The Indian stock market witnessed another round of selling pressure in Wednesday’s trade, March 11, as escalating tensions in the Middle East have kept investor’s sentiment fragile.
After a 1% rally in the previous session, the Nifty 50 reversed its gains, falling 1.63% to the 23,866 level, while the BSE Sensex also dropped sharply by 1.72% to the 76,763 level. The broader markets, too, saw heavy bleeding, with the Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 indices falling 1.25% and 0.36%, respectively.
The selling gripped all major sectors, with the auto pack hit the hardest as the Nifty Auto index crashed 3.15%, while the Nifty Private Bank index tumbled 2.41%.
Other key sectoral indices such as Nifty PSU Bank, Nifty Realty, Nifty IT, and Nifty Chemicals also fell over 1%. Pharma and oil & gas were the only two sectors that saw buying interest.
The ongoing Israel–Iran conflict has entered its 12th day on Wednesday as tensions continue to simmer, with nations refusing to step back and firing missiles at each other’s territory, especially targeting energy infrastructure.
These attacks have disrupted the crude oil supply chain, fueling concerns that higher prices could drag down the global economy, which has recently been hit by trade shocks from the Trump administration.
Wires & cables, auto stocks lead market losses
Apar Industries was the top laggard among Nifty 500 stocks, crashing 7.4% to ₹9,260 apiece, while other wires and cables stocks, including KEI Industries and Finolex Cables, declined 5% and 4.4%, respectively.
Authum Investment & Infrastructure reversed its recent gains as it tumbled 6.8% to ₹453.2 apiece, while Redington shares also came under pressure, erasing most of their previous day’s gains as they fell 4.6% to ₹247.3 apiece.
FMCG stocks such as Colgate-Palmolive (India), Marico, Emami, and Tata Consumer Products all fell between 2.4% and 6.5%.
Auto stocks also saw heavy selling, with TVS Motor Company losing 5% of its value to ₹3,600 apiece. It was followed by Ashok Leyland, Mahindra & Mahindra, Hyundai Motor India, and Eicher Motors, all falling over 3.8%.
Shares of ₹1,255.80″>Axis Bank dropped 4.5% to ₹1,255.80 apiece, marking the biggest intraday decline since mid-December. The fall not only pushed the stock to a 7-week low but also dragged the company’s market capitalisation below ₹4 lakh crore to ₹3,89,270 crore. Overall, 46 constituents of the Nifty 500 declined more than 3%.
Gas stocks surge after government moves to secure domestic supply
In a broad-based sell-off, some stocks managed to close the session higher, with Adani Total Gas rallying 20% to after the government moved to secure domestic gas supplies and boost LPG output amid disruptions linked to the West Asia conflict.
Amid the conflict in West Asia, the government has invoked the Essential Commodities Act to divert natural gas to “priority sectors” that are dependent on the fuel. Likewise, shares of Gujarat Gas, Gujarat State Petronet, and Mahanagar Gas jumped 4.2%, 3.7%, and 3.2%, respectively.
Jindal Saw was another top performer in the pack, surging 19.4% to ₹198 apiece. Other stocks such as Premier Energies, Astral, Radico Khaitan, CEAT, and Chalet Hotels have all surged over 4.4%.
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