Indian shares log steepest fall in nearly 2 years as HDFC Bank, oil spike weigh

Indian equity benchmarks slumped more than 3% on Thursday in their worst session since June 2024, dragged down by heavyweight HDFC Bank after the abrupt exit of its chairman and by a surge in crude prices following attacks on Middle East energy facilities.

The Nifty 50 fell 3.26% to 23,002.15 points, while the BSE Sensex also lost as much to settle at 74,207.24.

About 13 trillion rupees ($139.47 billion) in market value was wiped out on the National Stock Exchange of India on Wednesday with market cap losses since the start of the war totalling about $400 billion.

The Indian rupee is expected to fall past the 93 to dollar mark when the local FX market opens after a day’s break on Friday.

The sharp selloff followed a fresh escalation in the war, stoking fears of supply disruptions and sending Brent crude to its highest level in over a week.

“Even if the conflict gets resolved, energy prices may not come back to pre-war levels immediately, given the damage to energy infrastructure in the region,” said Dhiraj Relli, managing director and chief executive officer of HDFC Securities.

India is particularly vulnerable to energy price shocks, importing the bulk of its crude and gas. A sustained rise threatens to stoke inflation, dent growth and widen the current account deficit in Asia’s third-largest economy.

All 16 major sectors declined, with financials and banks falling 3.8% and 3.4%, weighed by HDFC Bank.

Auto stocks dropped 4.3%, losing the most among major sectors, while real estate and travel and tourism fell 3.8% each.

Oil marketing companies and consumer durable makers also slipped.

Broader markets mirrored the weakness, with mid-caps and small-caps declining 3.2% and 2.9%.

“We are likely to see downward revisions in earnings forecasts for Indian companies, driven both by the direct impact of higher crude prices and their cascading effect across input costs and consumption,” analysts said.

State-run explorer ONGC was the only gainer on the Nifty, settling up 1.6%.