Banks may face a four-day disruption as a nationwide strike called by the United Forum of Bank Unions begins today, September 11.

Because the strike falls on a Friday, ahead of the usual Saturday-Sunday bank holidays, customers could see extended service gaps.

The unions are demanding a five-day banking week, along with revisions to the performance-linked incentive scheme and pension-related benefits.

UFBU wants incentive pay linked to overall bank performance, with a uniform number of incentive days for employees and officers up to Scale VII.

A further three-day strike has been announced for September 28, with UFBU warning of an indefinite strike from October 26 absent a resolution.

The unions have warned of an indefinite nationwide strike beginning October 26 if their demands are not addressed by the government and bank managements.

Public sector banks are expected to be the most affected by the strike, though private banks may also see some disruption depending on local union participation.

ATM services are typically less affected during bank strikes than branch-level services such as cheque clearing, cash deposits and loan processing.

The five-day banking week has been a long-standing demand of bank employee unions, following similar transitions already adopted in other sectors.

Bank customers have been advised to complete urgent branch-dependent transactions in advance of the strike period.

The four-day disruption arises because September 11 is a Friday, followed by the regular Saturday-Sunday bank holidays, with September 14 also a holiday in some states for Ganesh Chaturthi.

UFBU’s key demands include implementation of a five-day banking week, changes to the performance-linked incentive scheme, and improved pension-related benefits.

The unions want the performance-linked incentive to be tied to overall bank performance, with a uniform number of incentive days for employees and officers up to Scale VII.

UFBU has also announced a separate three-day nationwide strike from September 28, coinciding with the half-yearly closure of banks.

State Bank of India headquarters, Mumbai, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

The Sensex and Nifty extended their losses into a second straight session on Tuesday, with the Sensex closing at 75,577.58, down 555.23 points, and the Nifty50 at 23,635.10, down 144.05 points.

Banking heavyweights SBI Life Insurance Company, ICICI Bank and Axis Bank were among the biggest losers on the Nifty50.

Monday’s session had already seen the Sensex fall 382 points on rising crude oil prices and US-Iran tensions, a trend that continued into Tuesday.

The Nifty MidCap and Nifty SmallCap indices moved against the trend, gaining 0.21 percent and 0.17 percent respectively.

Market participants continued to cite crude oil prices and geopolitical uncertainty as the primary drivers of the decline.

TCS was among the IT stocks under pressure during Tuesday’s trade, as the sector remained sensitive to signals on US interest-rate policy.

The BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty are the two primary benchmark indices used to track the overall health of the Indian stock market, comprising the country’s largest listed companies by market capitalisation.

Foreign institutional investor selling has been a recurring theme in recent sessions, adding to the pressure from oil prices and geopolitical uncertainty.

Analysts have flagged continued volatility as long as Gulf tensions and crude oil supply concerns remain unresolved, with markets likely to stay reactive to fresh developments.

Deepa Jewellers was among the new listings debuting on the exchanges around the same period, drawing separate investor attention even as the benchmark indices declined.

Tuesday marked the second straight session of losses for the Sensex, following Monday’s 382-point decline that was also attributed to crude oil prices and Gulf tensions.

SBI Life Insurance Company, ICICI Bank and Axis Bank were among the top losers on the Nifty50 index during Tuesday’s session.

The broader markets showed a different pattern than the benchmark indices, with the Nifty MidCap rising 0.21 percent and the Nifty SmallCap rising 0.17 percent even as the Sensex and Nifty fell.

National Stock Exchange building, Mumbai, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

The Sensex and Nifty slid on Monday as rising crude oil prices and Gulf tensions rattled investors through the session.

The Sensex closed at 76,132.81, down 382.62 points from Friday’s 76,515.43, while the Nifty settled at 23,779.15, down 118.55 points from 23,897.70.

The US-Iran standoff around the Strait of Hormuz has kept crude prices elevated, a key concern for oil-importing economies like India.

Expectations of another Federal Reserve rate hike, following stronger US jobs data, also weighed on the broader market mood.

Stronger-than-expected US jobs data released over the weekend increased expectations that the Federal Reserve could raise interest rates again, further denting risk appetite in emerging markets including India.

The Nifty had struggled to sustain above the 24,000 mark in recent sessions, facing technical resistance near 24,025 even before Monday’s decline.

Both benchmark indices had closed higher in the previous session on Friday, with the Sensex at 76,515.43 and the Nifty at 23,897.70, before Monday’s reversal.

Bank Nifty and other rate-sensitive indices also traded weak through the session, tracking the broader risk-off mood among investors.

Market participants said they would watch upcoming US Federal Reserve commentary and further developments in the Gulf region for cues on near-term direction.

Brent crude approached $97 a barrel during the session, its highest level in months, as the escalating US-Iran standoff around the Strait of Hormuz raised fears of supply disruption from the Gulf.

IT stocks were the worst-hit sector, since higher US interest rates weigh on Indian technology firms that generate a large share of their revenue from American clients.

Oil-sensitive sectors including aviation, paints, tyres and logistics also came under pressure as elevated crude prices raise input and fuel costs for these industries.

Foreign institutional investors were net sellers in Indian equities during the session, adding to the downward pressure alongside the global cues.

Bombay Stock Exchange building, Mumbai, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0