India's equity markets plunged into sharp decline Thursday as geopolitical tensions roiled investor sentiment.

India's equity markets plunged into sharp decline Thursday as geopolitical tensions roiled investor sentiment. The NSE Nifty dropped 3.3% to 23,002.15, marking its steepest single-day fall in nearly two years, while the BSE Sensex fell 3.3% to 74,207.24. Attacks on West Asian oil and gas infrastructure, including damage to Qatar's largest gas plant and Saudi refineries, sparked inflation concerns and triggered a broad-based selloff across sectors. The India VIX surged 21.8% to 22.8, signaling elevated volatility ahead. HDFC Bank's 5% decline weighed heavily after its non-executive chairman's abrupt exit. All sectoral indices closed lower, with Auto down 4.3% and Realty falling 3.8%. The sell-off erased ₹13 lakh crore in market value and prompted fresh short positions among traders.