Asia markets plunge
Asian markets tumbled as the Sensex plunged more than 1,800 points and the Nifty fell over 600 points in a single session, while the rupee hit a record closing low amid Middle East tensions (indiatoday.in). Global energy angst pushed Brent toward $113 a barrel as Strait of Hormuz disruptions tightened flows (ibtimes.com.au). Gold also plunged, posting its steepest weekly drop in decades, compounding the risk-off move for travel and consumer costs (rte.ie).
BSE Sensex closed at 72,696.39, down 1,836.57 points (2.46%); the NSE Nifty50 settled at 22,512.65, a drop of 601.85 points (2.60%). (etnownews.com) The slide erased roughly ₹13 lakh crore from the market-cap of BSE-listed firms, leaving total BSE market capitalisation near ₹416 lakh crore by mid-session. (economictimes.indiatimes.com) The Indian rupee breached the ₹94 mark for the first time, closing provisionally at a record low of ₹94.03 to the dollar, a fall of about 50 paise on the day. (business-standard.com) Brent crude surged toward $113 a barrel amid reported disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, with traders pricing a widening geopolitical premium as the Brent–WTI spread topped about $14. (ibtimes.com) Japan’s Nikkei opened sharply lower — down roughly 2,000 points (around 5%) at one point — while South Korea’s Kospi plunged about 6% as Asian markets reacted to higher oil and geopolitical risk. (invezz.com) Spot gold fell to roughly $4,247.39 an ounce on March 23, a daily drop near 5.4%, and recorded an over-11% weekly decline — the steepest weekly fall for the metal in decades. (tradingeconomics.com) Foreign portfolio investors remained net sellers in March, pulling about ₹88,180 crore from Indian equities so far and pushing 2026 FPI outflows past the ₹1 lakh crore mark amid the Middle East shock and rising crude. (economictimes.indiatimes.com)
