Markets extended their morning losses sharply through afternoon trade on Monday, with the down 1,944.69 points or 2.61 per cent at 72,588.27 and the NSE falling 637.55 points or 2.76 per cent to 22,476.95 as of 1.05 pm, as the West Asia conflict continued to drive a broad-based selloff across sectors.
The decline widened significantly from the morning session, when the Sensex had opened at 73,732.58 against Friday’s close of 74,532.96, and the Nifty had opened at 22,824.35 against its previous close of 23,114.50.
Breadth on the BSE painted a deeply negative picture. Of 3,775 stocks traded, only 640 advanced while 2,949 declined and 186 remained unchanged. A total of 540 stocks hit 52-week lows against just 36 at 52-week highs, while 148 stocks were locked in lower circuits compared to 102 in upper circuits.
Financials and consumer-facing sectors were among the hardest hit. was the worst performer on the Nifty50, falling 6.96 per cent to ₹873.30. IndiGo dropped 5.84 per cent to ₹3,907, reflecting the direct hit to aviation from surging crude prices. Jio Financial Services declined 5.35 per cent to ₹226.50, UltraTech Cement fell 5.27 per cent to ₹10,358, and Adani Enterprises lost 5.19 per cent to ₹1,827.10.
IT stocks remained the lone pocket of resilience in an otherwise uniformly weak market. HCL Technologies led Nifty gainers, rising 1.08 per cent to ₹1,348.10, followed by Tech Mahindra, which gained 0.64 per cent to ₹1,393.60. ONGC edged up 0.17 per cent to ₹265.85 and Power Grid added a marginal 0.10 per cent to ₹297.90, the only non-IT names in positive territory.
The broader selloff was driven by sustained foreign institutional investor outflows, a weakening rupee that crossed ₹94 per US dollar in offshore trade, and Brent crude holding above $107 per barrel amid fears of supply disruption through the Strait of Hormuz. The US-Iran standoff, now in its fourth week, escalated further over the weekend after President Trump issued a 48-hour ultimatum to Iran. Asian markets continued to trade deep in the red through the session, keeping pressure on Indian equities.
With over two hours of trade remaining before the 3:30 pm close, analysts warned that any further negative development on the geopolitical front — particularly around Trump’s deadline expiring Monday evening — could push the Nifty toward the 22,300 support zone cited by technicians. The advance-decline ratio and the surge in 52-week lows suggest selling pressure remains broad and is not confined to index heavyweights alone, leaving little room for a meaningful intraday recovery unless global cues stabilise.