India, March 4 -- The selloff in India's stock market intensified as the Iran war dragged on for the fifth day, pulling down both equity benchmarks down by at least 2% each.

The 30-share BSE Sensex fell as much as 2.23%, or 1,795.65 points, to 78,443.20, even as the wider NSE Nifty 50 shed more than 500 points for a gap-down open. There was no improvement until miday. Fifteen out of the 16 major sectors were in the red. The broader small- and mid-caps lost 2.1% each.

The crash has wiped out nearly Rs.9 lakh crore in investor wealth already.

The Nifty India Volatility Index jumped to 20.98-its highest level since May 2025 -indicating a spike in investor anxiety. The rupee slipped past the 92/dollar for the first time, amid indications t...