Market extent losses for 3rd day; Nifty settles below 23,200 mark

The headline equity benchmarks ended with major losses on Friday, extending their decline for the third consecutive day. Market sentiment remained under pressure amid persistent selling by foreign institutional investors (FIIs), a sharp rise in crude oil prices, and escalating geopolitical tensions as the Middle East conflict entered its 14th day. Brent crude hovered around the $100-per-barrel mark, adding to investors concerns and further dampening market confidence.

The Nifty ended below the 23,200 mark. All the sectoral indices on the NSE ended in the red with metal, PSU bank and auto indices declining the most.

As per provisional closing data, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex slumped 1,470.50 points or 1.93% to 74,563.92. The Nifty 50 index plummeted 488.05 points or 2.06% to 23,151.10. In three consecutive trading sessions, the Sensex dropped 4.65% while the Nifty fell 4.57%.

The broader market underperformed the key equity indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index tumbled 2.61% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index fell 2.67%.

The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 954 shares rose and 3,334 shares fell. A total of 146 shares were unchanged.

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, jumped 5.23% to 22.65.

IPO Update:

The initial public offer (IPO) of Innovision received bids for 19,12,950 shares as against 63,99,943 shares on offer, according to stock exchange data at 15:15 IST on Friday (13 March 2026). The issue was subscribed 0.30 times.

The issue opened for bidding on 10 March 2026 and earlier closing date was 12 March 2026 and now it is 17 March 2026. The price band of the IPO is fixed between Rs 521 and 548 per share.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Metal index dropped 4.82% to 11,292.50. The index rose 0.35% in the past trading session.

Jindal Steel (down 6.11%), Hindalco Industries (down 5.78%), Hindustan Copper (down 5.76%), Hindustan Zinc (down 5.18%), Welspun Corp (down 5.16%), Jindal Stainless (down 5.16%), National Aluminium Company (down 5.1%), Lloyds Metals & Energy (down 4.9%), Tata Steel (down 4.82%) and JSW Steel (down 4.26%) declined.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Godrej Properties declined 2.07%. The company said that it has acquired a 44-acre land parcel in Coimbatore through an outright purchase, for developing a premium plotted residential project with a developable potential of 1.1 million square feet.

Shaily Engineering Plastics rose 1.08% after Smallcap World Fund Inc. acquired an additional stake in the company through bulk deals on Thursday, 12 March 2026. According to bulk deal data, the fund purchased 2.98 lakh shares on the NSE at Rs 1,878.41 per share and another 6.43 lakh shares on the BSE at Rs 1,879 per share, aggregating to a 2.05% stake valued at about Rs 176.88 crore.

United Breweries shed 0.81%. The company disclosed that it has received a GST demand order from the Office of the Commissioner of CGST & Central Excise, Raigad'Navi Mumbai. The order involves a total demand of about Rs 31.88 crore, including GST of Rs 15.94 crore and an equivalent penalty. The dispute relates to the taxability of the assignment of leasehold land in Navi Mumbai and a classification issue concerning non-alcoholic beverages.

Balaji Amines slipped 3% after the company announced that the supply of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), a key input used for the production of Ammonia, has been adversely affected due to ongoing war in the Middle East.

As a result, the company is currently experiencing significant logistics disruptions in the procurement of Ammonia, which is one of the key raw materials used in the manufacture of Methylamines, Ethylamines and their derivatives. The situation has arisen due to the non-availability of Ammonia. Owing to this, some of the company's plants are presently non-operational.

Avenue Supermarts fell 2.75%. The company announced the opening of two new stores in Bavdhan, Pune in Maharashtra and Chilakaluripeta in Palnadu district of Andhra Pradesh. With these additions, the total number of stores operated by the company has increased to 463.

Ramky Infrastructure jumped 4.64% after it has secured a design, build, finance, operate and transfer (DBFOT) contract from the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC). The contract is for the development, operation, and maintenance of the High-Tech Pharmaceutical Park in Dighi Port Industrial Area, Mangaon and Roha Taluk, Raigad District, on a public-private partnership (PPP) basis.

