Stock Market Falls: Sensex Drops 829 Points, Nifty Down 228 as Auto Stocks Slide

Indian stock markets ended lower for the second consecutive day on March 12, mainly due to the rise in crude oil prices triggered by the ongoing Israel–Iran conflict.

The BSE Sensex, which opened at 76,369.65, fell sharply during the day by nearly 900 points. By the end of the trading session, the Sensex closed down 829.29 points at 76,034.42.

Similarly, the NSE Nifty declined 227.70 points to close at 23,639.15.

Among the Nifty 50 stocks, Mahindra & Mahindra, Eicher Motors, and Maruti Suzuki were among the biggest losers.

In the Sensex 30 index, Power Grid, NTPC, Tech Mahindra, and HCL Tech were among the gainers, while most other stocks ended lower.

Sector-wise, auto stocks recorded the sharpest decline, while financial services, banking, and consumer goods sectors also traded in the negative zone. IT stocks showed mixed performance.

Meanwhile, oil and gas, media, metal, and chemical sector stocks ended with gains.

Global concerns intensified after Brent crude oil prices crossed $100 per barrel (reaching $101.53) due to the Middle East conflict, leading to increased selling by foreign investors.

The Indian rupee also weakened against the US dollar, falling to 92.37 during early trade before recovering slightly to 92.17 by the end of the session.