March 20, 2026
India’s two key indices rose on Friday morning after a massive sell-off on Wednesday that wiped nearly Rs 12 lakh crore ($128 billion, €110 billion) in investor wealth. The BSE Sensex was up about 1.35% as of 11 a.m. local time, while the NSE Nifty 50 gained roughly 1.37%.
Both indices had fallen more than 3.3% on Wednesday to their lowest levels in nearly a year. The sharp downturn was driven largely by a surge in Brent crude prices, which climbed above $118 a barrel at one point — near their highest since 2022 — amid heightened geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.
Energy prices rose after Iran warned of “zero restraint” if Israel continued strikes on Iranian infrastructure. Attacks on energy facilities, including renewed strikes on Qatar’s Ras Laffan liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities, stoked fears of a severe disruption to global LPG and gas supplies. Energy experts warned the damage could significantly affect global LPG availability.
India is vulnerable to such disruptions: it imports around 65% of its LPG needs, with about 90% of supplies transiting the Gulf of Hormuz and roughly one-third of LPG coming from Qatar. Concerns over energy supply contributed to investor anxiety and the earlier market rout.
On Friday investors found some relief after Israel said it would continue striking Iranian infrastructure but would refrain from targeting the South Pars gas field, offering a modest easing of immediate worst-case supply fears.
Editor’s note: conversion numbers in earlier versions of this entry have been corrected.