India Stocks: Indian shares sink as HDFC Bank tumbles; oil spike, hawkish Fed weigh

HDFC Bank

19/03/2026 04:30

Updates for morning trade

By Bharath Rajeswaran and Vivek Kumar M

March 19 (Reuters) - Indian shares sank on Thursday, dragged by HDFC Bank after its part-time chairman resigned, while surging crude prices and a hawkish Federal Reserve weighed on global sentiment.

The Nifty 50 .NSEI was down 2.24% at 23,245.45, while the BSE Sensex .BSESN lost 2.33% to 74,906.91, as of 9:55 a.m. IST.

HDFC Bank HDBK.NS, India's top private lender and the heaviest-weighted stock in the benchmarks, slid as much as 8.66%, its steepest intraday drop in over two years, after its part-time chairman Atanu Chakraborty quit, citing differences over "values and ethics."

"While (Chakraborty's resignation) letter does not allege specific misconduct, perception alone can weigh on sentiment until credible steps are outlined and delivered," said Anuj Singla, analyst at J.P.Morgan.

"In our view, this could widen the governance risk premium embedded in the shares," Singla said.

All 16 major sectors declined, with financials .NIFTYFIN and banks .NSEBANK sliding 3% each, dragged by HDFC Bank.

The broader small-caps .NIFSMCP100 and mid-caps .NIFMDCP100 lost about 2% each.

Other Asian stocks .MIAPJ0000PUS dipped 2.3% tracking a sharp slump in Wall Street overnight, as surging crude prices and a hawkish Federal Reserve intensified a global market selloff.

Iran attacked several energy facilities across the Middle East on Wednesday, following a strike on its South Pars gas field, marking a major escalation in the war and pushing crude to $112 per barrel.

The Fed kept rates unchanged on Wednesday but struck a hawkish tone, citing risks from the Iran war that has driven energy prices higher.

Higher U.S. rates make emerging markets such as India less attractive to foreign investors.

"The Fed's rate pause, given the Middle East war-related uncertainty, restricts weaker dollar and therefore hurts EM trade, which will see perils of both higher energy prices and weaker currency," said Ankita Pathak, head of global investments at Ionic Asset.

Among individual stocks, Larsen and Toubro LART.NS, which has significant revenue exposure to the Middle East region, lost 3.5%.

 (Reporting by Vivek Kumar M and Bharath Rajeswaran; Editing by Sumana Nandy and Sonia Cheema)

 ((VivekKumar.M@thomsonreuters.com;))