Nifty trades below 23,250 mark; auto shares extent losses for 3rd day

The headline equity benchmarks traded deep cuts in mid-afternoon trade as sentiment remained weak due to FII selling, rising crude oil prices, escalating geopolitical tensions as the Middle East conflict entered its 14th day. Brent crude prices crossed the $100 per barrel mark, further weighing on market sentiment. The Nifty 50 index slipped below the 23,250 mark.

Auto shares extended losses for the third consecutive trading session.

At 14:30 IST the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex tumbled 1,261.94 points or 1.65% to 74,808.55. The Nifty 50 index fell 402.55 points or 1.70% to 23,235.15.

The broader market underperformed the frontline indices. The BSE 150 MidCap Index fell 2.60% and the BSE 250 SmallCap Index dropped 2.78%.

The market breadth was weak. On the BSE 849 shares rose and 3,333 shares fell. A total of 174 shares were unchanged.

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, jumped 4% to 22.38.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Auto index dropped 3.57% to 24,201.70. The index slumped 9.59% in three consecutive trading sessions.

Bharat Forge (down 5.15%), Uno Minda (down 4.89%), Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles (down 4.70%), Samvardhana Motherson International (down 4.57%), Ashok Leyland (down 4.44%), Sona BLW Precision Forgings (down 4.16%), TVS Motor Company (down 3.72%), Exide Industries (down 3.65%), Hero MotoCorp (down 3.63%) and Tube Investments of India (down 3.61%) declined.

Numbers to Track:

The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal paper gained 0.28% to 6.688 compared with previous session close of 6.669.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 92.3875 compared with its close of 92.2500 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 2 April 2026 settlement declined 0.73% to Rs 1,59,100.

The US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was up 0.49% to 100.23

The United States 10-year bond yield shed 0.05% to 4.272.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for May 2026 settlement rose 37 cents or 37% to $100.38 a barrel.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Bondada Engineering shed 0.41%. The company announced that it has received an order worth Rs 35.39 crore from Pratap Technocrats for the supply of 40-metre towers.

JNK India slipped 3.98%. The company announced that its board has approved the appointment of Anand Agarwal as the interim chief financial officer (CFO) and key managerial personnel (KMP) of the company, effective 12 March 2026.

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