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The fall comes after a report quoting Qatar’s energy minister Saad al-Kaabi, who warned that the ongoing Middle East conflict could severely disrupt global energy supplies.
For India, a sharp rise in oil prices could increase inflationary pressure, widen the current account deficit and weaken the rupee, prompting investors to trim equity exposure.
Fresh worries over a potential spike in crude prices triggered a sharp selloff in Indian equities on March 6, with the Sensex dropping more than 600 points in about 45 minutes during afternoon trade.
The fall came after a report by the Financial Times quoting Qatar’s energy minister Saad al-Kaabi, who warned that the ongoing Middle East conflict could severely disrupt global energy supplies.
Kaabi said oil prices could climb to as high as $150 a barrel if hostilities intensify and shipments from the Gulf region are affected.
He also cautioned that energy exporters across the Gulf may soon be forced to declare force majeure, a legal clause that allows suppliers to suspend deliveries during extraordinary situations.
“Everybody that has not called for force majeure we expect will do so in the next few days that this continues. All exporters in the Gulf region will have to call force majeure,” Kaabi told the Financial Times. “If they don’t, they are at some point going to pay the liability for that legally, and that’s their choice.”
The warning quickly unsettled investors, who began factoring in the economic impact of higher crude prices.
For India, a sharp rise in oil prices could increase inflationary pressure, widen the current account deficit and weaken the rupee, prompting investors to trim equity exposure.
The selloff also capped a volatile week for markets. Both the Sensex and Nifty declined about 2.9% during the week, marking their steepest weekly fall in months.
“The market is taking into account the near-term threat from oil prices,” said Pankaj Pandey, head of retail research at ICICI Securities. “However, we don’t yet see a macroeconomic impact from this as the broad expectation is that crude prices will not remain elevated for a long period.”
Weakness was visible across the broader market as well. Small-cap and mid-cap indices fell 2.5% and 2.9%, while 15 out of 16 sectoral indices ended the week in negative territory.
State-owned banks were among the worst performers, sliding 6.5%, as rising crude prices could increase government borrowing and push bond yields higher.
Financial and banking stocks declined about 4.5% each.
Among individual stocks, Larsen & Toubro slipped 2.2% on Friday, taking its weekly decline to 7.7%, the steepest since May 2020 as investors assessed the company’s exposure to the Middle East.
Shares of InterGlobe Aviation also came under pressure. The stock fell 2.4% on Friday and 8.8% during the week, amid concerns that higher aviation fuel costs and softer international traffic could weigh on earnings.
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March 06, 2026, 16:51 IST
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