MUMBAI, March 9, 2026, 14:24 IST
Indian equities tumbled Monday, with the Sensex and Nifty both shedding roughly 2.2% as of 1:05 p.m. IST, pressured by a sharp spike in crude oil prices that dragged the indexes close to correction levels. The two gauges had earlier slipped to their lowest readings in nearly a year.
This is hitting hard right now, with India bringing in over 80% of its crude from abroad. Brent hit $119.50 earlier; the rupee weakened to a record 92.33 against the dollar. The 10-year bond yield? Up near 6.76%. That cocktail is piling pressure on inflation, growth, and the import bill. “The tremors are not limited to stocks alone,” said Sudeep Shah of SBI Securities. Reuters
By morning trading, both indexes had slid over 10% from their highs, officially entering correction territory—a 10% or greater fall from the recent top. Traders are keeping an eye on whether these losses will hold by the close.
Foreign portfolio investors pulled out 218.32 billion rupees from Indian stocks last week, provisional NSE data showed. Domestic institutions, on the other hand, picked up 327.87 billion rupees. VK Vijayakumar, chief investment strategist at Geojit Investments, called Brent over $100 “bad news for Indian economy and markets,” adding that foreign investors are likely to stay on the sidelines until there’s some resolution to the conflict. Reuters
Selling hit across the board. Shares of state-run banks gave up 5.5%. Both HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank slipped 3.3%, while InterGlobe Aviation tumbled roughly 7.1%—investors bracing for pricier fuel and the threat of softer international demand.
Oil-linked names took a beating. Indian Oil dropped 4.6%, HPCL slid 4.9%, and BPCL gave up 5.4%. UBS downgraded Indian Oil and BPCL to “neutral” and HPCL to “sell”, citing their vulnerability: all three sell much more fuel than they actually refine. Reuters
It wasn’t just a local story. Stocks across Asia slid, with Japan’s Nikkei tumbling 7%. South Korea’s KOSPI sank 6%, pausing after circuit breakers kicked in. The broader Asian market index fell 4.6%, all underscoring how the oil shock is rattling import-heavy economies in the region.
The Reserve Bank of India jumped in to steady the rupee twice—once before markets opened and again after things got underway—as the currency kept slipping. Kanika Pasricha, Union Bank of India’s chief economic adviser, pointed to policy buffers doing some heavy lifting when it comes to tamping down rate and currency swings. Still, traders argued that as long as oil prices remain elevated, intervention will only cushion the blow, not reverse the trend.
India’s February retail inflation numbers drop Thursday, just a day after U.S. CPI hits. Investors are watching to see if ongoing oil price pressure will make central banks hold back. “With no clear definition of what winning looks like, it is hard to forecast whether this will be a multi-week or multi-month conflict,” said Helima Croft at RBC Capital Markets. Reuters