PNGS Reva Diamond Jewellery slipped 2.07%. The company's consolidated net profit stood at Rs 23.11 crore in Q3 FY26, rising over 12 times from Rs 1.83 crore in Q3 FY25. Revenue from operations jumped nearly 22 times to Rs 144.18 crore in Q3 FY26 from Rs 6.65 crore a year ago.

Krystal Integrated Services lost 2.80%. The company said it has received a Rs 364 crore contract from Tamil Nadu Medical Services Corporation (TNMSC) for providing housekeeping, security, and other services at various government medical institutions in Tamil Nadu.

Bondada Engineering shed 0.97%. 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 dropped 4.15%. 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.

Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA) declined 1.67%. The company announced that its board is scheduled to meet on Thursday, 19 March 2026 to consider the borrowing plan for financial year 2026-27. The proposed plan includes raising capital through a mix of debt instruments such as bonds, term loans, and commercial papers from domestic as well as international markets.

Laurus Labs fell 4.04% after reports indicated a sharp drop in the company's export revenue during February 2026. According to media reports, the pharmaceutical company's export revenue declined 47% to about $36 million in February, reflecting a significant slowdown in overseas sales.

Zydus Lifesciences lost 1.12%. The company said it has received final approval from the United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) for Cevimeline Hydrochloride Capsules 30 mg.

The drug is the generic version of Evoxac Capsules, 30 mg. It is indicated for the symptomatic treatment of dry mouth (xerostomia) associated with Sj'gren's syndrome and works as a muscarinic receptor agonist that stimulates salivary secretion. The capsules will be manufactured at the group's formulation facility at SEZ-II, Ahmedabad.

Kalpataru added 1.20% after the company announced the signing of a redevelopment project at a prime location in Andheri West, with gross development value (GDV) of Rs 1,400 crore.

ACME Solar Holdings surged 6.52% after the company, through its subsidiary, ACME Sun Power, commissioned the second phase of a 33.335 MW/160.51 MWh battery energy storage system (BESS) at Badi Sid, Rajasthan.

HFCL slipped 2.90%. The company's wholly owned subsidiary has secured a long-term contract worth about $1.10 billion (around Rs 10,159 crore) from a global multinational corporation for the supply of optical fibre cables (OFC).

Biocon lost 2.23%. The company said its arm, Biocon Pharma, has received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) for its abbreviated new drug application (ANDA) for Liraglutide injection (gVictoza), 18 mg/3 mL, in single-patient-use prefilled pens.

Liraglutide is indicated for the treatment of insufficiently controlled type 2 diabetes mellitus in adults, adolescents, and children aged 10 years and above and is used as an adjunct to diet and exercise.

Global Markets:

European and Asian market traded lower on Friday as oil prices soared on renewed fears that a prolonged conflict in the Middle East could further crimp energy supplies, stoking fears of a global economic downturn.

Iran's new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei said in a late Thursday speech that the Strait of Hormuz, a vital artery for global oil trade, should remain shut and that Tehran could open other fronts in the war if the conflict persists.

International benchmark Brent crude jumped 9.22% to close at $100.46 per barrel on Thursday. It was the first time Brent closed above $100 since August 2022. U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures rose 9.72% to settle at $95.73.

Oil prices are likely to remain elevated in the near term as investors price in the risk of a prolonged Middle East conflict, media report said.

U.S. President Donald Trump has sought to downplay the rise in oil prices, saying that the U.S., as the world's largest oil producer, stands to benefit from higher oil prices, while stressing that his priority would be blocking Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Thursday night that the U.S. would temporarily allow the purchase of sanctioned Russian crude that is already at sea to stabilize energy markets, while framing the price spike as a temporary disruption.'

Overnight in the U.S., major stock indexes notched closing lows for 2026, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average falling nearly 740 points to settle below 47,000 for the first time this year.

The S&P 500 shed 1.5% to end the session at 6,672.62, while the Nasdaq Composite lost 1.8% to close at 22,311.98.

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