Sensex Crashes 2,743 Points As Iran Tensions Wipe Out Rs 7.8 Lakh Crore

Indian equity markets plunged sharply on Monday as escalating tensions between Iran, the US and Israel triggered a broad-based selloff on Dalal Street, eroding nearly Rs 7.8 lakh crore in investor wealth.

The 30-share Sensex crashed as much as 2,743 points at the opening tick to hit an intraday low of 78,543.73. The Nifty50 slumped 519 points to 24,659.25.

By mid-session, the Sensex recovered some losses but was still down 1,087.65 points, or 1.34 per cent, at 80,199.54. The Nifty was lower by 323.60 points, or 1.29 per cent, at 24,855.05.

The sharp gap-down wiped out about Rs 7.8 lakh crore in investor wealth. The BSE's market capitalisation fell to Rs 455.70 lakh crore from Rs 463.50 lakh crore in the previous session.

Heavyweight stocks led the decline. Larsen & Toubro, Reliance Industries, ICICI Bank, Mahindra & Mahindra, Bharti Airtel, HDFC Bank, Eternal and State Bank of India were among the top drags on the benchmarks.

Selling pressure extended beyond frontline stocks. As many as 677 stocks on the BSE hit 52-week lows. These included BSE 500 names such as AAVAS Financiers, Abbott India, Aditya Birla Lifestyle Brands, ACC, Afcons Infrastructure, Alkyl Amines Chemicals and Alok Industries. In contrast, only 48 stocks scaled fresh one-year highs.

Market breadth remained weak. Of 3,765 actively traded stocks, 3,014 declined, 596 advanced and 155 remained unchanged.

Foreign investors led the selling. They offloaded a net Rs 7,536.36 crore of equities in the previous session. Domestic institutional investors bought equities worth a net Rs 12,292.81 crore.

Weak global cues added to the pressure. South Korea's Kospi slipped 1 per cent. Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 1.69 per cent. Japan's Nikkei dropped 1.53 per cent. China's Shanghai Composite was largely flat.

Analysts at Emkay Global Financial Services said the latest Middle East flare-up could trigger a correction in the Nifty. They expect the index to retest the 24,500 to 25,000 zone if tensions persist for more than one to two weeks, citing India's dependence on energy imports and elevated valuations.

In its base case, the brokerage expects the conflict to end within a week. It said markets could rebound swiftly, similar to previous geopolitical episodes. It noted that while the Nifty dropped nearly 3 per cent in the first week of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and remained weak for three months, it delivered three month gains of 10.5 per cent and 2.2 per cent after the October 2023 West Asia flare-up and the June 2025 Iran-linked escalation, respectively.

Emkay said oil marketing companies, airlines and infrastructure players with significant Middle East exposure may remain vulnerable if the conflict drags on. It cited potential margin pressure for OMCs, execution risks for L&T and KEC International, and operational headwinds for IndiGo. It also flagged broader downside risks for capital goods, autos and consumer durables if metal prices remain elevated.

On the other hand, it highlighted upstream energy producers such as ONGC and Oil India, select metal companies like Hindalco, IT majors including Infosys and HCL Tech, pharmaceuticals and relatively inexpensive private sector banks as defensive segments. It said these areas could benefit from higher realisations, currency depreciation or stable earnings profiles.

The brokerage cautioned that gains could be capped by windfall taxes and ongoing concerns around artificial intelligence in the technology sector. It added that crude oil prices, especially any spike in Brent towards 90 to 100 dollars per barrel, remain a key macro risk for India.