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Key gauges snap 2-day gains; Nifty settles below 22,850 mark
Mar-27-2026

Indian equity benchmarks tumbled over 2 per cent on Friday after a two-day rally, in tandem with a weak trend in global peers, as the US-Iran conflict continues to be the crucial overhang for markets, raising doubts about a de-escalation of the war. Rising crude prices, the rupee's free fall and unabated foreign fund outflows also added to the gloom. 

Some of the important factors in trade: 

OECD projects India's GDP to grow at 7.6% in FY26, 6.1% in FY27: The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has projected India's GDP to grow at 7.6 per cent in the current fiscal and 6.1 per cent in 2026-27.

Govt asks RBI to target retail inflation at 4% till March 2031: The government asked the Reserve Bank to maintain retail inflation at 4 per cent with a margin of 2 per cent on either side for another five years ending March 2031.

West Asia conflict to strain India's FY27 fiscal math: 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. 

Govt cuts excise duty on petrol, scraps diesel duty to ease pressure on OMCs: The government has slashed excise duty on petrol to Rs 3 a litre and exempted diesel fully from it to help oil marketing companies like HPCL, BPCL and IOC deal with the rising global crude prices amid the war in the Middle East.  

Global front: European markets were trading lower as investors continued to stay wary of picking up stocks amid lingering uncertainty about reported peace talks between U.S. and Iran. Asian markets ended mixed mirroring steep declines on Wall Street overnight amid lingering geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.   

Finally, the BSE Sensex fell 1690.23 points or 2.25% to 73,583.22 and the CNX Nifty was down by 486.85 points or 2.09% to 22,819.60.

The BSE Sensex touched high and low of 74,904.91 and 73,534.41, respectively. There were 3 stocks advancing against 27 stocks declining on the index.

The top losing sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty down by 3.10%, Auto down by 2.79%, Bankex down by 2.70%, Consumer Discretionary down by 2.52% and Consumer Durables down by 2.50%, while there was no gaining sectoral index on the BSE. 

The top gainers on the Sensex were TCS up by 0.49%, Bharti Airtel up by 0.37% and Power Grid Corporation up by 0.10%. On the flip side, Reliance Industries down by 4.55%, Interglobe Aviation down by 4.54%, Bajaj Finance down by 4.32%, SBI down by 3.82% and Eternal down by 3.76% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, ratings agency ICRA in its latest report has said that ongoing geopolitical conflict in the West Asia region has triggered a severe surge in global crude oil and natural gas prices, posing a challenge to India's fiscal position by FY2027. It warned that global crude prices have more than doubled compared to pre-crisis levels, raising input and logistics costs and disrupting supplies, including key fertiliser inputs. 

The agency said elevated energy prices could lift the government's fertiliser and LPG subsidy outgo while weighing on corporate tax collections, refining margins and dividend receipts. It said this complicates the government’s budget math for FY27, vide a potential rise in the fertiliser and fuel subsidy burden, lower excise collections in the event of a cut in excise duty to compensate Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) for marketing losses and an adverse impact on corporate tax revenues.   

ICRA said the government may use the Economic Stabilisation Fund (ESF) to manage fiscal shocks from external crises like the West Asia conflict, along with measures such as front-loading subsidy payments and seeking supplementary grants later in the year. It said while these buffers could help limit any major slippage from the fiscal deficit target of 4.5 per cent of GDP, risks remain skewed to the upside if elevated energy prices persist due to a prolonged conflict. Besides, it said the government can front-load subsidy pay-outs in H1 FY27 and announce supplementary demand for grants (SDG) later, if needed, that could be partly absorbed by the typical expenditure savings seen in recent years.

CNX Nifty touched high and low of 23,186.10 and 22,804.55, respectively. There were 6 stocks advancing against 44 stocks declining on the index.   

The top gainers on Nifty were ONGC up by 4.03%, Wipro up by 1.22%, Bharti Airtel up by 0.82%, TCS up by 0.42% and Coal India up by 0.32%. On the flip side, Shriram Finance down by 5.54%, Tata Motors Passenger down by 4.92%, Reliance Industries down by 4.61%, Interglobe Aviation down by 4.48% and Bajaj Finance down by 4.11% were the top losers.  

European markets were trading lower; UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 46.29 points or 0.46% to 9,925.88, France’s CAC fell 57.61 points or 0.74% to 7,711.70 and Germany’s DAX lost 278.97 points or 1.23% to 22,334.00.

Asian markets ended mixed on Friday amid uncertainty around the US-Iran negotiations to potentially end the West Asia conflict. US President Donald Trump has delayed planned strikes on Iranian energy infrastructure, extending his deadline for Tehran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz to April 6, while claiming negotiations are ‘going very well’. However, reports suggest Iran didn't request this extension, challenging Trump's statement and adding fresh worries to the ongoing West Asia conflict. Japanese shares declined tracking steep declines on Wall Street overnight. Meanwhile, Chinese shares gained after data showed a 15.2% year-on-year jump in industrial profits for the January-February period.

Asian Indices

Last Trade            

Change in Points

Change in %      

Shanghai Composite

3,913.72

24.64

0.63

Hang Seng

24,951.88

95.45

0.38

Jakarta Composite

7,097.06

-67.03

-0.94

KLSE Composite

1,712.65

1.76

0.10

Nikkei 225

53,373.07

-230.58

-0.43

Straits Times

4,898.18

10.42

0.21

KOSPI Composite

5,438.87

-21.59

-0.40

Taiwan Weighted

33,112.59

-225.03

-0.68
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