India, March 19 -- India's equity benchmarks clocked their biggest single-day declines in nearly two years, on the back of a surge in crude oil prices and fastest flight of foreign capital in nearly 18 months.

On Thursday (19 March 2026), the 30-share S&P BSE Sensex fell as much as 3.26%, or 2,496.89 points, to an intraday low of 74,207.24 points, even as the wider NSE Nifty 50 shed 3.26%. The India VIX, a measure of investor fear and volatility in the stock market, surged 21%.

The foreign portfolio investors have pulled Rs.52,704 crore ($5.65 billion) from the market in the fortnight, according to data with National Securities Depository Ltd. The aggressive exodus dragged the Nifty 50 down 8.1% for the worst two-week stretch since the ...