The study of stock market correlations is essential for understanding financial integration, uncovering prospects for risk diversification, and guiding investors aimed at minimizing the effects of eco-financial decay within a globally interconnected environment. This study offers a detailed correlation analysis among the calculated returns from the indices of India (S&P BSE SENSEX) and six leading European nations, namely the UK (FTSE 100), Germany (DAX, PERFORMANCE-INDEX) France(CAC 40), Netherlands (EURONEXT 100), Belgium(BEL 20), and Italy (FTSE MIB)—over two critical economic episodes: the pre-global recession period (June 3, 2003 – August 2, 2007) and the global recession period (August 7, 2007 – April 16, 2009). Initially the study employs descriptive statistics to study the nature of the data series, followed by normality diagnostics to determine the most suitable correlation technique. Since normality tests found that none of the return series follow normal distribution, and the non-parametric Spearman Rank Correlation is applied. The analysis concludes consistently low correlations between the S&P BSE SENSEX (India) and each of the European indices, signaling limited connectedness across both periods. The correlation between returns from India and six European stock indices weakened from the pre-crisis to the crisis periods. This outcome points to modest financial integration between India and the specified European markets, underscoring the potential for diversification benefits. These insights are instrumental in shaping investment strategies that aim to withstand market fluctuations by leveraging distinct market behaviors across regions. However, among the European nations, very strong significant associations have been found in this study.