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Sensex Crash on March 27, 2026 LIVE: The Indian stock market benchmark indices Nifty 50 and Sensex crashed over 1% on Friday, March 27, amid weak cues from global markets on escalating US-Iran war and uncertainty over any peace deal.

Sensex crashed 1,176 points or 1.56% to its intra-day low of 74,097.30 while Nifty 50 lost over 358 points or 1.53% to 22,948.10.

Most stocks were trading in the red amid a broader market decline; however, IT stocks remained positive. Declines were mainly led by banks, financials and auto sectors.

Global equity markets remained under pressure for a second straight session as early optimism over the US extending its deadline for Iran to strike a deal quickly faded, while crude oil prices moved lower.

Asia’s benchmark equity index slipped 0.8% after Wall Street indices on Thursday dropped to their lowest levels since September. Among regional markets, Taiwanese shares fell 1.4%, Japan’s Topix declined 0.3%, and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 dropped 0.5%. In contrast, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 0.2%, the Shanghai Composite gained 0.2%, and Euro Stoxx 50 futures advanced 0.3%.

Investor sentiment had improved briefly earlier on Friday after US President Donald Trump once again pushed back his deadline for Iran to agree to a ceasefire deal or risk further attacks. Following Trump’s 10-day extension, Brent crude fell 1.7% to around $106 per barrel.

Trump also noted that talks with Iran were progressing “very well” and extended his commitment to avoid strikes on the country’s energy infrastructure, offering temporary relief to global energy markets that have remained on edge due to the conflict.

Gold rate rose on the MCX on Friday, March 27, morning amid a softer dollar, which seems to have prompted value buying in the yellow metal after the recent decline. MCX gold June futures jumped by almost 1% to ₹1,43,829 per 10 grams, while MCX silver May contracts rose by nearly 2% to ₹2,23,978 per kg in the morning deals.

The dollar index declined by about 0.10%, making gold slightly cheaper in overseas currencies and influencing its demand. However, elevated crude oil prices due to persisting uncertainty over the West Asian conflict remain a key challenge for the yellow metal.

Stay tuned to this segment for the latest updates on the Indian stock market today.

Shares of oil marketing companies (OMCs) reversed morning gains to trade in the red in the morning session on Friday, March 27, as the elevated crude oil prices outweighed the excise duty cut announced by the government earlier today.

PSU oil stocks, namely Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL), traded up to 2% lower at the time of writing this report.

BPCL shares had emerged as the top gainer, rising 5%. It was followed by HPCL, which gained almost 4% and IOC, which was higher by 2%. However, all PSU stocks erased gains and were down 1-2% now.

President Donald Trump again pushed back his deadline for Iran to strike a deal with the US or face more attacks, saying talks with the country were going “very well.”

Trump said he would extend by 10 days his pledge to refrain from attacks on Iranian energy sites, his second extension since Saturday’s threat to eviscerate Iran’s power plants in the absence of a deal.

Earlier Thursday, Trump repeated a timeline of four to six weeks for military operations and said the American war effort was “ahead of schedule.”

But the extended deadline allows more time for the US to amass forces. The Wall Street Journal, citing unnamed Pentagon officials, reported Thursday night that the Defense Department was considering sending as many as 10,000 additional troops to the Middle East, giving Trump more options.

“As per Iranian Government request, please let this statement serve to represent that I am pausing the period of Energy Plant destruction by 10 Days to Monday, April 6, 2026, at 8 P.M., Eastern Time,” Trump said in a social media post on Thursday. “Talks are ongoing and, despite erroneous statements to the contrary by the Fake News Media, and others, they are going very well.” (Bloomberg)

India VIX, the volatility index, jumped over 7% in intra-day deals today amid uncertainty over the US-Iran peace deal and ceasefire timeline.

The Indian government has slashed the special additional excise duty (SAED) on both petrol and diesel amid rising worries about fuel price hike across the country due to the US-Iran war in West Asia.

According to a gazette notification dated Thursday, the additional excise duty on petrol was cut to ₹3 per litre from ₹13 per litre earlier. Meanwhile, the excise duty on diesel was cut to ₹0 from ₹10 per litre earlier.

