The key equity benchmarks ended with major losses today, with rising crude oil prices, escalating geopolitical tensions in West Asia, and continued foreign fund outflows weighing on investor sentiment.

The Nifty settled near the 24,450 mark. Except for the IT index, all other indices on the NSE closed in the red on the NSE.

As per provisional closing data, the S&P BSE Sensex, plunged 1,097 points or 1.37% to 78,918.90. The Nifty 50 index tanked 315.45 points or 1.27% to 24,450.45.

In the broader market, the BSE 150 MidCap Index fell 1.07% and the BSE 250 SmallCap Index declined 0.67%.

The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 2,118 shares rose and 2,047 shares fell. A total of 182 shares were unchanged.

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, surged 11.32% to 19.88.

IPO Update:

The initial public offer (IPO) of Sedemac Mechatronics received bids for 1,24,73,362 shares as against 56,32,899 shares on offer, according to stock exchange data at 15:25 IST on Friday (6 March 2026). The issue was subscribed 2.21 times.

The issue opened for bidding on 4 March 2026 and it will close on 6 March 2026. The price band of the IPO is fixed between Rs 1,287 and 1,357 per share.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Private Bank index declined 2.27% to 27,418.60. The index added 0.45% in previous trading session.

ICICI Bank (down 3.34%), Axis Bank (down 2.59%), HDFC Bank (down 2.51%), IndusInd Bank (down 2.26%) and RBL Bank (down 2.23%), Kotak Mahindra Bank (down 1.94%), Bandhan Bank (down 1.34%), Federal Bank (down 1.09%), IDFC First Bank (down 0.68%) and Yes Bank (down 0.59%) declined.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Reliance Industries advanced 1.11% after the company's FMCG arm, Reliance Consumer Products (RCPL) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Finland's leading foods company Fazer, to distribute premium chocolates in India.

Aye Finance rose 0.52%. The company's standalone net profit surged 87.09% to Rs 42.60 crore on 22.66% increase in revenue from operations to Rs 442.78 crore in Q3 December 2025 over Q3 December 2024.

Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers (GRSE) added 5.09% after the company signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Kalyani Strategic Systems (KSSL) to develop India's indigenous naval systems and unmanned maritime platforms.

NMDC rallied 1.57% after the company announced a price hike for Baila Lump iron ore (65.5%, 10-40MM) and Baila Fines (64%, -10 mm), with revised rates effective from 6 March 2026.

Angel One fell 2.27%. The company announced that its client base jumped 20.8% year-on-year (YoY) to 36.93 million in February 2026, compared with 30.58 million in February 2025.

Fractal Analytics surged 4.91% after the company reported 10.6% jump in consolidated net profit to Rs 102.60 crore on 20.8% increase in net sales 854.40 crore in Q3 FY26 over Q3 FY25.

Rajesh Power Services advanced 1.46% after its wholly-owned subsidiary, Rajesh Power Projects, signed a Battery Energy Storage Purchase Agreement (BESPA) with Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam (GUVNL).

The project involves developing a 65 MW / 130 MWh standalone Battery Energy Storage System at Virpore, Gujarat. The agreement sets a 12-year operational framework at a contracted tariff of Rs 1.89 lakh per MW per month and marks Rajesh Power's formal entry into the utility-scale battery energy storage segment.

Global Markets:

The US Dow Jones index futures are currently down by 176 points, signaling a negative opening for US stocks today.

European equities traded lower on Friday, reversing their positive start to the session, as oil prices resumed their rally with investors monitoring the ongoing war in the Middle East.

Seasonally adjusted GDP in the fourth quarter of 2025 grew 0.2% in both the euro area and the EU, slightly lower than Q3 growth of 0.3% and 0.4%, respectively, according to Eurostat estimates.

Asian markets ended higher despite overnight losses on Wall Street as the Iran conflict pushed energy prices higher.

On the commodity exchanges, oil prices broke through the $80 per barrel mark, with Brent futures last trading at $84.17.

More uncertainty was also seen on the global trade front after New York Attorney General Letitia James and the top prosecutors of 23 other states once again sued to block President Donald Trump's global tariff regime.

This comes after the U.S. Court of International Trade had ruled on Thursday that companies were entitled to tariff refunds from Trump's duties that were struck down by the Supreme Court.

On Wall Street, stocks resumed their decline Thursday after a one-day respite as concerns over the Iran war flared up again.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 784.67 points, or 1.61%, to 47,954.74. The S&P 500 fell 0.56% to 6,830.71, while the Nasdaq Composite dipped 0.26% to 22,748.99.

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