The domestic equity benchmarks traded with significant losses in the morning trade, pressured by a sharp rise in crude oil prices amid escalating Middle East tensions.
The Nifty traded below the 25,550 mark. Oil & Gas shares extended losses for the second consecutive trading session.
At 10:30 ST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, slumped 1,007.33 points or 1.24% to 80,279.86. The Nifty 50 index tanked 314.15 points or 1.25% to 24,864.50.
The broader market, the BSE 150 MidCap Index declined 1.02% and the BSE 250 SmallCap Index fell 1.47%.
The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 735 shares rose and 3,193 shares fell. A total of 214 shares were unchanged.
The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, zoomed 17.71% to 16.13.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, jumped 6.44% to USD 77.56 per barrel.
Middle East Tension:
Middle East tensions escalated sharply following unconfirmed reports that Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei may have been killed in joint U.S.–Israeli strikes on Tehran, although Iranian authorities have not issued any official confirmation. Media outlets also cited remarks attributed to Donald Trump claiming that several Iranian leaders were killed in ongoing operations, but these assertions remain independently unverified. Social media speculation pointed to Ayatollah Arafi as a possible interim successor, without credible confirmation. Meanwhile, reports indicated that Iran launched missiles toward Israel and other regional locations, heightening concerns of a broader regional conflict.
New Listing:
Shares of Shree Ram Twistex were currently trading at Rs 69 at 10:06 IST on the BSE, representing a discount of 33.65% as compared with the issue price of Rs 104.
The stock debuted at Rs 70, marking a discount of 32.69% to the issue price.
So far, the stock has hit a high of 72.90 and a low of 67. On the BSE, over 0.85 lakh shares of the company were traded in the counter so far.
Shares of Clean Max Enviro Energy Solutions were currently trading at Rs 877.35 at 10:15 IST on the BSE, representing a discount of 16.68% as compared with the issue price of Rs 1,053.
The stock debuted at Rs 952.20, marking a discount of 9.57% to the issue price.
So far, the stock has hit a high of 958.40 and a low of 857.05. On the BSE, over 1.49 lakh shares of the company were traded in the counter so far.
Buzzing Index:
The Nifty Oil & Gas index fell 1.90% to 12,032.10. The index declined 2.13% in three consecutive trading session.
Indian Oil Corporation (down 4.05%), Adani Total Gas (down 3.62%), Bharat Petroleum Corporation (down 3.31%), Petronet LNG (down 3.22%), Gujarat Gas (down 2.1%), Reliance Industries (down 2.03%), GAIL (India) (down 2%), Gujarat State Petronet (down 1.97%), Indraprastha Gas (down 1.89%) and Aegis Logistics (down 1.76%) fell.
Stocks in Spotlight:
Ashok Leyland rose 0.95%. The company reported a 24% jump in total sales (domestic & exports) to 22,157 units in February 2026, compared with 17,903 units sold in February 2025.
Bajaj Auto fell 2.11%. The company reported 27% increase in total auto sales for February 2026, selling 4.48 lakh units as against 3.52 lakh units sold in February 2025.
Hero MotoCorp fell 1.31%. The company has recorded a 44% year-on-year (YoY) rise in total two-wheeler dispatches in February 2026, selling 558,216 units during the month as compared with 388,068 units in February 2025.