Sensex, Nifty 50 close FY26 on a sour note
India's stock market has recorded its weakest fiscal performance since FY20.
Good morning!
If you felt markets were uneasy, Monday confirmed it. The Nifty 50 fell 2.14% and the Sensex dropped 2.22%, closing FY26 with their weakest performance since the covid-hit FY20. Since the Iran-US conflict began, Nifty 50 alone has dropped more than 11%.
What’s weighing on sentiment? A heady mix of surging crude, a sharply weakening rupee nearing 95, relentless FII outflows of over ₹1 trillion in March, and expiry-led selling. Add to that the upcoming STT hike, which is making short-term trading less attractive, and you have traders cutting positions aggressively.
Market breadth tells the same story—almost everything fell, from large caps to mid and small caps. Even technical indicators like RSI remain weak, signalling continued pressure.
But here’s where it gets interesting. Valuations have cooled to around 17.3x PE—levels that have historically acted as a support zone. So, is there a deeper correction ahead, or a rare chance to enter quality stocks at better prices? Read the full report by Srushti Vaidya.
In today’s edition of Top of the Morning:
- Rupee’s tough year in FY26
- Oil stocks defy selloff in India
- Death of the junior developer
THE MAIN STUFF
Your internet may not crash—but could crawl: We rarely think about it, but nearly 60% of India’s internet runs through undersea cables in conflict-prone West Asia. So, what if something goes wrong? Not a blackout, but possibly slower speeds, buffering, and laggy apps. Why? Because data gets rerouted, crowding fewer pathways—like traffic jams underwater. The real worry isn’t disruption, but duration. Repairs can take weeks, especially during war. Read on.
Rupee’s tough year: The rupee just had its worst run since 2013, but is the worst over? Not quite. After slipping to record lows, the Reserve Bank of India stepped in, curbing large dollar bets and briefly lifting the currency.
But this looks more like a pause than a reversal. Why? Because deeper pressures, rising oil prices, capital outflows, and a widening trade gap are still at play. The RBI seems to be choosing a smarter strategy to conserve reserves, allow gradual depreciation. Read more.
Broker revenues under pressure: The retail trading boom may be losing steam. As markets turn volatile, brokers are seeing fewer active clients and shrinking revenues. War-driven uncertainty, weak returns, and tighter derivatives rules are pushing many small investors to step back.
Even as demat accounts grow, actual participation is falling, a sign of caution replacing enthusiasm. For brokers, it’s turning into a ‘leaky bucket’—clients exiting faster than new ones joining. Read on.
OMC stocks hold steady: Even as crude surged to $115 and markets slipped, Indian Oil, HPCL and BPCL showed surprising resilience. The reason? A ₹10/litre excise cut, giving them breathing room by improving margins.
But the stress hasn’t vanished. Under-recoveries still linger, and with limited policy levers left, the cushion may be temporary. Meanwhile, upstream players like Oil and Natural Gas Corporation are quietly gaining. Read more.
Death of the junior developer: What if you could build apps without writing a single line of code? That’s already happening. Students like Shivam Kushwaha are using AI to create tools, just by describing ideas in plain English.
The shift is big. Coding is no longer the gatekeeper, AI is. Tasks that once took days now take hours, even for non-coders. But fundamentals still matter, and the real skill is knowing how to use AI, not just rely on it. Read on.
NEWS IN NUMBERS
1 million: The number of bookings recorded in March by Urban Company Ltd.’s InstaHelp, which offers housekeeping services such as cleaning and dishwashing within 10-15 minutes of placing the order.
$2.75 billion: The value of Eli Lilly's deal with Insilico Medicine to bring AI-discovered drugs to the global market, with $115 million payable upfront.
10-30%: The share of fines that the US Treasury's new whistleblower programme will offer tipsters who expose large frauds in govenrment programs like Medicaid and Medicare.
$11.7 billion: The net amount foreign investors have pulled out of Indian equities through 25 March, putting the month on course for the steepest monthly exodus on record.
₹1,734 crore: The size of an order KNR Constructions Ltd. won from the National Highways Authority of India for an 80-km highway stretch in Telangana under the hybrid annuity model.
₹3,075: The revised annual FASTag pass price for non-commercial vehicles from 1 April, up from ₹3,000 currently and valid at 1,150 fee plazas on national highways and expressways.
₹14,543 crore: The size of Adani Enterprises Ltd.’s resolution plan for Jaiprakash Associates, which Vedanta has challenged before the Supreme Court after failing to secure a stay from NCLAT.
AROUND THE WORLD
CHART OF THE DAY
Indian film content grew 5.1% in 2025, while OTT declined 6.9%, according to a new FICCI-EY report. The number of ₹100-crore grossers rose, with 14 Hindi films and five English films crossing the mark.
LOUNGE RECOMMENDS
‘Uncertainty is normal and manageable’: Think footwear, and Bata instantly comes to mind, a legacy brand that has flourished across India for close to a century. When Gunjan Shah took over as the managing director and chief executive officer in 2021, he knew his role at Bata India would require a deep understanding of the organisation, while making the most of his professional experience. Read more.
WHAT THE FACT
Paris gets its icon: On this day in 1889, the iconic Eiffel Tower, a 300-metre wrought-iron marvel designed by Gustave Eiffel, was officially inaugurated in Paris, marking 100 years of the French Revolution.
Edited by Vikram Kumar. Produced by Tushar Deep Singh.
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About the Author
Shravani is a financial journalist with close to five years of experience in the industry, specialising in markets and audience-focused newsroom strategy. She is currently part of the subscription and engagement team at Mint, where she plays a key role in managing premium homepages across both the website and apps. Her work sits at the intersection of editorial judgment and reader behaviour, ensuring that high-quality journalism reaches the right audience in the most effective way.<br><br>At Mint, Shravani contributes to daily and weekly newsletters such as Top of the Morning, The Evening Brief, and Best of the Week, curating the best stories from Mint reporters. She is also closely involved in amplifying stories through notifications and social media, while actively contributing to product thinking and newsroom planning. Her role reflects a focus on bridging the gap between what the newsroom produces and what readers actively seek to consume.<br><br>Shravani began her journalism journey in 2020 after earning a diploma from the Indian Institute of Journalism and New Media (IIJNM), Bengaluru, backed by an academic foundation in Business Studies and Economics. She started her career at CNBC-TV18 in 2021, where her time on the ticker desk helped her develop a sharp understanding of speed, accuracy, and the demands of real-time financial news.<br><br>She later joined GoodReturns, where she played a role in repositioning the platform from a personal finance-focused website to a broader business news destination. After nearly a year and a half, she moved to Mint as a senior correspondent, where she has spent over a year deepening her understanding of newsroom dynamics and audience engagement, continuing to evolve as a journalist.
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