This comes at a time when concerns are skyrocketing about a possible fuel price hike amid the rising tensions in the Middle East due to the US-Iran war. The conflict has affected the global energy infrastructure as Iran has effectively imposed a blanket blockade on the key Strait of Hormuz — an arterial passage that is responsible for shipping 90% crude imports of India. The US-Iran war has also seen bombings and missile attacks on key crude infrastructure, using the Ras Laffan Industrial City in Saudi Arabia.

The Indian rupee dropped to a fresh all-time low past the 94-per-dollar threshold on Friday, March 27, driven by concerns that the energy supply crisis triggered by the Middle East conflict will persist, intensifying the strain on energy-importing nations, including India.

The rupee decreased to 94.1575 against the dollar, surpassing its prior record low of 93.98 reached earlier this week. Since the onset of the conflict late last month, the domestic unit has fallen approximately 3.5%.

The potential for a prolonged energy crisis has kept oil prices above $100 per barrel, putting pressure on global stock markets and causing bond yields to rise.

VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments stated that the Indian economy is strong enough to absorb the shock if the war ends, crude cools down and gas availability becomes normal.

“But if the war prolongs, crude remains elevated for months together, and gas availability constraints continue, the stress on India’s macros will be significant and the market will discount that. In brief, everything boils down to how long the war will last. The market hope is that since a prolonged war is in nobody’s interests, it may end soon. The US itself is now looking for an exit strategy. Market corrections and rising retail price of petroleum products may exert pressure on the US regime to cool down the conflict,” he warned.

VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments, said:

"The on-and-off reaction of the market to news and events regarding the war is likely to continue in the near term. The spike in Brent crude back to around the $108 level will again trigger another round of risk-off in the Indian market.

The market correction since the war began has brought down Nifty valuations to fair levels. Nifty is now trading at about 19 times, which is lower than the last 10-year average of 22.4 times. But if India’s macros take a hit due to this energy crisis, valuations may again decline, factoring in the feared hit to earnings growth in FY27."

Nifty Midcap 100 lost 1% while Nifty Smallcap 100 declined 0.9% in early deals

Sensex crashed 835 points or 1.1% to 74,437.88 in early deals while Nifty 50 lost over 270 points or over 1% to 23,035.65.

The company, in an exchange filing on Thursday, refuted media reports of buying Iranian crude oil, calling them baseless, factually incorrect, and misleading.

Nifty 50 index formed a bullish candle on the daily chart with a higher high and a higher low, signaling extension of the pullback for the second session in a row after recent sharp decline.

“A long bull candle was formed on the daily chart with minor upper shadow. Technically, the market action of the last two sessions indicates a formation of crucial bottom reversal around 22,500 levels (23rd March). Presently, Nifty is 50 encountering previous opening down gap resistance of 19th March around 23,400 - 23,600 levels,” said Nagaraj Shetti, Senior Technical Research Analyst at HDFC Securities.

According to him, the underlying trend of Nifty 50 continues to be positive, and further sustainable upside from here could pull the index towards the next upside of 23,850 levels in the near term. Any consolidation or dip from here could find support around 23,000 levels.

Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA) has announced an interim dividend of ₹0.6 per share for FY26. The record date to determine eligible shareholders has been set as April 2, 2026.

Sensex continues to exhibit an improving price structure with formation of higher highs and higher lows

“This suggests strengthening short-term momentum and a gradual recovery from the recent corrective phase. Key technical levels indicate that the support for Sensex is placed in the 74,500 – 74,700 zone, which is expected to act as a demand area on declines, while resistance is seen around 75,800 – 76,000, where upside may face supply and profit-booking pressure,” said Hitesh Tailor, Technical Research Analyst at Choice Equity Broking.

State-owned Chennai Petroleum Corporation on Thursday announced an interim dividend of ₹8 per share for the financial year 2026.

Gold rose over 1% on Friday, buoyed by a weaker dollar and bargain hunting, but was on track for a fourth straight weekly decline as surging energy prices fuelled inflation concerns and raised expectations of higher global interest rates.

