Benchmark indices slip 2% as crude oil prices remain high

Benchmark indices dipped 2% due to a sustained increase in crude oil prices on Friday (March 13, 2026). Both Nifty and Sensex declined about 2% to close at 23,151.10 and 74,563.92, respectively.

Nifty opened at 23,462.50 and touched 23,492.40 before slipping to 23,112.00 and settling at the day’s close. The decline was broad-based, with all sectoral indices falling as much as 4.8%.

Nifty Metal and Nifty PSU declined the most with 4.8% and 3.7%. Aside from the increase in crude prices, the fall in indices was also triggered by the rupee hitting a fresh low of 92.3 against the U.S. dollar and foreign institutional investors (FII) selling ₹52,704 crore worth of equities in a day. As of Friday (March 14, 2026), this was the highest selling by FIIs in a day since January 2025, when the full-month sell-off was ₹78,027 crore.

“Market volatility is expected to persist in the near term as geopolitical tensions in West Asia continue to disrupt the energy sector and push crude oil prices higher, while uncertainty around shipping routes through the Strait of Hormuz keeps risk sentiment fragile,” said Siddhartha Khemka, Head of Research, Wealth Management, Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd.

He further said that the market direction was likely to remain sensitive to developments in West Asia, movements in crude oil prices, and the trend in foreign fund flows.