Selling pressure persisted on Dalal Street on Monday, with the benchmark indices trading sharply lower amid mounting geopolitical tensions and a spike in crude oil prices, pulling mid- and small-cap stocks further into negative territory.
The continued weakness in equities comes against the backdrop of escalating conflict in West Asia, which has disrupted global trade routes and energy supply chains. Recent strikes on critical energy infrastructure have heightened concerns over inflation and economic stability, with investors increasingly perceiving the situation as a wider global financial risk.
BSE plunged over 1,400 points, while the Nifty 50 dropped over 400 points from the previous close, reflecting broad-based weakness across sectors. The Sensex now stands just 700 points away from its 52-week low, while the is only about 600 points shy of a similar mark, underscoring the fragile market sentiment.
At 1.59 pm, Sensex traded 1334 points or 1.81 per cent lower at 72,249.22, and Nifty 50 dragged 391.90 points or 1.72 per cent to 22,427.70.
The pressure was more pronounced in the broader market, where both midcap and smallcap indices declined around 2 per cent. Market breadth remained decisively negative, with 2,655 stocks declining against just 552 advancing on the NSE, while 79 remained unchanged.
Sectorally, the downturn was widespread, with all indices trading in negative territory except metal and oil & gas. Banking and financial stocks bore the brunt of the sell-off, falling over 3 per cent, while realty, consumer durables, chemicals and auto stocks declined between 1.5 and 2 per cent.
Coal India, Hindalco & ONGC lead Nifty 50 gainers
Among Nifty 50 constituents, gainers were limited to names such as Coal India, Hindalco and ONGC, while heavyweights including Bajaj Finance, Axis Bank, Bajaj Finserv, State Bank of India and Shriram Finance featured among the top laggards.
A significant number of stocks hit fresh lows, with as many as 1,022 counters—including HAL, Trent, Colgate, Adani Enterprises, Kotak Mahindra Bank and ICICI Bank—touching 52-week lows. In contrast, only 17 stocks scaled fresh highs. Market stress was further evident as 205 stocks hit lower circuits compared to just 30 at upper circuits.
Midcap & smallcap movers
In the midcap segment, SAIL, National Aluminium and Oil India bucked the trend, rising 2 to 5 per cent, supported by strength in commodity-linked counters. On the flip side, stocks such as Groww, LG Electronics, M&M Financial Services and AU Small Finance Bank declined sharply by 4.5 to 6 per cent.
Among smallcaps, Urban Company, MRPL and Natco Pharma posted gains of 2 to 5 per cent, while Hindustan Copper, Brigade, City Union Bank and Anant Raj fell 5 to 6 per cent.
On the BSE, select stocks such as Ganesha Ecosphere, KNR, IRB Infrastructure, Renuka Sugars and SAIL advanced 5 to 10 per cent, even as selling pressure dragged down counters like Man Infra, Delta Corp and Websol, which fell 7 to 9 per cent.