MUMBAI: Deteriorating geopolitical situation in West Asia and weak market conditions around the world led to a sharp sell-off on Dalal Street early on Monday resulting in the index plunging nearly 2,500 points. However, late in the session stocks recovered some of the losses as traders speculated about an address by US President Donald Trump early Tuesday. At close sensex was down 1,353 points (1.7%) at 77,566 points, its lowest close since April 16, 2025.On NSE, Nifty too showed a similar trend to close at 24,028 points, down 422 points (1.7%). For both the indices, Monday’s was the fourth session of losses in the last five since the war started on Feb 28.
Over the weekend as the war entered its second week, with the US-Israel combine pounding Iran with bombs and missiles, there was heavy retaliation from Iran which mainly targeted US military assets across Gulf nations and in some of the surrounding areas. As a result, almost all the Asian markets started the day deep in the red which also impacted investor sentiment on Dalal Street as trading started in the new week with heavy selling. At close of the session investors were poorer by nearly Rs 8.6 lakh crore with BSE’s market capitalisation now at Rs 441.1 lakh crore.According to Ajit Mishra, SVP—Research, Religare Broking, the domestic market extended the recent downtrend amid negative global cues and rising geopolitical tensions. Since the war started on Feb 28, the sensex has lost a little over 3,700 points or 4.6%.“Investor sentiment remained fragile due to escalating geopolitical tensions in (West Asia), which triggered a sharp surge in crude oil prices, with Brent crude testing the $119.5 mark, raising concerns over inflation and economic growth. The spike in oil prices, weakness in the rupee, and continued foreign (fund) selling further intensified the sell-off in domestic equities,” Mishra said.In Monday’s market, foreign funds were net sellers at Rs 6,346 crore while domestic funds were net buyers at Rs 9,014 crore, BSE data showed.Of the 30 sensex stocks, 25 ended in the red. Of these ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and SBI contributed the most to the day’s loss in the index. On the other hand, five stocks closed with gains, led by Reliance Industries that partially cushioned the fall.