Spot gold rose 1.1% to $4,428.30 per ounce as of 0228 GMT, but bullion has fallen about 1.3% so far this week.

U.S. gold futures for April delivery gained 1.1% to $4,423.40.

The dollar eased, making greenback-priced bullion cheaper for holders of other currencies. (Reuters)

Oil fell as President Donald Trump again pushed back a deadline for striking Iran’s energy, offering the market near-term respite while prolonging uncertainty over the course of the war well into April.

Brent dropped as much as 2% to below $106 a barrel after surging by almost 6% on Thursday, while West Texas Intermediate was near $93. Trump said that while Tehran had requested a seven-day period, he’d allowed 10 days. The newly-revised timeline stretches to April 6. (Bloomberg)

Amid worsening macro and slowing earnings growth, Goldman Sachs has downgraded Indian equities to ‘marketweight’ from ‘overweight’ on less attractive risk/reward than north Asian markets. It also lowered Nifty 50’s 12-month target to 25,900 from 29,300 previously, implying 13% local returns, based on earnings growth of 8% in CY26 and 13% in FY27 and 19.5x target PE.

The yield on five-year Japanese government bonds climbed to a new record high. The five-year yield rose 3 basis points to 1.770%, while the benchmark 10-year JGB yield rose 3 bps to 2.300%. The two-year yield gained 1.5 bps to 1.35%, after touching a nearly three-decade high in the previous session.

US stock market ended lower on Thursday, with the Nasdaq confirming a correction, as fears of escalation in the US-Iran war spooked investors.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 469.38 points, or 1.01%, to 45,960.11, while the S&P 500 dropped 114.74 points, or 1.74%, to 6,477.16. The Nasdaq Composite closed 521.74 points, or 2.38%, lower at 21,408.08. Nvidia stock price plunged 4.16%, AMD shares tanked 7.49%, Meta share price slumped 7.92%, Alphabet stock price lost 3.06%, Microsoft share price fell 1.37%, and Tesla stock price declined 3.59%.

Asian markets traded lower on Friday amid uncertainty over the end of the prolonged US-Iran war. Japan’s Nikkei 225 declined 1.6%, and the Topix fell 0.8%. South Korea’s Kospi plunged 3.6% and the Kosdaq dropped 2%. Hong Kong Hang Seng index futures indicated a lower opening.

The trends on Gift Nifty also signals a gap-down opening for the benchmark indices, Nifty 50 and Sensex today. Gift Nifty was trading around 23,124 level, a discount of nearly 176 points from the Nifty futures’ previous close.

The Indian stock market is expected to open lower on Friday amid weak cues from global markets on escalating US-Iran war and uncertainty over any peace deal.Pranati Deva is a seasoned financial journalist with over a decade of experience in high-pressure newsroom environments, currently working as a Senior Sub Editor at LiveMint. Over the years, she has developed a reputation for sharp editorial judgement, a strong grasp of market dynamics, and the ability to translate complex financial developments into clear, engaging stories for a wide audience.

Her core areas of coverage include stock markets, leading listed companies, currencies, and commodities, with a particular strength in fast-paced, real-time market reporting. She is known for handling breaking market news, earnings-driven stock movements, and macroeconomic developments with speed, accuracy, and context—qualities that are essential in financial journalism.

Pranati has built a diverse and credible professional track record across some of India’s most respected news organisations, including MintGenie, CNBC-TV18, Business Standard and EconomicTimes.com. During her stints at these platforms, she produced data-driven market stories, curated and steered live blogs during volatile trading sessions, and conducted interviews with market veterans, fund managers, economists, and industry experts. Her work often combines on-ground reporting with analytical depth, helping readers make sense of daily market fluctuations and longer-term trends.

An alumnus of the Symbiosis Institute of Media and Communications and Hansraj College, University of Delhi, Pranati brings a strong academic foundation to her journalism. She specialises in real-time financial reporting, with a keen focus on precision, balance, and insight, aiming to decode market movements in a way that is both informative and accessible to readers across experience levels.

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