March 20, 2026
India’s benchmark indices recovered on Friday morning after a sharp midweek rout that erased nearly Rs 12 lakh crore ($128 billion, €110 billion) of investor wealth. By 11 a.m. local time the BSE Sensex had gained about 1.35% and the NSE Nifty 50 was up roughly 1.37%.
Both indices had plunged more than 3.3% on Wednesday to their weakest levels in almost a year, pressured by a spike in Brent crude that briefly topped $118 a barrel — its highest since 2022 — amid escalating tensions in the Middle East.
The oil-price jump followed warnings from Iran of “zero restraint” if Israel continued strikes on Iranian infrastructure, and a series of attacks on energy facilities. Renewed strikes on Qatar’s Ras Laffan LNG complex in particular raised concerns about a substantial disruption to global LPG and gas supplies. Energy analysts warned the damage could significantly curtail LPG availability worldwide.
India is especially exposed to such disruptions: it imports about 65% of its LPG, nearly 90% of those supplies transit the Gulf of Hormuz, and roughly one-third of its LPG comes from Qatar. Those supply worries were a major factor behind the earlier market sell-off.
Investor nerves eased somewhat on Friday after Israel said it would continue strikes on Iranian infrastructure but would avoid targeting the South Pars gas field, reducing some immediate fears about worst-case supply disruptions.
Editor’s note: conversion numbers in earlier versions of this entry have been corrected.