Stock market crash today: Nifty50 and BSE Sensex dropped in trade on Friday as US-Iran war tensions and crude oil prices continued to weight on sentiment. While Nifty50 went below 22,850, BSE Sensex was down almost 1,700 points. Nifty50 ended the day at 22,819.60, down 487 points or 2.09%. BSE Sensex closed at 73,583.22, down 1,690 points or 2.25%.A weakening rupee and fading hopes of de-escalation in the Iran–US conflict weighed on investor sentiment and brought selling pressure back to Dalal Street.The sell-off wiped out nearly Rs 9 lakh crore in market capitalisation of BSE-listed companies, pulling the total valuation down to below Rs 422 lakh crore, according to an ET report.
Why did stock market crash today? Top reasons
Iran-US conflict persistsOngoing hostilities between Iran and the US-Israel bloc continue to unsettle global markets, despite optimistic remarks from US President Donald Trump. He maintained that negotiations with Iran were progressing “very well”. However, an Iranian official, cited by Reuters, described the US proposal to end the conflict as “one-sided and unfair”.Late on Thursday, Trump said he would delay any strike on Iran’s energy infrastructure and extended the deadline for Tehran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz to April 6. Even so, investors appear increasingly sceptical about a near-term easing of tensions, which had earlier supported a brief two-day recovery in domestic equities.Oil prices stay elevatedCrude oil prices remain high despite some moderation in early trade. Oil futures slipped around 1% in the morning session, but Brent crude continued to trade near $107 per barrel as expectations of de-escalation weakened.Shares of Reliance Industries (RIL) fell sharply by more than 4% on Friday after the government reinstated windfall taxes on exports of diesel and aviation turbine fuel (ATF). The decline in the Mukesh Ambani-led company’s stock erased over Rs 82,000 crore from its market capitalisation during the session.As per a notification issued on Thursday, the government has rolled back its earlier move to remove these levies, as it looks to adjust revenue collection from the energy sector in response to increased volatility in global crude markets.Rupee drops to 94A major factor behind the downturn was the continued fall in the Indian rupee, which slipped past the 94 mark against the US dollar to hit a new record low of 94.1575. This surpassed its previous low of 93.98 recorded earlier in the week and reflects a depreciation of around 3.5 per cent since the conflict began last month.Analysts said the rupee’s weakness has been driven by ongoing geopolitical tensions and sustained foreign portfolio investor outflows. VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Investments, noted that continued FPI selling and concerns over capital outflows have kept the currency under pressure despite a decline in Brent crude prices and intervention by the Reserve Bank of India.Jateen Trivedi, VP Research Analyst of Commodity and Currency at LKP Securities, said that disruptions around the Strait of Hormuz continue to pose supply risks, supporting elevated crude prices and weighing on India’s import outlook. He added that unless energy supply conditions improve significantly, the rupee is likely to remain weak in the near term, with a projected range of 93.70 to 94.50.Global markets under pressureUS equities witnessed their steepest decline since the start of the Middle East conflict, driven by concerns over prolonged tensions. The S&P 500 dropped 1.7%, while the Nasdaq fell more than 2%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average also declined by over 1%.Asian markets largely traded lower on Friday. South Korea’s Kospi fell nearly 3%, and Japan’s Nikkei slipped more than 0.6%. Meanwhile, China’s Shanghai Composite and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng posted marginal gains.European markets ended the previous session sharply lower, with France’s CAC, Germany’s DAX and the UK’s FTSE each declining by more than 1%.Continued FII outflowsSustained selling by foreign institutional investors remains a key drag on market sentiment. FIIs were net sellers of Indian equities for the 19th straight session, offloading shares worth about Rs 1,805 crore on Wednesday, according to NSE data. Although this does not include the latest session, persistent outflows in recent days have weighed on investor confidence.Rise in US bond yieldsUS Treasury yields moved higher as expectations of a resolution to the conflict weakened. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury note rose by 4 basis points to exceed 4.42% on Friday. The two-year yield, which is closely linked to expectations of Federal Reserve policy moves, remained elevated at 3.98%. Higher bond yields typically make fixed-income investments more attractive compared to equities, adding pressure on stock markets.(Disclaimer: Recommendations and views on the stock market, other asset classes or personal finance management tips given by experts are their own. These opinions do not represent the views of The Times of India)
