The key equity benchmarks opened on a weak note in early trade, supported by negative global cues amid lingering uncertainty over the de escalation of Middle East tensions and renewed concerns about inflationary pressures. Investor sentiment remained cautious due to the lack of clarity on the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. The Nifty slipped below the 23,100 mark.
Barring IT stocks, all sectoral indices on the NSE traded in the red, with PSU banks, auto and private banking shares leading the losses.
At 09:25 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex tumbled 798.73 points or 1.06% to 74,474.72. The Nifty 50 index declined 231.95 points or 1% to 23,074.50.
The broader market outperformed the frontline indices. The BSE 150 MidCap Index fell 0.85% and the BSE 250 SmallCap Index shed 0.76%.
The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 1,059 shares rose and 2,217 shares fell. A total of 224 shares were unchanged.
The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term surged 4.62% to 25.78.
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth Rs 1,805.37 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net buyers to the tune of Rs 5,429.78 crore in the Indian equity market on 25 March 2026, provisional data showed.
Numbers to Track:
The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal paper advanced 1.28% to 6.962 compared with the previous session close of 6.874.
In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 94.2400 compared with its close of 93.6900 during the previous trading session.
MCX Gold futures for 2 April 2026 settlement jumped 1.19% to Rs 141,150.
The US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was down 0.06% to 99.84.
The United States 10-year bond yield rose 0.14% to 4.424.
In the commodities market, Brent crude for May 2026 settlement declined $1.24 or 1.15% to $106.77 a barrel.
Stocks in Spotlight:
Infosys rose 0.84%. The IT major announced definitive agreements to acquire Optimum Healthcare IT for $465 million and Stratus Global for $95 million. The acquisitions aim to strengthen Infosys' capabilities in healthcare and insurance digital transformation segments.
HFCL rose 1.29% after the company's board approved setting up a preform manufacturing facility via its wholly owned subsidiary, HFCL Technologies, with an investment of Rs 580 crore. The move is part of backward integration in its optical fiber cable business.
Sula Vineyards rallied 3.51% after the company signed a definitive agreement with Mo't Hennessy India to acquire Chandon's 19-acre estate in Nashik. The facility includes a wine production unit with an annual capacity of 4.5 lakh litres, scalable up to 13 lakh litres.
Global Markets:
Asia markets fell on Friday following a volatile session on Wall Street overnight, as the prospect of a peace deal in the Middle East remained murky amid contradictory messaging from the U.S. and Iran.
President Donald Trump extended his Friday deadline to attack Iran's energy infrastructure by 10 days to April 6 to allow more time for negotiations.
The extension was at the request of the government of the Islamic Republic, Trump said, and it was granted in exchange for 10 oil tankers that passed through the Strait of Hormuz as a 'present' from Tehran.
Washington has in recent days signaled it wants a negotiated end to the conflict and insisted that peace talks with the Islamic Republic had been ongoing. Tehran has denied that it is in direct talks with the U.S.
Iran reportedly rejected the 15-point proposal compiled by the U.S. and offered their own conditions, including a guarantee that the U.S. and Israel won't resume their attacks on the country and recognition of its authority over the Strait of Hormuz.
Oil prices fell amid easing tensions in the almost month-long conflict. The West Texas Intermediate for May delivery dropped 1.8% to $92.82 per barrel as of 8:30 p.m. ET, while international benchmark Brent crude oil futures fell 1.92% to $105.9 a barrel.
Meanwhile, China's industrial profits jumped 15.2% from a year earlier in the January-February period, the National Bureau of Statistics data showed Friday, extending a sharp rebound from a 5.3% jump in December.
Overnight on Wall Street, the S&P 500 fell on Thursday, weighed by higher oil prices, as traders followed the latest developments out of the Middle East.
The broad market index declined 1.74% to end at 6,477.16, while the Nasdaq Composite shed 2.38% and closed at 21,408.08. The tech-heavy index closed in correction territory, down more than 10% from its high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 469.38 points, or 1.01%, and settled at 45,960.11.
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