0543 GMT - India's Sensex is on track for its largest single-day loss since April 2025 amid renewed risk-off sentiment. Escalating Middle East tensions, surging Brent crude prices and the Fed's hawkish stance, indicating fewer rate cuts, are dragging down equities, says Devarsh Vakil at HDFC Securities. The Iran war has particularly rattled Indian markets, as the country is a major energy importer with limited strategic reserves, leaving it vulnerable to energy price swings. The rupee has hit record lows against the dollar, as aggressive importer demand triggered a sharp selloff, Vakil adds. Indian banks are among the biggest decliners in late-morning trading, with HDFC Bank down 4.5% after its chairman stepped down. Bajaj Finance falls 3.5% and Axis Bank loses 2.7%. Energy stocks are also lower, with Hindustan Petroleum and Bharat Petroleum down 4.6% and 3.0%, respectively. Petronet LNG sheds 3.8%. The benchmark Sensex falls 2.1% to 75064.21. (jason.chau@wsj.com)

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 19, 2026 01:43 ET (05:43 GMT)

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