SENSEX plunges over 2,000 points, NIFTY50 below 23,300; HDFC Bank drops most in six years

The Indian equity benchmarks nosedived on Thursday, March 19 as crude oil prices surged in international markets after tensions in Middle East escalated and HDFC Bank shares came under freefall after its chairman resigned with immediate effect amid weak cues from global markets

The SENSEX fell as much as 2,019 points and NIFTY50 index touched an intraday low of 23,180.95 dragged down by losses in index heavyweights like HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Larsen & Toubro, Axis Bank, Infosys, Mahindra & Mahindra and State Bank of India.

As of 9:25 am, the SENSEX was down 1,421 points or 1.88% at 75,265 and NIFTTY50 index dropped 494 points or 1.86% at 23,344.

Asian markets were trading sharply lower on Thursday tracking weak closing of US markets after United States Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged and tensions in Middle East escalated.

Iran accused Israel of striking its facilities in the huge South Pars gas field on Wednesday in a major escalation in the US-Israeli war that sent oil prices shooting higher, and retaliated by vowing attacks on oil and gas targets throughout ‌the Gulf, firing missiles at Qatar and Saudi Arabia, news agency Reuters reported.

Japan's Nikkei dropped 2.65%, China's Shanghai Composite declined 0.65%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng plunged 1.5% and South Korea's KOSPI index tumbled 2.3%.

Back home, selling pressure was visible across the board as all major sector gauges compiled by the National Stock Exchange (NSE) were 0trading lower led by the NIFTY Bank index's 2.5% fall. NIFTY Private Bank, Auto, Financial Services, FMCG, IT, Metal, Pharma, PSU Bank, Realty and Consumer Durables indices also fell between 1.5% and 2.6%.

Broader markets were also facing selling pressure as NIFTY Midcap 100 index dropped 1.84% and NIFTY Smallcap 100 index plunged 1.6%.

HDFC Bank was top loser in the NIFTY50 index, the stock dropped as much as 8.66%, its biggest single-day drop since March 18, 2020, to hit a fresh 52-week low of ₹770 after the country's largest private sector lender announced the resignation of its part-time chairman and independent director, Atanu Chakraborty.

The exchange filing said, “Mr. Atanu Chakraborty has today, i.e., on March 18, 2026, tendered his resignation as the Part-time Chairman and Independent Director of the Bank with immediate effect.”

Shriram Finance, Eternal, Larsen & Toubro, Bajaj Finance, Tata Motors PV, Axis Bank, Mahindra & Mahindra and InterGlobe Aviation also fell between 2.65% and 3.5%.

On the flip side, ONGC was the only gainer in the NIFTY50 index.

The overall market breadth was extremely negative as 2,338 shares were declining while 410 were advancing on the NSE.