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Stock Market Today LIVE: The Indian stock market crashed over 1% on Monday, March 30, following a slump in global markets as the US-Iran war entered its fifth week, driving up crude oil prices and inflation worries.

The Sensex crashed 1,200 points, or 1.6%, to an intraday low of 72,392, while the Nifty 50 plunged 350 points, or 1.5%, to the day's low of 22,470. The midcap and smallcap indices on the BSE also declined by more than 1% during the session.

Losses were led mainly by banking and financial stocks, while the Nifty Metal index remained in the green.

Investors lost about ₹5 lakh crore as the overall market capitalisation of BSE-listed firms fell to ₹417 lakh crore, down from ₹422 lakh crore in the previous session.

Asian Markets today

Asian markets mostly traded lower on Monday morning as investor concerns intensified over surging oil prices and the risk of a further escalation in the ongoing U.S. war with Iran.

The weakness in Asian equities came after sharp losses on Wall Street last Friday, which capped a fifth consecutive week of declines for U.S. markets—their longest losing streak in nearly four years.

Among major regional indices, Japan’s Nikkei 225 plunged 4.5% to 50,979.54 in early trade, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 1.2% to 8,417.00. South Korea’s Kospi tumbled 3.2% to 5,264.32, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng declined 1.7% to 24,519.63, and China’s Shanghai Composite slipped 0.7% to 3,884.57.

Investor anxiety has been particularly pronounced across Japan and the broader Asian region due to concerns over disrupted access to the Strait of Hormuz, a critical route for global oil shipments. The conflict in Iran has heightened fears over supply disruptions, especially for Asian economies that are heavily dependent on oil imports routed through the strait.

In the energy market, benchmark U.S. crude rose $2.28 to $101.92 per barrel, while Brent crude climbed $2.88 to $115.45 per barrel. Before the conflict began, Brent crude had been trading at around $70 per barrel.

Silver and Gold prices in India declined on Monday, March 30, as rising crude oil prices and a stronger U.S. dollar weighed on investor sentiment and reduced expectations of interest rate cuts by the U.S. Federal Reserve.

On MCX, silver price fell 0.5% to ₹2,26,798 per kg while gold price lost 1.5% to ₹1,42,100 per 10 grams.

In international markets, spot silver fell 1.3% to $68.67 per ounce, while spot gold declined 0.6% to $4,466.99 per ounce as of 0238 GMT. U.S. gold futures for April delivery also dropped 0.6% to $4,496.30.

Other precious metals, however, showed some resilience. Spot platinum rose 0.3% to $1,868.11, while palladium gained 1% to $1,391.

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

The volatility index, India VIX, jumped 6% to surpass 28, indicating fragile market sentiment.

According to market experts, the normal range for the volatility index is 12 to 15. A level above 15 indicates the market is discounting high volatility over the next 30 days.

A jump in India VIX above 28 reflects increasing nervousness in the Indian stock market amid indications that the US-Iran war could persist, potentially disrupting energy supplies, triggering global inflationary pressures, and puncturing global growth momentum.

IRB Infrastructure Developers share price climbed nearly 11% on Monday, March 30, after the stock turned ex-bonus for its 1:1 bonus share issue. The construction company has fixed April 1 (Wednesday) as the record date for the bonus allotment, making Monday the final trading session for investors to purchase the stock and qualify for the additional shares.

Since stock markets will remain shut on March 31 (Tuesday) on account of Shri Mahavir Jayanti, investors need to buy the shares by today.

VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments said:

"With the conflict in West Asia entering the fifth week, there are signs of escalation of the war with the Houthi’s joining the conflict and the US sending additional troops to reinforce the attack. Brent crude has again shot up to $116. The Goldilocks macro scenario which India had before the war has almost disappeared thanks to the war. Instead of high GDP growth, low inflation, moderate fiscal and current account deficits and expectations of higher corporate earnings growth in FY27, now we face prospects of lower GDP growth, higher inflation, higher fiscal and current account deficits and lower earnings growth for FY27.

The market has largely discounted these negatives as reflected in the decline in the Nifty trailing PE ratio to about 19.9 times. This is fair but not yet cheap valuations. But there are segments which are attractively valued like financials.

A significant development today is likely to be strengthening of the rupee in response to the RBI directive capping the net open position (NOP- INR) in the offshore deliverable market at $100 million. Unwinding of large dollar positions will strengthen the rupee in the near-term."

Banking stocks declined on Monday after the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) latest measures to support the falling rupee against the US dollar. The Bank Nifty index dropped over 2% in early trade, with all its constituents trading with heavy losses.

Axis Bank, IndusInd Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, IDFC First Bank and Yes Bank were the top losers on the index, falling over 2-3%.

The RBI on Friday directed banks to cap their net open rupee (NOP-INR) positions in the foreign exchange market at $100 million at the end of each business day. Banks have been asked to comply with this directive at the earliest, but no later than April 10, 2026.

“...it has now been decided that Authorised Dealers shall ensure that their NOP-INR positions in the onshore deliverable market shall be maintained within US$ 100 million at the end of each business day. Authorised Dealers shall ensure compliance with the above at the earliest but no later than April 10, 2026,” RBI said in a circular on March 27.

