Breaking Update: Here’s a clear explanation of the latest developments related to Breaking News:Wall Street cues, FII activity, key things to know before markets open on March 20– What Just Happened and why it matters right now.
The Indian equity benchmarks are set to open higher on Friday, March 20, as indicated by GIFT NIFTY futures. NIFTY futures at GIFT City in Ahmedabad advanced 161 points to 23,215 amid mixed cues from Asian markets.
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The Indian equity benchmarks ended sharply lower on Thursday with SENSEX staging its worst single-day performance since May 18, 2020. Markets came under pressure as crude oil prices surged in international market after Iran accused Israel of striking its facilities in the huge South Pars gas field on Wednesday in a major escalation in the US-Israeli war and retaliated by vowing attacks on oil and gas targets throughout the Gulf, firing missiles at Qatar and Saudi Arabia, news agency Reuters reported.
SENSEX fell as much as 2,753 points at the day’s lowest level and NIFTY50 index touched an intraday low of 22,930 dragged down by losses in index heavyweights like HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Larsen & Toubro, Infosys and Reliance Industries.
Here are key things to know before market opens:
Asian markets
Asian markets were trading on a mixed note on Friday after US stocks rebounded from day’s lowest levels while oil prices eased. South Korea’s KOSPI advanced 0.6%, China’s Shanghai Composite declined 0.23% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.3%, Japan’s markets were closed on account of holiday.
Wall Street update
Overnight, US stocks rebounded from intraday low levels to end lower on Thursday as wild swings in oil prices kept investors on tenterhooks.
Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.44%lower after falling as much as 1.06% during the session. S&P 500 index declined 0.27% and tech heavy Nasdaq fell 0.3%.
Iran war update
President Donald Trump told Israel not to repeat its attacks on Iranian natural gas infrastructure as tit-for-tat strikes on energy plants sent prices spiralling, sharply escalating the US-Israeli war on Iran, news agency Reuters reported.
The conflict has killed thousands of people, spread to neighbouring nations and hit the global economy since the United States and Israel launched strikes on February 28, after talks about Tehran’s nuclear program failed to yield a deal, the report added.
Amid tensons in the Middle East, crude oil prices were trading in a band of $105-$107 per barrel after surging to $119 per barrel on Thursday.
FII/DII activity
Foreign institutional investors sold shares worth ₹7,558.19 crore on Thursday while domestic institutional investors bought shares worth ₹3,864 crore, data from the National Stock Exchange showed.
The FIIs have so far this month sold shares worth ₹77,214 crore compared with shares worth ₹22,615 bought by them in February, according to the data from National Securities Depository Limited (NSDL).
Stocks to watch
Bharti Airtel: Bharti Airtel added 44.06 lakh wireless subscribers in January, clinching some major gains in the first month of the calendar year, while Reliance Jio registered 24.37 lakh new mobile users, according to monthly data released by telecom regulator Trai on Thursday.
India’s largest telecom company Jio added 24.37 lakh mobile users in January, pushing its total wireless subscriber tally to 49.14 crore.
Notably, Bharti Airtel recorded substantial gains during the month, adding 44.06 lakh wireless users, as its subscriber base rose to 46.77 crore in January.
Airtel’s subscriber base stood at 46.33 crore in December 2025, data by Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) showed.
Vodafone Idea: Vodafone Idea lost 4.11 lakh mobile users, as its wireless customer count shrunk to 19.9 crore in January.
ICICI Bank: The country’s second largest lender said that tax authorities have slapped a demand notice of ₹768.6 crore on it for alleged short payment of GST.
On March 18, 2026, ICICI Bank has received an order under Section 74 of the Maharashtra Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, from the Additional Commissioner of CGST and Central Excise, Mumbai East Commissionerate, raising a Goods and Services Tax (GST) demand of ₹384,33,53,972 and an equivalent amount of penalty and interest as applicable on services provided by the bank to customers maintaining specified minimum balances in their accounts, the bank said in a regulatory filing.
Wipro: IT major Wipro on Thursday announced the launch of a new hub at the Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City), Gandhinagar, to deliver advanced AI-powered technology services to global Banking, Financial Services, and Insurance (BFSI) clients.
The new facility will initially seat 150 employees, with the flexibility to scale up to 500 seats based on client demand, the company said in a statement on Thursday.
The GIFT City hub will support the delivery of advanced solutions across digital banking, capital markets, regulatory technology, risk and compliance, and core platform modernisation.
Trade setup
For the index to claw back above 23,500, a weekly closing above 23,000 could provide much-needed relief from the sell-off pain. However, a closing below the 23,000, could open the gates for 22,000 levels, which is also the weekly 200 EMA.
The crude oil prices witnessed a sharp fall from the intraday top level of $119 per barrel to close near $107 per barrel on Thursday. The fall was driven by positive commentary from President Trump and the Israeli Prime Minister on ending the conflict sooner rather than later.
On the options data front, the 23,000 puts hold the highest open interest level, indicating a strong and crucial support level for the NIFTY50. Similarly, the 24,000 calls hold the highest open interest, indicating a long-term resistance for the index.
(With PTI inputs)