Meanwhile, the Indian government has slashed additional excise duty on both petrol and diesel on the backdrop of the ongoing US-Iran war in West Asia. The additional excise duty on petrol has been lowered to Rs 3 per litre from Rs 13 per litre earlier. Meanwhile, the excise duty on diesel was cut to nil from Rs 10 per liter earlier. The move to cut petrol and diesel excise duty is aimed at providing relief to the oil marketing companies as oil prices continue to trade above $100 per barrel amid the war in the Middle East. Barring the Nifty IT index, all other sectoral indices on the NSE traded in the red, with the PSU Bank, chemical and auto indices declining the most.

At 13:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex tumbled 1,333.06 points or 1.78% to 73,940.39. The Nifty 50 index fell 382.20 points or 1.63% to 22,924.25.

The broader market underperformed the frontline indices. The BSE 150 MidCap Index slipped 1.69% and the BSE 250 SmallCap Index declined 1.66%.

The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 878 shares rose and 3,360 shares fell. A total of 161 shares were unchanged.

The rupee fell to a record low of 94.7925 against the U.S. dollar, compared with its previous close of 93.9600 weighed down by the ongoing conflict in West Asia.

US-Iran Warfare

As the Middle East conflict continues without clarity, uncertainty remains a key concern for investors.

According to media reports, U.S. President Donald Trump has decided to extend the pause on potential strikes targeting Iran's energy infrastructure into April, stating that the decision was taken at Tehran's 'request.' However, subsequent media reports suggested that Iran had not formally sought any such pause.

Meanwhile, Iran is said to have rejected a 15-point proposal put forward by the United States and instead presented its own set of conditions. These reportedly include assurances that the U.S. and Israel would not resume military actions against Iran, along with recognition of Iran's control over the Strait of Hormuz.

Gainers & Losers:

Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (up 4.87%), Tata Consultancy Services (up 1.77%), Wipro (up 1.03%), Coal India (up 0.59%) and Power Grid Corporation of India (up 0.53%) were the major Nifty50 gainers.

Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles (down 4.43%), Shriram Finance (down 4.22%), Shriram Finance (down 4.05%), Bajaj Finance (down 3.73%) and Bajaj Finserv (down 2.93%) were the major Nifty50 losers.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Larsen & Toubro declined 1.89%. The company said its buildings & factories (B&F) vertical has secured multiple orders across several states in India, with the total value classified as 'significant' (Rs 1,000 crore ' Rs 2,500 crore).

Royal Orchid Hotels (ROHL) fell 1.44%. The company announced the signing of a new upscale hotel project in Mundra, further strengthening its presence in key industrial and port cities across the country.

ACME Solar Holdings jumped 4.75% after the company announced commissioning of an additional 4 MW capacity at its wind power project in Gujarat.

Hilton Metal Forging surged 18.09% after the company secured an order worth approximately Rs 720 crore for the supply of 3,60,000 standard 155mm M107 empty bomb artillery shells.

Azad Engineering advanced 2.04% after the company signed an 8-year long-term contract and price agreement with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI), Japan, to supply complex hot-section nozzle vane segments for gas turbine engines.

Concord Control Systems rose 0.92%. The company announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, Advanced Rail Controls, has secured an order worth Rs 84.68 crore from Indian Railways for the supply of a loco wireless control system.

Global Markets:

Most Asian and European market rose on Friday as president Donald Trump's postponing of strikes on Iran brought some relief, although concerns over a prolonged conflict kept regional markets under pressure.

President Donald Trump extended his Friday deadline to attack Iran's energy infrastructure by 10 days to April 6 to allow more time for negotiations.

The extension was at the request of the government of the Islamic Republic, Trump said, and it was granted in exchange for 10 oil tankers that passed through the Strait of Hormuz as a 'present' from Tehran.

Washington has in recent days signaled it wants a negotiated end to the conflict and insisted that peace talks with the Islamic Republic had been ongoing. Tehran has denied that it is in direct talks with the U.S.

Iran reportedly rejected the 15-point proposal compiled by the U.S. and offered their own conditions, including a guarantee that the U.S. and Israel won't resume their attacks on the country and recognition of its authority over the Strait of Hormuz.

Oil prices fell amid easing tensions in the almost month-long conflict. The West Texas Intermediate for May delivery dropped 1.8% to $92.82 per barrel as of 8:30 p.m. ET, while international benchmark Brent crude oil futures fell 1.92% to $105.9 a barrel.

Meanwhile, China's industrial profits jumped 15.2% from a year earlier in the January-February period, the National Bureau of Statistics data showed Friday, extending a sharp rebound from a 5.3% jump in December.

Overnight on Wall Street, the S&P 500 fell on Thursday, weighed by higher oil prices, as traders followed the latest developments out of the Middle East.

The broad market index declined 1.74% to end at 6,477.16, while the Nasdaq Composite shed 2.38% and closed at 21,408.08. The tech-heavy index closed in correction territory, down more than 10% from its high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 469.38 points, or 1.01%, and settled at 45,960.11.

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