Indian benchmark indices, the BSE Sensex and Nifty 50, are expected to open lower on March 23, following weakness in GIFT Nifty, which was trading at 22,822.50.

After a steep fall in the previous session, the Indian equity markets made a strong comeback on March 20, driven by widespread buying across multiple sectors.

On Friday, the 30-share benchmark index ended at 74532.96 up by 325.72 points or by 0.44 % and then NSE Nifty was at 23114.5 up by 112.35 points or by 0.49 %.

On the global front, most markets in the Asia-Pacific region extended their decline on Monday as traders assessed the escalating war in the Middle East. Japan’s Nikkei 225 and South Korea’s Kospi were trading 3.3 per cent and 4.6 per cent down, respectively.

Last Friday, the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 1.51 per cent and 0.96 per cent down, respectively.

Back home, Top traded Volumes on NSE Nifty – HDFC Bank Ltd. 103129469.00, ITC Ltd. 58679529.00, Eternal Ltd. 55775443.00, Tata Steel Ltd. 46881257.00, Shriram Finance Ltd. 28550627.00,

On NSE, total number of shares traded was 586.51 Crore and total turnover stood at Rs. 140228.16 Crore.

On NSE Future and Options, total number of contracts traded in index futures was 239876 with a total turnover of Rs. 36925.91 Crore. Along with this total number of contracts traded in stock futures were 1685637 with a total turnover of Rs. 104250.64 Crore. Total numbers of contracts for index options were 96586491 with a total turnover of Rs. 14719036.06 Crore. and total numbers of contracts for stock options were 9138341 with a total turnover of Rs. 593356.86 Crore.

The FIIs on 20/03/2026 stood as net buyer in equity and debt. Gross equity purchased stood at Rs. 23752.55 Crore and gross debt purchased stood at Rs. 691.90 Crore, while the gross equity sold stood at Rs. 34718.29 Crore and gross debt sold stood at Rs. 980.14 Crore. Therefore, the net investment of equity and debt reported were Rs. -10965.74 Crore and Rs. -288.24