Why The Indian Stock Market Fell Today: Sensex Drops Nearly 1,500 Points, Nifty Below 23,200

The Indian stock exchanges have been witnessing a sharp fall for the last three days, with the Indian equity benchmarks dipping on March 13.

The BSE Sensex declined about 1,437.47 points, or 1.89%, to 74,596.95 around 3 pm, while the Nifty 50 dropped 476.45 points, or 2.02%, to 23,162.70, according to exchange data.

For the week so far, the Sensex has declined about 4.5%, while the Nifty has fallen roughly 4.8%, putting both indices on track for their steepest weekly fall since December 2024.

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Escalating West Asia Conflict And Oil Prices

The tensions are also reflected in the West Asian region. The tensions between Iran, Israel, and the US have increased tensions in the region. The crude oil prices have risen to above $100 per barrel due to supply chain fears via the Strait of Hormuz.

The Strait of Hormuz is an important shipping route for global oil supplies. According to Reuters data, Brent crude was trading around $100.5 per barrel on March 13.

The Strait of Hormuz is a critical global energy corridor that carries more than 20% of the world’s oil and gas shipments. Any disruption in the route can significantly affect global energy markets.

Higher oil prices increase India’s import costs as the country imports a large share of its crude oil requirements, which can affect inflation and external balances.

Weak Global Market Cues

Global markets also remained under pressure during the session. Major Asian indices such as Japan’s Nikkei 225, South Korea’s Kospi, China’s Shanghai Composite, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng traded lower.

In the U.S., the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined more than 700 points in the previous session, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite also closed lower, according to Reuters data.

European markets also recorded declines, reflecting broader investor caution amid global uncertainty.

Foreign Investor Selling And Currency Weakness

Foreign institutional investors continued selling Indian equities. According to exchange data cited by Reuters, FIIs sold shares worth ₹7,049.87 crore on March 12.

In March alone, foreign investors have sold shares worth more than ₹39,000 crore in the domestic market.

At the same time, the Indian rupee weakened to a record low. The currency fell to around ₹92.37 against the U.S. dollar in the interbank foreign exchange market, according to market data. The weaker rupee may also affect the prices of imported products such as crude oil. 

Broad-Based Selling Across Sectors

There has been a clear trend of selling observed across all sectors. All the 16 major sectoral indices on the National Stock Exchange of India were observed to be trading in the red. 

The Nifty Smallcap100 index fell by 2.18 percent, while the Nifty Midcap100 index fell by 1.89 percent. The Nifty Metal index and the Nifty Auto index saw sharp declines during the trading session. 

Among the indices of the Sensex, Larsen & Toubro, Tata Steel, UltraTech Cement, and InterGlobe Aviation saw a sharp decline.

However, stocks like Hindustan Unilever and ITC Limited were the gainers.

In addition to this, the data also revealed that more than 3,000 stocks were trading lower on the NSE.