Indian Stock Market: Top Losers and Gainers on March 23 Include Hindustan Copper, Reliance Power, Vodafone Idea, Paytm, HDFC Bank

Indian Stock Market Plunges 2% Amid Escalating West Asia Tensions

Market Overview The Indian stock market suffered a 2% drop in Monday's session, March 23, with key indices reaching their lowest levels since April 2025. The constant missile exchanges in the Gulf region have pushed several domestic stocks to multi-year lows.

Index Performance The Nifty 50 declined by 629 points, or 2.72%, to settle at 22,485. The S&P BSE Sensex also fell by 2.5% to close at 72,669. The broader market faced even deeper cuts, with the Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 plunging nearly 4%, taking their year-to-date losses to around 15%.

Sectoral Performance All major sectoral indices ended in the red, with the Nifty Consumer Durables index taking the biggest hit, plunging 5%. The Nifty Metal and Nifty Realty indices also dropped over 4.5% each. The Nifty PSU Bank, Nifty Auto, Nifty Chemicals, and Nifty Oil & Gas indices declined over 2.5%. The Nifty IT index was the only one to limit losses, closing marginally lower by 0.27%.

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Global Developments US President Donald Trump has set a Monday deadline for Tehran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz or face potential strikes on its power infrastructure. Iran has warned it would retaliate by targeting energy and water assets across the Gulf. Over the weekend, both Israel and Iran intensified their attacks on each other, keeping crude oil prices elevated.