The domestic equity benchmarks traded with deep cuts in the afternoon trade, as sentiment remained unsettled amid escalating hostilities between the U.S., Israel, and Iran, fueling fears of a deeper energy supply shock, higher crude prices, renewed inflationary pressures, and a clouded global growth outlook.
The Nifty traded below the 24,600 level. Financial services shares dropped after advancing in the past trading session.
At 12:30 ST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, slumped 632.40 points or 0.79% to 79,412.48. The Nifty 50 index fell 177 points or 0.72% to 24,588.90.
In the broader market, the BSE 150 MidCap Index fell 0.10% and the BSE 250 SmallCap Index rose 0.04%.
The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 1,958 shares rose and 1,955 shares fell. A total of 231 shares were unchanged.
Derivatives:
The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, rallied 4.85% to 18.73. The Nifty 30 March 2026 futures were trading at 24,706, at a premium of 117.10 points as compared with the spot at 24,588.90.
The Nifty option chain for the 30 March 2026 expiry showed a maximum call OI of 66.5 lakh contracts at the 26,000 strike price. Maximum put OI of 56.3 lakh contracts was seen at 24,000 strike price.
Buzzing Index:
The Nifty Financial Services index dropped 1.33% to 26,874.10. The index rose 0.80% in the past trading session.
ICICI Bank (down 2.23%), Bajaj Finserv (down 2.06%), HDFC Life Insurance Company (down 1.85%), HDFC Bank (down 1.78%), Axis Bank (down 1.74%), State Bank of India (down 1.69%), Cholamandalam Investment & Finance Company (down 1.65%), ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company (down 1.09%), Muthoot Finance (down 1.03%) and Jio Financial Services (down 0.95%) declined.
On the other hand, BSE (up 0.42%), Shriram Finance (up 0.10%) and Power Finance Corporation (up 0.08%) edged higher.
Stocks in Spotlight:
Rajesh Power Services advanced 2.13% after its wholly-owned subsidiary, Rajesh Power Projects, signed a Battery Energy Storage Purchase Agreement (BESPA) with Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam (GUVNL).
NMDC rallied 2.17% after the company announced a price hike for Baila Lump iron ore (65.5%, 10-40MM) and Baila Fines (64%, -10 mm), with revised rates effective from 6 March 2026.