Banking stocks opened sharply lower on Monday morning, with the Nifty Bank index falling 2,390 points, or 4.14 per cent, to 55,393 in early trade, as a surge in global crude oil prices and sustained foreign institutional selling compounded existing market weakness.
All 14 banking stocks in the index were in the red by 9.45 am. State Bank of India led losses among blue chips, shedding 6.09 per cent to ₹1,073.40, followed by Union Bank of India down 6.26 per cent and Punjab National Bank off 5.51 per cent. Among private sector lenders, HDFC Bank fell 3.38 per cent to ₹828.10, ICICI Bank dropped 3.69 per cent to ₹1,264.90, and Axis Bank slid 4 per cent to ₹1,263.20. The Nifty PSU Bank index bore the sharpest blow, crashing 5.48 per cent to 8,680.85, while the Nifty Financial Services index fell 3.98 per cent to 25,592.55. The Nifty Private Bank index declined 3.61 per cent.
The sell-off follows Brent crude spiking to $118 per barrel after continued closure of the Strait of Hormuz and attacks on oil and gas infrastructure. SBI Securities flagged a 5 per cent–8 per cent bloodbath across Asian indices, with South Korea’s Kospi hitting a lower circuit for the second time in four sessions. Dow Futures pointed to an 1,100-point cut, compounding negative sentiment after US non-farm payrolls unexpectedly fell by 92,000 in February against an expected gain of 50,000–58,000, pushing unemployment to 4.4 per cent. GIFT Nifty indicated an 800-point gap-down at the open.
On Friday, foreign institutional investors net sold equities worth ₹6,030 crore, according to provisional exchange data, while domestic institutional investors partially cushioned the fall with net purchases of ₹6,972 crore.
Analysts flagged the 200-day simple moving average at 57,500 as a key support for Bank Nifty, with Kotak Securities’ Shrikant Chouhan warning that a breach could accelerate the slide toward 56,800–56,500. Enrich Money’s Ponmudi R noted the RSI hovering near 32, approaching oversold territory but without clear reversal signals, while the MACD remained in negative territory.
Geojit’s Dr VK Vijayakumar cautioned that rising crude would stoke inflation regardless of whether prices are passed on to consumers, and that FIIs — who briefly turned buyers in February — had resumed aggressive selling. He suggested banking and financial stocks, however, may be relatively insulated from the broader oil shock compared to sectors directly exposed to energy costs.
Published on March 9, 2026