India’s stock benchmarks post fifth straight weekly loss on continuing Iran war

India’s benchmark shares declined for a fifth straight week on Friday, their longest losing streak in about eight months, as fraught Middle East ceasefire negotiations and elevated crude oil prices intensified foreign outflows and battered the rupee. The Nifty 50 fell 2.09% to 22,819.60 on Friday, while the BSE Sensex slipped 2.25% to 73,583.22. For the week, both lost about 1.3%, with the broader small-caps and mid-caps losing 0.6% and 1.4%, respectively. The rupee settled at a record low of 94.8125 per dollar, as oil prices staying above $100 dampened economic and earnings outlook for the world’s third-largest crude oil importer, sparking record monthly foreign outflows worth $12.14 billion. The Nifty and Sensex have declined about 9.5% each since the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran began on February 28, and the volatility index spiked to 27.09, hovering at its highest since June 2024. Reflecting those concerns, Goldman Sachs cut India’s 2026 growth forecast to 5.9% from 7% and downgraded Indian equities to “marketweight” from “overweight”. U.S. President Donald Trump said he would extend for 10 days the deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz or face the destruction of its energy plants, while Tehran rejected a 15-point U.S. proposal to end the fighting as “unfair”. Indian corporates are very susceptible to higher energy costs and supply shortages, said Dhananjay Sinha, chief executive and co-head of institutional equities at Systematix Group. Markets will face “sharper downward earnings revisions than previously anticipated as higher crude would lead to margin contraction to about 9% from 16%,” said Sinha. Energy and metal stocks fell 1.9% and 2.2% for the week. HDFC Bank slid 3.1% in its fifth consecutive weekly drop, marking its longest losing run insix years, as the markets regulator began a preliminary review of part-time chairman Atanu Chakraborty’s abrupt resignation. ONGC rose 6.2%, its best week in two months, on continually high oil prices.

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