Nifty slips below 23,200; sensex tumbles

Indian equity benchmarks endured a brutal session on March 13, 2026, extending losses for the third consecutive day amid unrelenting pressure from elevated crude oil prices near $100 per barrel, escalating Middle East geopolitical tensions, foreign outflows, and broader risk aversion. The Nifty 50 plunged approximately 488 points or 2.06% to close at 23,151.10, near the day's low of around 23,115, after opening sharply lower. The BSE Sensex crashed about 1,470 points or 1.93% to settle near 74,564, reflecting a capitulation-like sentiment with widespread selling. Market breadth was overwhelmingly negative: around 3,500–3,600 stocks declined against roughly 1,100 advances on the BSE.

This capped off the week's carnage, with the Nifty down over 5% (its worst weekly performance since June 2022) and the midcap index falling around 4.5%. Cumulative weekly declines erased significant investor wealth, with reports indicating a wipeout of Rs 20 lakh crore or more across listed companies. Sectoral carnage was broad-based and severe. Banking emerged as the weakest link, with the Nifty Bank index shedding nearly 1,400 points for the week and closing well below the 54,000 mark (down from above 56,000 earlier in the week).

PSU banks, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank, and HDFC Bank faced heavy selling. The Nifty Auto index single-handedly lost over 10% this week—its worst since the COVID period—with names like Tata Motors (passenger vehicles), Bajaj Auto, Ashok Leyland, and others down more than 10% weekly and 15% since the conflict's onset. Metals tumbled aggressively (Nifty Metal down sharply), while broader weakness hit autos, financials, energy, and mid/small-caps.

A rare bright spot came from L&T Technology Services (LTTS), which bucked the trend with a sharp surge of nearly 10% (intraday highs up to 13% in some reports), rebounding from earlier lows on strong volumes and possibly positive sector-specific triggers amid the broader rout.