Weekly Wrap: NIFTY50 down 2.5%, SENSEX lost 1,953 pts this week; HDFC Life, Shriram Finance among other losers

This week, the Indian stock market investors were trading on the backdrop of high crude oil prices in the market, a volatile Indian rupee, and the mixed global cues from the ongoing conflict between the United States and Iran in West Asia.

The NIFTY50 index lost 2.5% or 593.35 points this week, closing at 22,713.10, while the BSE SENSEX index dropped 2.6% or 1,953.90 points, closing at 73,319.55 after this week’s trading session.

Stock market on April 2

The NIFTY50 index closed 0.15% higher at 22,713.10 points after Thursday’s stock market session, compared to 22,679.40 points at the previous market close, according to NSE data. The benchmark index witnessed a massive rebound during the afternoon market session as the investor sentiment turned positive on the backdrop of a stronger rupee against the dollar.

The BSE SENSEX index closed 0.25% higher at 73,319.55 points on April 2, compared to 73,134.32 points at the previous market close, according to the exchange data. The stock markets will remain closed on Friday, April 3, 2026, on account of the scheduled market holiday for Good Friday.

During Thursday’s market session, the markets opened lower after US President Donald Trump’s national address to America dulled hopes for a potential de-escalation between the United States and Iran in relation to the West Asia conflict.

Factors driving markets this week

As the US-Iran conflict is nearing the end of the fifth week since its beginning on February 28, the stock markets around the world, including India, were witnessing high volatility with investors trading cautiously as a result of the war putting pressure on the supply of oil and global energy trade.

The latest development in West Asia suggests that US President Donald Trump threatened Iran that the US will carry out aggressive military strikes on the Gulf nation over the next two to three weeks as they aim to complete their main strategic objectives by this month.

Trump’s threat, along with no imminent signal of a potential end to the conflict, has fuelled crude oil prices, along with the demand for the US dollar in the market. Brent crude oil prices were trading 7.99% higher at around $109 per barrel during the early hours on Friday, April 3.

This week, the crude oil prices have been trading in the range of $98.35 per bbl to $119.24 per bbl, highlighting the volatility and the prices being highly sensitive to the developments in West Asia, which, in case of any escalation, have the potential to stop the flow of crude oil through the Strait of Hormuz.

Bloomberg US dollar spot index showed that the greenback was trading 0.35% higher at 100 as of 3:30 pm (EDT) on April 2, according to the data.

With the higher oil prices in the market and an elevated dollar rate, the Indian benchmark indices were witnessing mixed cues as foreign investors kept pulling out money from the emerging markets to allocate to safer assets like gold or the US treasuries.

NSE data showed that foreign investors (FII/FPIs) have sold ₹9,931.13 crore worth of assets in the capital markets across the exchanges in a single day on April 2, while the domestic investors purchased ₹7,208.41 crore in assets on Thursday.

Top 5 gainers & losers this week

Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), Power Grid Corporation of India, Tata Steel, Coal India, and Bharat Electronics (BEL) were among the top gainers this week on the Indian stock market.

ONGC gained nearly 19%, Power Grid Corp. was up 7%, Tata Steel was up 6.2%, Coal India was up 5%, and BEL was up 4.6% in the week ended Thursday, April 2.

While stocks like HDFC Life Insurance Company, Shriram Finance, Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories, Bajaj Finance and Bajaj Finserv were among the top losers this week on the NIFTY50 index.

HDFC Life was down 7.6%, Shriram Finance was down 6.7%, Dr. Reddy’s down 6.4%, Bajaj Finance lost 6.3% and Bajaj Finserv was down 6%, according to NSE data.

Top performing sectors this week

Data collected from the NSE website showed that the Nifty IT index gained 2.6% this week and Nifty Metal index rose 1%, amid an overall weak stock market performance for the week ending April 2.

India’s volatility index, the Nifty VIX was up 3.6% on a weekly basis as of the market close after Thursday’s trading session due to the dynamic trends and developments in the stock market.

Among the losers this week, major indices like Nifty PSU Bank was down 5.2%, Nifty Financial Services was down 4.1%, Nifty Bank was down 4%, Nifty Auto was down 3.9%, Nifty Pharma was down 3.8%, and Nifty FMCG lost 2.2%.

On the Mid-cap front, the Nifty Midcap 100 index lost 3% this week closing 0.26% lower at 53,677.05 points after Thursday’s stock market session, compared to 53,819.15 points at the previous market close, NSE data showed.

Stocks like National Aluminimum Co. was up 9.4%, Persistent Systems up 6.1%, Oracle Financial Services Software up 6%, Coforge was up 4.3%, and LIC Housing Finance gained 4.3% this week on the mid-cap index.

While others like Ashok Leyland was down 13.2%, LG Electronics India lost 12.7%, Blue Star down 12.4%, Voltas down 9.7%, and Mahindra and Mahindra Financial Services lost 9.7% in the week ended April 2.

The Nifty Smallcap 100 index lost 1.5% this week, closing 0.38% lower at 15,650.50 points after the final trading session of the week on Thursday, compared to 15,709.80 points at the previous market session, NSE data showed.

Ola Electric Mobility up nearly 19%, Anand Rathi Wealth up 7.2%, Urban Company up 6.8%, Wockhardt was up 6.2%, and Natco Pharma gained 5.5% on a weekly basis as of Thursday’s market close.

Among other stocks were PG Electroplast which lost 12%, Pine Labs down 7.1%, Amber Enterprises India down 6.9%, Syngene International was down 6.6%, and IIFL Finance lost 6.3% this week.