Domestic equity indices continued to witness bloodbath and were trading lower with cut of around 2.50 percent in late morning deals as the escalating Middle East conflict sent Brent crude soaring to $110 a barrel, raising growth and inflation risks and driving up energy costs for India. Meanwhile, major Middle East crude oil producers cut output because the critical Strait of Hormuz remains closed due to the Iran war. Further, depreciation in Indian rupee against dollar also weighed down sentiments. The Indian rupee has hit a new all-time low against the US dollar, currently trading at 92.26. The fall comes as rising oil prices, triggered by the ongoing US-Israel conflict with Iran, have put pressure on Asian currencies including the Indian currency. All the sectoral indices on the BSE were trading in red led by Auto, PSU, Bankex, Oil & Gas and Consumer Discretionary.
On the global front, Asian markets were trading lower following the broadly negative cues from US markets on Friday. Back home, in the stock specific development, Gujarat Narmada Valley Fertilizers and Chemicals dropped as the company said the ongoing war in the Middle East region has adversely impacted the supply of LNG.
The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 77009.21, down by 1909.69 points or 2.42% after trading in a range of 76424.55 and 77333.85. There were 1 stock advancing against 29 stocks declining on the index.
The top losing sectoral indices on the BSE were Auto down by 4.43%, PSU down by 3.70%, Bankex down by 3.64%, Oil & Gas down by 3.62% and Consumer Discretionary down by 3.39%, while there were no gainers on sectoral front.
The only gainer on the Sensex was HCL Technologies up by 0.90%. On the flip side, Interglobe Aviation down by 5.73%, SBI down by 5.43%, Maruti Suzuki down by 4.79%, Ultratech Cement down by 4.76% and Mahindra & Mahindra down by 4.54% were the top losers.
Meanwhile, the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) has said that the commerce ministry has assured that full benefits under the export support scheme, the Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products (RoDTEP) will be restored from April 1, 2026. It said the move is expected to provide much-needed support to the exporters grappling with the West Asian crisis. The assurance was given by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) during a meeting with FIEO.
The current 50 per cent RoDTEP rates are applicable until March 31, 2026. On February 23, 2026, the government had reduced RoDTEP duty benefits by half for most products, except agricultural and processed food items. The exporting community had expressed disappointment over the cut in the rates and had urged the commerce ministry to reconsider the decision.
The RoDTEP scheme, introduced in 2021, provides for a refund of taxes, duties and levies that are incurred by exporters in the process of manufacturing and distribution of goods, and are not being reimbursed under any other mechanism at the Centre, state or local level. The refunds under the scheme typically range from about 0.3 per cent to 3.9 per cent of the export value. The budget allocation for RoDTEP Scheme for the current financial year 2025-26 is Rs. 18,232 crores. It was proposed to increase to Rs 21,709 crore in 2026-27. But the budget allocated was Rs 10,000 crore.
The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 23846.80, down by 603.65 points or 2.47% after trading in a range of 23697.80 and 23959.70. There were 2 stocks advancing against 48 stocks declining on the index.
The only gainers on Nifty were HCL Technologies up by 0.91% and Wipro up by 0.45%. On the flip side, Interglobe Aviation down by 5.71%, SBI down by 5.38%, Tata MotorsPassenger down by 5.25%, Shriram Finance down by 4.86% and Maruti Suzuki down by 4.85% were the top losers.
All Asian markets were trading lower; Nikkei 225 slipped 3005.84 points or 5.4% to 52,615.00, Taiwan Weighted lost 1631.98 points or 5.11% to 31,967.56, Jakarta Composite plunged 264.62 points or 3.61% to 7,321.07, Shanghai Composite weakened 32.85 points or 0.8% to 4,091.34, KOSPI dropped 347.41 points or 6.63% to 5,237.46, Hang Seng declined 446.29 points or 1.73% to 25,311.00 and Straits Times fell 107.25 points or 2.21% to 4,741.00.
