Debasis Mohapatra
Bengaluru, 19 March 2026
Indian market saw deep correction in the morning trade on Thursday as a combination of global and domestic factors weighed on investors’ sentiment. At 11 AM IST, Nifty was trading 2% down at 23,282.55, while Sensex was down 2% at 75,117.5.
Several factors were affecting such a bearish grip on the market. They are:
- Iran war spreads with hit on key oil & LNG facilities: In the last two days, several crucial oil and gas reserves were hit by the warring parties. Ras Laffan Industrial City, Qatar’s main LNG export hub, was been targeted by Iran, which handles around 77 to 80 million tonnes per annum of LNG exports. That is close to 20% of global LNG trade on which Asian economies like India and China are dependent. Overnight, Israel bombed Iranian facilities linked to South Pars, the largest natural gas field in the world. Such attacks have escalated the war to another level now with consuming countries like India at the receiving end.
- Federal Reserve kept the interest rate unchanged: Federal Reserve kept the interest rates unchanged at 3.7% and dashed hopes of any rate cut in the near-term owing to the risks arising from Middle East conflict. The US market indices dropped after the Fed commentary and all Asian indices were trading in red on Thursday.
- HDFC Bank fiasco: HDFC Bank late Monday informed stock exchanges that Atanu Chakraborty had, on March 18, 2026, tendered his resignation as the part-time chairman and independent director of the bank with immediate effect, citing ethical reasons. The stock plunged initially but recovered a bit after Reserve Bank of India appointed Keki Mistry as the interim head of the largest private sector lender. Mistry assuaged the market as he said that there was no material matters for the resignation. HDFC was trading 4.9% down at Rs 801.20 (at 11.25 AM IST) in NSE on Thursday.
- 2nd order impact plays out: From oil marketing companies to FMCG, real estate, paints, metal, hospitality and all other segments started to feel the pinch of gas and fuel shortage owing to the Iran war. India VIX jumped close to 15% to be at 21.53 on Thursday (at 11.30 AM IST), showing nervousness among investors. FII selling continued in Indian market though DIIs investment remained steady.