Nifty Midcap 100 lost 1.24% while Nifty Smallcap 100 was down 1.16%

The India rupee bounced back sharply on Monday, after the local central bank tightened limits on banks' FX positions, which could spark a wave of onshore dollar selling as traders rush to cut arbitrage positions.

The rupee rose nearly 1% to 93.85 per dollar in early trading, recovering from a record low of 94.84 hit on Friday.

The Reserve Bank of India late Friday directed banks to cap their net open rupee positions in the foreign exchange market at $100 million by the end of each business day, with compliance required latest by April 10.

Indian stock markets opened sharply lower on Monday, March 30, mirroring weakness in global equities as the US-Iran war entered its fifth week, fuelling concerns over rising crude oil prices and inflation.

Sensex opened 1018 points or 1.4% lower at 72,565, while Nifty lost 270 points or 1.2% to open at 22,549.65.

Bank Nifty index ended 1,433.50 points, or 2.67%, lower at 52,274.60 on Friday, forming a strong bearish candle on the daily chart following the recent pullback attempt.

“Bank Nifty index has breached its previous swing low and ended well below the previous week’s low, signaling a major bearish shift in momentum as it struggles to hold the 100-day SMA. For the coming week, the 51,800 – 51,500 zone stands as the final make-or-break defense; a breakdown here could trigger a deeper correction toward the 51,000 psychological level,” said Dr. Ravi Singh, Chief Research Officer from Master Capital Services Ltd.

On the upside, he believes 53,000 and 53,700 now act as stiff hurdles. “Strategy remains ‘sell on recovery’ until the Bank Nifty index decisively reclaims 54,100. Expect continued pressure on private banking heavyweights as the sector searches for stability,” said Singh.

Nifty 50 index formed a sizable bearish candle with a lower high and a lower low, signaling resumption of downtrend after two sessions of pullback.

“A long bear candle was formed on the daily chart which indicates sharp reversal down in the Nifty 50 after a pullback. This market action signals a formation of a new lower top reversal pattern at 23,465 on the daily timeframe chart. This is in line with the ongoing bearish pattern like lower tops and bottoms of the last one month,” said Nagaraj Shetti, Senior Technical Research Analyst at HDFC Securities.

According to him, the underlying trend of Nifty 50 has turned down sharply after a recent pullback rally.

“One may expect further weakness down to 22,450 levels and lower in the coming week. Positional support is placed at 22,000. Immediate resistance is placed at 23,200,” said Shetti.

Sensex is expected to find immediate support in the 73,000 – 73,100 range, which may act as a key demand zone. On the upside, resistance is placed around the 74,000 – 74,100 levels. A sustained move above this resistance zone would be necessary to trigger any meaningful positive momentum in the upcoming sessions, said Aakash Shah, Research Analyst, Choice Equity Broking.

Japanese government bonds (JGBs) slumped, sending yields to a near three-decade high. The benchmark 10-year JGB yield rose 2 basis points (bps) to 2.390%, a level not seen since February 1999. The five-year yield rose 0.5 bps to 1.820%.

The US-Iran war has crossed the one-month mark, with the conflict showing no signs of resolution. The Iran-backed Houthis of Yemen joined the war, sparking fears of further disruption to global trade amid the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump has indicated a willingness to seize Iran’s critical oil infrastructure, including the export hub of Kharg Island.

Gold and silver rates today fell up to 2% as the US-Iran war enters its fifth week with no signs of ending.

Spot gold rate today dropped 1.38% to $4,462 per ounce on Monday, March 30, after ending the previous session up 2.7%. Meanwhile, silver prices were down 2% to $68.3 per ounce during the Asian trading hours.

According to a Bloomberg report, opportunistic buyers are beginning to step in following the gold market’s sharpest selloff in years, though worries persist that a prolonged conflict could prompt central banks to offload their holdings or raise interest rates to curb inflation.

International crude oil prices rose more than 3% on Monday morning as the West Asia war escalated, with Yemen’s Houthi militants opening a new front through missile and drone attacks on Israel.

Around 6:30 am, the May contract of Brent crude on the Intercontinental Exchange was at $115.91 per barrel, up 3.00% from its previous close. The May contract of West Texas Intermediate on the NYMEX rose 3.03% to $102.61 a barrel.

The conflict involving the US, Israel and Iran has now entered its fifth week, with nearly 20% of global oil and gas supplies still effectively constrained due to disruptions in the supply chain.

Apart from the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, several oil and gas facilities, refineries and fields have been damaged, raising the risk of longer-term supply disruptions.

Asian markets crashed on Monday amid no signs of an end to the US-Iran, which entered its fifth week. Japan’s Nikkei 225 declined 3.97%, while the Topix plunged 3.9%. South Korea’s Kospi plunged over 5%, while the Kosdaq tanked 3.97%. Hong Kong’s 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 22,560 level, a discount of nearly 257 points from the Nifty futures’ previous close.

The Indian stock market is expected to extend losses and open lower on Monday, following a slump in global markets as the US-Iran war entered its fifth week, driving up crude oil prices and inflation worries.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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