Indian equity benchmarks witnessed heavy selling pressure on Monday, with both the Nifty and Sensex closing near their day's lows, reflecting broad-based weakness across sectors and continued foreign institutional outflows. Market made a gap-down start, tracking weak global cues and a rise in crude oil prices amid escalating geopolitical tensions after U.S. President Donald Trump’s ultimatum to Iran. During the afternoon session, indices attempted a slight recovery and pared some losses; however, selling pressure intensified in the final hours of trade, dragging the markets sharply lower.

Some of the important factors in trade:

Relentless foreign fund outflows: Sentiments were downbeat as foreign investors have pulled out Rs 88,180 crore (about $9.6 billion) from Indian equities so far in March, weighed down by escalating tensions in West Asia. 

India’s core sector growth slows to 2.3% in February: Traders were cautious as the government data showed that India’s production growth in eight core infrastructure sectors slowed down to 2.3 per cent in February 2026 from 3.4 per cent in the same month last year due to decline in production of crude oil, natural gas, and refinery products.  

India's forex reserves drop $7 billion to $709.76 billion: Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said that India's forex reserves dropped $7.052 billion to $709.76 billion during the week ended March 13.  In the previous reporting week, the overall reserves had dropped $11.68 billion to $716.81 billion.

On the global front: European equity markets traded in the red as investors watch the latest developments in the Middle East war and assess the potential impact of elevated energy prices on inflation and growth. Asian markets ended in the red, after Washington and Tehran threatened to escalate hostilities. 

The BSE Sensex ended at 72696.39, down by 1836.57 points or 2.46% after trading in a range of 72558.44 and 73732.58. There were 3 stocks advancing against 27 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The top losing sectoral indices on the BSE were Consumer Durables down by 4.91%, Metal down by 4.76%, Realty down by 4.75%, Basic Materials down by 4.35% and Telecom down by 4.07%, while there were no gaining sectoral indices on the BSE. (Provisional)

The few gainers on the Sensex were HCL Technologies up by 2.10%, Power Grid Corp up by 0.67% and Tech Mahindra up by 0.19%. On the flip side, Titan Company down by 6.99%, Trent down by 6.21%, Ultratech Cement down by 5.40%, Bharat Electronics down by 4.94% and Tata Steel down by 4.93% were the top losers. (Provisional)

Meanwhile, amid heightened geo-political tensions, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has highlighted growing stress across sectors dependent on global trade flows and said that Indian companies are facing disruptions ranging from shipment delays to shortages of key raw materials due to the ongoing West Asia conflict. The industry body noted that disruptions have also placed pressure on energy markets and trade, affecting both imports and exports, with ripple-effects being felt across manufacturing and other industries.

CII Director General Chandrajit Banerjee said firms are already seeing ‘downstream effects’ as the conflict disrupts key maritime routes and tightens global supply chains. Banerjee stated ‘The conflict in the West Asia has disrupted critical maritime routes and placed pressure on global supply chains, energy markets, and both imports and exports’. Despite emerging challenges, CII underscored that India is better placed than in the past to absorb external shocks. Banerjee said the country entered this phase ‘from a position of strength’, supported by structural reforms and the government's push for Atmanirbhar Bharat, which has strengthened domestic resilience.

According to CII, the Indian industry is adapting to the shocks by accelerating energy diversification, optimising supply chains and protecting jobs. It also highlighted the importance of ongoing investments in renewable energy, green hydrogen, biofuels, and energy efficiency, calling them strategic imperatives to reduce vulnerability to geopolitical energy shocks.

The CNX Nifty ended at 22512.65, down by 601.85 points or 2.60% after trading in a range of 22471.25 and 22851.70. There were 4 stocks advancing against 46 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The few gainers on Nifty were HCL Technologies up by 1.87%, Power Grid Corp up by 1.51%, Infosys up by 0.07% and ONGC up by 0.02%. On the flip side, Shriram Finance down by 6.49%, Titan Company down by 6.17%, Trent down by 5.70%, JIO Financial Services down by 5.52% and Ultratech Cement down by 5.23% were the top losers. (Provisional)

European markets were trading lower; UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 214.54 points or 2.21% to 9,703.79, Germany’s DAX lost 433.59 points or 1.98% to 21,946.60 and France’s CAC fell 141.62 points or 1.88% to 7,524.00.