Sensex Sinks Over 950 Points and Nifty Breaks Below 23,000 as Brent Tops $106 on Hormuz Deadlock

Indian equities began the new week with a sharp slide on Monday, September 28, as a fresh spike in crude oil prices dragged the benchmarks to levels last seen six months ago. The BSE Sensex fell more than 950 points to 72,942.59 by early afternoon, while the NSE Nifty 50 shed around 300 points to 22,840.05, breaking decisively below the psychologically important 23,000 mark, according to ETV Bharat. The sell-off erased roughly ₹6 lakh crore of investor wealth, pulling the total market capitalisation of BSE-listed firms down to just over ₹480 lakh crore.

The damage built through the session. HDFC Sky's opening report recorded the Sensex down 588 points in early trade, with the Nifty off about 1.2 per cent. By 10 a.m., International News and Views reported the Nifty at 22,871.40 and the Sensex at 73,022.60, both down well over 1 per cent and trading near six-month lows. The slide extended a long stretch of weakness: by that publication's count, the benchmarks have now declined for seven consecutive weeks, losing about 6 per cent over the period.

Oil back above $106 as diplomacy stalls

The immediate trigger sat far from Dalal Street. Brent crude climbed past $106 a barrel — quoted at $106.36, up 1.96 per cent, in HDFC Sky's morning data and at $106.70 by mid-morning per International News and Views — after United States President Donald Trump rejected an Iranian proposal to wind down the conflict and reopen the Strait of Hormuz. The proposal, according to HDFC Sky's report, demanded 'immediate sanctions relief and the release of frozen assets' — terms Washington refused. WTI crude traded at $93.61, up 1.3 per cent.

The war between Iran on one side and the United States and Israel on the other is now seven months old, having begun on February 28 with American and Israeli strikes on Iran, and has repeatedly disrupted shipping through the strait that carries a large share of the world's seaborne oil. Iran's foreign minister Abbas Araqchi said on Sunday that 'only diplomacy can end its conflict with the United States and Israel', but with no talks scheduled, energy markets priced in a longer disruption.

'The rejection by US President Donald Trump of Iran's proposal to resolve the conflict and reopen the Strait of Hormuz has revived concerns over prolonged supply disruptions,' Ponmudi R, chief executive of broking firm Enrich Money, told ETV Bharat.

Banks and capital goods lead the fall; IT and pharma resist

Selling was broad. International News and Views reported all sixteen major sectoral indices in the red at mid-morning, with financial services and banking gauges down about 1.6 per cent each: HDFC Bank lost around 1.8 per cent, ICICI Bank about 1.7 per cent and index heavyweight Reliance Industries roughly 1.4 per cent. Mid-cap and small-cap indices each fell about 1.1 per cent.

Among Nifty 50 stocks, HDFC Sky's data showed Tata Motors as the biggest loser, down 3 per cent at ₹281.75, followed by Adani Enterprises (down 2.93 per cent to ₹2,831.10), Jio Financial Services (down 2.86 per cent), Power Grid Corporation (down 2.84 per cent) and Larsen & Toubro, which surrendered ₹109.80 to ₹3,766.40. State-run ONGC fell 2.48 per cent even as crude rallied.

The few pockets of green were defensives. Dr. Reddy's Laboratories rose 1.67 per cent to ₹1,221, while software exporters TCS (up 0.77 per cent to ₹2,098.10), Tech Mahindra (up 0.52 per cent) and Infosys (up 0.30 per cent) benefited from a weaker rupee. In HDFC Sky's sectoral table, Nifty Pharma was the lone index holding positive territory, up a marginal 0.05 per cent, while Nifty Realty fell the steepest at 1.13 per cent.

Rupee near 96, yields at two-decade highs

The currency told the same story. The rupee depreciated 20 paise to 95.95 against the US dollar, per ETV Bharat, as costlier oil widened the import bill outlook and foreign investors kept selling. Anil Kumar Bhansali, head of treasury at Finrex Treasury Advisors, had earlier expected the unit to open around 95.80 despite the higher Brent price for the November series. Foreign institutional investors offloaded shares worth ₹3,694 crore on September 25, the last trading day before the weekend.

Global cues offered no support. The US 10-year Treasury yield traded above 5.2 per cent, its highest level since 2004, keeping pressure on emerging-market flows. Most Asian markets fell in sympathy: China's Shenzhen index dropped 3.42 per cent, the Shanghai Composite lost 1.84 per cent and South Korea's KOSPI slid 2.36 per cent, though Hong Kong and Australia bucked the trend. Volatility gauges in Mumbai reflected the nerves — the India VIX, at 12.95 early in the day per HDFC Sky, had risen to 13.80 by 12:55 p.m., ETV Bharat reported.

Monday's slump reversed a brief respite on Friday, when the Sensex had gained 315.20 points to close at 73,895.74 and the Nifty added 77.40 points to 23,140.50 as Brent eased. With crude back above $106 and Washington and Tehran talking past each other, traders head into the October series watching tankers in the Gulf as closely as tickers in Mumbai.

Sources: ETV Bharat; HDFC Sky; International News and Views.