The trigger for Monday’s sharp fall is a surge in Brent crude, which has spiked above $115 a barrel. | Photo Credit: iStockphoto
Markets opened sharply lower on Monday, March 9, with the Sensex and Nifty dropping nearly 3 per cent in early trade as spiking crude oil prices and escalating West Asia tensions triggered a broad-based selloff.
The Sensexwhich closed at 78,918.90 on Friday, opened at 77,056.75 and fell further to 76,688.33, down 2,230.57 points or 2.83 per cent by 9.20 am. The Nifty 50 opened at 77,056.75 against its previous close of 78,918.90, sliding to 23,762.25, a loss of 688.20 points or 2.81 per cent. Gift Nifty had signaled the rout, hovering around 23,754 — down nearly 791 points — before the opening bell.
The selloff comes on the heels of a bruising week for domestic markets, with the Nifty having already lost 728 points or 2.89 per cent last week, closing at 24,450.45 after touching a weekly low of 24,305. The Bank Nifty ended last week at 57,783, shedding 1,272.60 points.
The trigger for Monday’s sharp fall is a surge in Brent crude, which has spiked above $115 a barrel. “Brent crude has spiked above $115 delivering a big oil shock to economies and markets. Big oil importers like India will be hit hard if the West Asian conflict lingers long and crude price remains high,” said Dr. VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Investments. “The market will price-in the economic consequences of this oil shock. Inflation will certainly move up whether the oil price hike is passed on to consumers or not.”
Asian markets mirrored the panic, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 and South Korea’s Kospi both falling over 6 per cent, deepening the risk-off mood globally.
On the Nifty 50, only two stocks were in the green in early trade. ONGC gained 0.72 per cent to ₹280.95, while Coal India rose 0.67 per cent to ₹443.40, both benefiting from elevated energy prices.
The losers were widespread across sectors. aviation major IndiGo was the biggest drag, falling 6.71 per cent to ₹4,108.80 — a direct casualty of surging jet fuel costs. Financial stocks were also under pressure, with Shriram Finance declining 5.86 per cent to ₹948.50 and Jio Financial Services dropping 4.99 per cent to ₹227.40. Steel and infrastructure stocks were not spared either, with Tata Steel down 4.95 per cent to ₹188.64 and L&T falling 4.93 per cent to ₹3,755.
Foreign Portfolio Investors continued their selling spree, offloading equities worth ₹6,030 crore on March 6. Domestic Institutional Investors partially absorbed the pressure, buying shares worth ₹6,972 crore on the same day.
“The unknown factor now is how long the conflict will last. This uncertainty will also weigh on FIIs who have again turned aggressive sellers in India after the short bout of buying in February,” said Dr. Vijayakumar. He added, however, that “the lesson from history is that the impact of geopolitical issues like conflicts on markets do not last long.”
Technically, the Nifty is trading below its 20-day, 50-day, and 100-day EMAs, with RSI near 33, approaching oversold territory. The Bank Nifty’s RSI stands at 32. “The short-term market texture is volatile; hence, level-based trading would be an ideal strategy for traders,” said Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Equity Research at Kotak Securities, identifying 24,300 as immediate Nifty support and 24,500 as resistance.
Analysts at Choice Equity Broking advised investors to “maintain a disciplined and selective approach, focusing on fundamentally strong stocks during market corrections,” recommending fresh long positions only after a sustained move above Nifty 25,000.
Dr. Vijayakumar noted that sectors such as banking, financials, automobiles, telecom, cement, defense and pharmaceuticals would be relatively insulated from the crisis. “Long-term investors with high risk appetite can nibble at stocks in these strong themes,” he said.
Published on March 9, 2026