Benchmark equity indices Sensex and Nifty plunged sharply on Monday, tracking a brutal global sell-off as the Middle East war deepened into its fourth week, with rising crude prices, persistent foreign fund outflows and a record-low rupee worsening investor nerves.The 30-share BSE Sensex slumped 1,836.57 points, or 2.46 per cent, to close at 72,696.39, after falling as much as 1,974.52 points intraday to 72,558.44. The NSE Nifty dropped 601.85 points, or 2.60 per cent, to settle at 22,512.65.

Nifty50 top gainers

Sensex top gainers

Nifty50 top losers

Sensex top losers

War, oil and rupee pressure trigger broad sell-off

Monday’s fall came in line with a steep decline across global markets as fears mounted over prolonged geopolitical disruption and the risk of deeper energy supply shocks.Brent crude — the global oil benchmark — rose 0.97 per cent to $113.3 per barrel, adding to concerns for an oil-importing economy like India.“Markets witnessed a sharp sell-off on Monday, continuing the prevailing downtrend amid weak global cues and escalating geopolitical tensions. Investor sentiment remained extremely fragile amid escalating geopolitical tensions in West Asia, which have once again pushed crude oil prices sharply higher,” Ajit Mishra, SVP, research at Religare Broking Ltd, said, according to news agency PTI.He added that the rise in oil prices, along with continued foreign institutional investor outflows and weakness in the rupee, significantly hit risk appetite.Vinod Nair, head of research at Geojit Investments Ltd, was quoted by PTI as saying that domestic markets mirrored weakness across Asia as investors worried about potential disruptions to global energy supplies.“Domestic markets witnessed a sharp decline, mirroring weakness across Asian markets amid escalating tensions in the Middle East and concerns over potential disruptions to global energy supplies. Investor sentiment turned cautious following Trump’s 48-hour ultimatum to Iran on the Strait of Hormuz,” Nair said.He added that rising global bond yields, signalling inflation and fiscal worries, along with the rupee falling to a record low, further pressured equities and triggered more FII selling.

Titan, Trent among major losers; IT stocks buck trend

The sell-off was broad-based, with heavy damage across consumption, metals, real estate and banking names.Titan was the biggest loser among Sensex stocks, tumbling 6.24 per cent. Trent, UltraTech Cement, Bharat Electronics, InterGlobe Aviation, Tata Steel and HDFC Bank were also among the major laggards.A handful of IT and utility counters offered limited resistance, with HCL Tech, Power Grid and Infosys ending in the green.

Midcaps, smallcaps and sectoral indices sink

The pain was even sharper outside the frontline indices, pointing to a wider risk-off mood in the market.The BSE MidCap Select index tanked 3.82 per cent, while the SmallCap Select index plunged 3.66 per cent.All sectoral indices ended lower. Consumer durables fell the most, dropping 4.91 per cent, followed by metal (4.76 per cent), realty (4.75 per cent), services (4.70 per cent), BSE PSU Bank (4.39 per cent), MidSmall Private Banks Quality Tilt (4.37 per cent), commodities (4.35 per cent), industrials (4.05 per cent) and capital goods (3.99 per cent).Market breadth remained extremely weak, with 3,798 stocks declining, compared with just 635 advancing, while 123 remained unchanged on the BSE.

Foreign investors continue heavy exit

Foreign capital flight remained a major overhang.Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) sold equities worth Rs 5,518.39 crore on Friday. In contrast, Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) bought shares worth Rs 5,706.23 crore, partially cushioning the fall.Still, the broader trend remains negative: PTI said foreign investors have pulled out Rs 88,180 crore — about $9.6 billion — from Indian equities so far this month.That persistent outflow, combined with currency weakness and expensive oil, is reinforcing fears that the market may remain vulnerable even on rebound days.

Global markets deep in the red

The weakness was not limited to India.Major Asian markets ended sharply lower, including South Korea’s Kospi, Japan’s Nikkei 225, Shanghai’s SSE Composite and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng. The Kospi saw the steepest fall, plunging 6.49 per cent.Markets in Europe were also trading with deep losses, while the US market had ended significantly lower on Friday, adding to the negative global backdrop.

Sensex, Nifty down over 10% since war began

Monday’s slump adds to the deep losses already seen since the conflict began on February 28.Since the war started, the Sensex has fallen 8,590.8 points, or 10.56 per cent, while the Nifty has shed 2,666 points, or 10.58 per cent.That means Indian equities have now erased a substantial chunk of gains in less than a month, with the market increasingly pricing in a prolonged conflict, sustained energy stress and a tighter macro environment.