Mumbai, March 23: The Indian stock market opened sharply lower on Monday, March 23, tracking weak global cues and heavy selling across sectors. The BSE Sensex plunged over 1,400 points in early trade, falling 1.92 percent to 73,104.73, while the NSE Nifty dropped below the crucial 23,000 mark for the first time since April 17, 2025.

At one point, the Sensex was down 1,520.65 points or 2.04 percent at 73,012.31, while the Nifty declined 464.65 points or 2.01 percent to 22,649.85. Market breadth remained weak, with 2,043 stocks declining, 629 advancing, and 192 remaining unchanged. Stock Markets Sink as Strait of Hormuz Crisis Deepens; South Korea Drops 5.6%, Japan Slides 4.8%.

Heavyweight stocks such as Hindalco, Tata Steel, SBI, M&M, and HDFC Bank led the losses on the Nifty. On the other hand, Max Healthcare and ONGC were among the few gainers in an otherwise weak market. HDFC Bank Share Price Today, March 20, 2026: Stocks of HDFC Bank Limited Open in Red, Check Latest Price on NSE.

“All sectors opened in the red,” reflecting broad-based selling pressure. Nifty PSU Bank, Auto, Financial Services, Realty, and Consumer Durables indices fell more than 2 percent each. Broader markets also witnessed significant declines, with the Nifty Midcap 100 down 2.02 percent and the Nifty Smallcap 100 slipping 2.22 percent.

The sharp fall comes amid a global market sell-off. Asian markets were under pressure, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 falling 3.3 percent and South Korea’s Kospi down 4.6 percent. On Friday, US markets also ended lower, with the S&P 500 declining 1.51 percent and the Dow Jones falling 0.96 percent.

Analysts attribute the decline to weak global sentiment, triggering a gap-down opening in domestic equities.

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(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 23, 2026 09:30 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).