Stock Market Crash: Sensex Plunges Over 770 Points, Nifty Falls Below 23,700

Stock Market Today: Sensex Crashes Over 770 Points, Nifty Slips Below 23,700 Amid Oil Price Surge

Domestic equity benchmarks remained under heavy selling pressure on Friday morning, with rising crude oil prices, escalating tensions in the Middle East and weak global cues triggering a broad-based market selloff.

At around 10 am, the BSE Sensex was trading at 75,620.71, down 770.68 points (1.01%), while the NSE Nifty50 fell 212.85 points (0.89%) to 23,656.75, slipping below the crucial 23,700 level.

Broader Markets Underperform

The selling was more pronounced in the broader market, with mid- and small-cap stocks extending losses.

• Nifty Midcap 100: Down 0.96%
• Nifty Smallcap 100: Down 1.15%
• India VIX: Jumped 7.06% to 14.43, signalling a sharp rise in market volatility.
• Realty, Auto and Metal Stocks Lead Losses

Almost all sectoral indices traded in the red.

Realty: -1.68%
Auto: -1.34%
Financial Services (Ex-Bank): -1.27%
Metal: -1.18%
Oil & Gas and Smallcap indices also witnessed significant declines.

FMCG was the only sector managing marginal gains, while IT stocks limited their losses compared with the broader market.

HCLTech Bucks the Trend; Bajaj Finance Slides

Among Sensex constituents, HCLTech emerged as the top gainer, rising more than 1%. TCS, Sun Pharma and Adani Ports also traded in positive territory.

The biggest losers included:

Bajaj Finance: -2.50%
Bharti Airtel: -2.27%
IndiGo: -2.27%
Eternal: -2.09%
UltraTech Cement: -1.58%
L&T: -1.57%
Tata Steel: -1.41%
Infosys: -1.40%
Maruti Suzuki: -1.17%
HDFC Bank: -1.03%

Oil Above $100 Keeps Investors on Edge

Investor sentiment remained fragile after Brent crude oil climbed above $100 per barrel, fuelled by attacks on Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea and escalating conflict in West Asia.

The spike in crude prices has raised fresh concerns over inflation, India’s import bill and the current account deficit. At the same time, rising US Treasury yields, a stronger dollar and continued foreign institutional investor (FII) selling have added to the pressure on Indian equities.

Asian Markets Also Trade Lower

The weakness was reflected across Asian markets, with major indices trading in negative territory.

Japan’s Nikkei, South Korea’s Kospi and the broader MSCI Asia-Pacific Index declined as investors weighed the impact of surging oil prices, fresh US tariff measures and expectations that major central banks may keep interest rates elevated for longer.

With global uncertainties mounting and crude prices remaining elevated, market participants are expected to remain cautious in the near term, with volatility likely to stay high.