolitical tensions and higher energy prices. The 10-year benchmark note yield was trading around 4.177% during European trading hours.

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