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Markets trade lower with over 1% cut amid global disruptions over West Asia war
Mar-27-2026

Indian equity benchmarks made gap-down start on Friday as uncertainty around a potential peace deal in West Asia continued amid mixed signals from the US and Iran. Sensex and Nifty were trading lower with cut of over a percent each in early deals on account of board-based selling in almost all the sector indices, except IT and Teck. Besides, stocks from Bankex, Auto and Industrials were leading the losers. Some cautiousness came due to continued foreign fund outflows. On March 25, Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net sellers of securities worth Rs 1,805.37 crore. Traders were concerned as ratings agency ICRA said that a surge in global crude oil and natural gas prices amid the West Asia conflict is likely to complicate India's fiscal position in FY2027, potentially increasing subsidy burdens and pressuring revenues. 

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mixed after US President Donald Trump extended his Friday deadline to strike Iran’s energy infrastructure by 10 days to April 6, allowing more room for negotiations. The extension reportedly came at Iran’s request and was granted in exchange for 10 oil tankers passing through the Strait of Hormuz.

Back home, fertilizer stocks were in focus as Crisil Ratings report said India's annual domestic output of urea and complex fertilisers is likely to decline by 10-15 per cent due to supply chain disruptions caused by the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 74372.50, down by 900.95 points or 1.20% after trading in a range of 74264.78 and 74904.91. There were 6 stocks advancing against 24 stocks declining on the index.

The only gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were IT up by 0.56% and TECK up by 0.28%, while Auto down by 1.90%, Bankex down by 1.84%, Industrials down by 1.69%, Realty down by 1.54%, Consumer Discretionary down by 1.45% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were TCS up by 1.25%, HCL Technologies up by 1.02%, Sun Pharma up by 0.71%, Tech Mahindra up by 0.58% and Trent up by 0.40%. On the flip side, Bajaj Finance down by 2.73%, Larsen & Toubro down by 2.60%, Interglobe Aviation down by 2.59%, Reliance Industries down by 2.26% and HDFC Bank down by 2.19% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, amid ongoing conflict between US-Israel and Iran, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in its interim Economic Outlook report has projected that India's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to grow at 7.6 per cent in the current fiscal year 2025-26 (FY26). It said the decline in (US) tariffs should support growth in India, though gas rationing will disrupt some production activities and fiscal support is expected to fade, with growth easing from 7.6 per cent in FY26 to 6.1 per cent in FY27 and 6.4 per cent in FY28.

It noted that the evolving conflict in the Middle East has ‘human and economic costs’ for the countries directly involved, and will test the resilience of the global economy. It said a halt in shipments through the Strait of Hormuz and the closure or damage of energy infrastructure has generated a surge in energy prices and disrupted the global supply of energy and other important commodities, such as fertilisers.

It said the fading deflationary impact of past food and energy price-reducing shocks will be exacerbated by the recent surge in global energy prices, which will push inflation up from 2 per cent in FY 2025-26 to 5.1 per cent and 4.1 per cent in FY 2026-27 and 2027-28, respectively. It highlighted that amongst the emerging-market economies, India is projected to raise policy rates temporarily in the second quarter of 2026 to help offset stronger inflationary pressures.

As per the report, US bilateral tariff rates have declined following the US Supreme Court ruling against the tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. There are particularly large reductions for several emerging-market economies, including India. Nonetheless, the overall US effective tariff rate remains well above that prevailing prior to 2025. The report projected global GDP growth to ease to 2.9 per cent in 2026 before edging up to 3 per cent in 2027.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 23039.25, down by 267.20 points or 1.15% after trading in a range of 23000.85 and 23186.10. There were 11 stocks advancing against 39 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were ONGC up by 2.33%, TCS up by 1.37%, HCL Technologies up by 1.00%, Sun Pharma up by 0.76% and Tech Mahindra up by 0.53%. On the flip side, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles down by 4.10%, Shriram Finance down by 4.06%, Interglobe Aviation down by 2.76%, Bajaj Finance down by 2.73% and HDFC Bank down by 2.36% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mixed; Taiwan Weighted lost 411.38 points or 1.25% to 32,926.24, Nikkei 225 slipped 244.65 points or 0.46% to 53,359.00, KOSPI fell 102.33 points or 1.91% to 5,358.13 and Jakarta Composite was down by 58.07 points or 0.81% to 7,106.02. On the other hand, Hang Seng rose 148.57 points or 0.59% to 25,005.00, Straits Times added 11.32 points or 0.23% to 4,899.08 and Shanghai Composite was up by 10.04 points or 0.26% to 3,899.12.
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