NIFTY50, SENSEX today: Asian markets plunge, crude oil surges as US Iran war escalates; here are key things to know

The Indian equity benchmarks are set to open lower on Wednesday, September 2, as indicated by GIFT NIFTY futures. NIFTY futures at GIFT City in Gandhinagar fell 48 points to 24,042 amid weak cues from Asian markets.

The Indian equity benchmarks declined for a second straight session on Tuesday as investor sentiment remained negative tracking a surge in crude prices and a broad-based selloff.

The SENSEX fell as much as 301 points and the NIFTY50 index touched an intraday high of 24,143 and a low of 23,952 dragged down by heavyweights like State Bank of India, ICICI Bank, Maruti Suzuki, Mahindra & Mahindra and Axis Bank.

The SENSEX ended 13 points lower at 76,944 and NIFTY50 index dropped 25 points to close at 24,056.

Asian markets

Asian markets were trading sharply lower as fighting between United States and Iran escalated. The US military said it carried out a wave of strikes against Iranian military targets, with Iranian media reporting explosions in Asaluyeh, Jiroft, Bandar Abbas, Qeshm Island, Konarak, Chabahar, Jask, Sirik and Lavan.

In response, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed an attack on a US military barracks at Jordan’s Camp Titin, and Iran’s army said it targeted US forces stationed at Bahrain’s Sheikh Isa airbase, according to a report by -Al Jazeera_.

Japan's Nikkei fell 2.9%, South Korea's KOSPI dropped 3.08%, China' Shanghai Composite index plunged 1.14% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index tumbled 1.35%.

Wall Street update

Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.8%, S&P 500 index declined 0.71% and tech heavy Nasdaq index dropped 1%.

Crude oil update

Brent crude futures surged as much as 5.91% to hit an intraday high of $96.99 per barrel amid escalating tensions in West Asia.

President Donald Trump said that he is not trying to force Iran back to the negotiating table, dismissing reports that Washington is seeking a new agreement with Tehran.

“I like our position now much better, with almost total control of the Hormuz Strait, and their economy totally collapsing,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.

FII/DII activity

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought shares worth ₹1,143.38 crore on Tuesday while domestic institutional investors bought stocks worth ₹1,846.94 crore, as per NSE data.

Stocks to watch

Nautiyal, former deputy managing director of SBI, was appointed as MD and CEO of Ujjivan Small Finance Bank (SFB) for three years with effect from July 1, 2024.

In an e-mail dated August 31, 2026 Nautiyal expressed his desire to seek an early retirement from the bank with 3 months’ notice period, the lender said in a regulatory filing.

The miner's offtake rose 5.5 per cent to 60.6 million tonnes in the last month as compared to 57.4 million tonnes in August 2025, the data said.

For the cumulative period between April and August this year, CIL's coal production stood at 267.5 million tonnes, down 4.5 per cent from 280.2 million tonnes in the corresponding period last fiscal.

The demand includes GST of ₹33.58 crore, interest of ₹20.15 crore and a penalty of ₹33.58 crore, the company said in a regulatory filing.

The notice, issued by the Assistant Commissioner of Commercial Taxes (Enforcement)-4, Mysore, Karnataka, pertains to issues such as alleged ineligible Input Tax Credit (ITC), excess ITC availed and differential tax liability based on E-waybill records.

To this effect, a cheque towards the final dividend on the equity (58.17%) held by the Government of India was presented to H D Kumaraswamy, Union Minister of Heavy Industries and Steel by K Sadashiv Murthy, Chairman and Managing Director, BHEL, a release said.

The brownfield project expands Gateway's presence in the North East.

This will be backed by RCPL's national distribution infrastructure, retail scale and consumer insights, said a statement from RCPL.