Energy fell 451 points or 1.25 per cent to 35,620.50 on the in Monday morning trade, with 32 of 40 constituents in the red as surging crude oil prices hammered downstream energy companies. Only eight stocks advanced, with leading gains at 3.98 per cent and rising 2.70 per cent at around 11.25 am.
The steepest losses were concentrated in oil marketing companies and city gas distributors. dropped 5.27 per cent, shed 4.70 per cent, fell 4.06 per cent, declined 3.82 per cent, lost 3.77 per cent and slid 3.57 per cent. , and also fell over 2.5 per cent.
The sell-off is rooted in the escalating US-Israel-Iran conflict, which has disrupted the Strait of Hormuz — a 33-km waterway handling approximately 20-25 per cent of global seaborne oil trade. According to the Shriram Wealth report, ship traffic through the strait has unofficially halted, with ocean carriers holding back as the geopolitical standoff continues. Production cuts in Iraq, UAE, and Kuwait have compounded supply concerns. Brent crude has surged nearly 20 per cent in the week to above $100 per barrel, its highest level since June 2022, while India’s crude oil basket — a mix of sour and sweet grades — has risen 46 per cent month-on-month in March to $101.25 per barrel as of March 13.
Shriram Wealth notes that the RBI’s baseline assumption for H2FY26 was crude at $70 per barrel and spot INR at 88 to the dollar. A 10 per cent rise from that baseline could push inflation up by 30 basis points and shave 15 basis points off GDP growth. The rupee has already weakened toward 92.30, though the report expects RBI foreign exchange intervention to cap sharp further depreciation. India’s import dependency on crude oil stands at 88-89 per cent, making the economy particularly exposed to sustained supply disruptions.
Shriram Wealth COO Naval Kagalwala advised investors to maintain asset allocation discipline, favour large-cap, flexi-cap and multi-cap strategies, and approach mid and small-caps in a staggered manner given valuations remain marginally above 10-year averages. Within fixed income, he recommended shorter-duration corporate bonds or mutual funds of up to three years to ride higher yields with lower volatility.