Mumbai: Indian stocks and the rupee slumped while precious metals soared Monday, with investors cutting back on risk in the face of the full-blown conflict between US-Israel and Iran. The sell-off eroded BSE-listed companies’ market value by Rs 6.35 lakh crore.

Oil jumped nearly 8% as concerns over supply disruptions in West Asia – the world’s top energy hub – drove up prices, underscoring India’s vulnerability as a net importer.

NSE’s Nifty fell 312.95 points, or 1.2%, to close at 24,865.70. BSE’s Sensex declined 1048.34 points or 1.3% to end at 80,238.85.

“The markets are reacting to the unprecedented geopolitical events in the Gulf,” said Nilesh Shah, MD, Kotak Asset Management.

“The Street is concerned about price as well as availability of oil and safety of our nine million plus citizens in West Asia and the flow of remittance,” said Shah.

Import Bill may Rise
Brent crude stood near $79 a barrel on Monday after opening above $81 earlier in the day, with the clash shutting the Strait of Hormuz – a key transit route off Iran’s coast used to transport oil and gas. One of Saudi Arabia’s Aramco refineries temporarily halted operations on Monday following an attack by an Iranian drone. If the war continues for longer, oil forecasters are not ruling out Brent at $100.

“Rising West Asia tail risks raise the probability of a $100/bbl oil scenario, arguing for caution on risk assets and patience before buying any near-term dips,” said Barclays in a client note on Monday.

According to media reports, US President Donald Trump expects the conflict to last for about four weeks. The probability of a prolonged conflict comes in the wake of existing concerns over the fallout of AI-related disruptions and unpredictability in the US tariff policy on risk asset valuations in the emerging markets.

Higher crude prices increase India’s import bills, putting pressure on rupee. They simultaneously increase risk of imported inflation, potentially narrowing the policy space for India’s rate-setting panel.

Foreign portfolio investors net sold shares worth ₹3,295.64 crore on March’s first trading day after turning buyers worth ₹19,782 crore in February.

Gold prices rose for a fifth consecutive session on Tuesday, as investors sought safe-havens amid an escalating U.S. and Israeli air war against Iran, raising fears the conflict could spiral into a protracted regional war and deepen uncertainty.

FUNDAMENTALS

• Spot gold was up 1% at $5,377.21 per ounce, as of 0122 GMT. In the previous session, bullion climbed to its highest point ‌in more than ⁠four ⁠weeks after the U.S. and Israel launched strikes on Iran over the weekend.
• U.S. gold futures for April delivery were up 1.5% at $5,391.90.
• The dollar hovered close to a more than five-week high reached on Monday, supported by firm demand and cautious market sentiment.
• A stronger greenback typically makes dollar-denominated assets such as bullion more expensive for other currency holders. But in crisis conditions, gold trades more as ⁠a risk hedge ‌than as a currency alternative.
• Iranian media reported that a senior official from the Islamic Revolutionary Guards said on Monday the Strait ⁠of Hormuz has been closed and warned that Iran would fire on any ship trying to pass through the strategic waterway.
• This is Iran’s most explicit warning since telling ships it was closing the export route on Saturday, a move that threatens to choke a fifth of global oil flows and send crude prices sharply higher.
• U.S. President Donald Trump said that he ordered the attack on Iran to thwart what he described ‌as imminent threats from Tehran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programmes, vowed to pursue the conflict for as long as necessary, while warned a “big wave” of further attacks was ⁠coming soon, without providing specific details.
• The attack on Iran has pitched the Gulf into war, killed scores of civilians in Iran, Israel and Lebanon, thrown global air transport into chaos and shut down shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
• Spot silver rose 1.4% to $90.67 per ounce on Tuesday, after climbing to a more than four-week high in the previous session.
• Spot platinum added 0.6% to $2,316.50 per ounce, while palladium gained 1.6% to $1,795.08.

TOKYO: The yen and euro were broadly lower on Tuesday as the widening Middle East conflict focused attention on countries dependent on energy imports and how central banks may respond to inflation pressures.

The dollar benefited from safe-haven demand as the U.S. and Israeli air war against Iran spilled out into neighboring countries. The euro steadied after sliding more than 1% as doubts swirled about when oil shipments from ‌the region will ⁠be restored.

Japanese ⁠Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama suggested that currency market intervention remains an option to defend the yen, and a speech by Bank of Japan Kazuo Ueda later in the day will be closely watched for signals on future rate hikes.

“Europe and Japan stand out within the major economies, in that they still have a great need to import energy,” Rodrigo Catril, a currency strategist at National Australia Bank, said on a podcast. “History will tell you that currencies such as the ⁠yen and the ‌euro would struggle to perform.”

The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies, traded at 98.49 after a 0.9% surge in the previous session. ⁠The euro edged up 0.07% to $1.1695.

The yen tacked on 0.09% to 157.2 per dollar after a 0.8% tumble in Monday’s session. Sterling was little changed at $1.3407.
Japan’s Katayama said on Tuesday that authorities have been in close contact with overseas financial officials and are closely monitoring financial markets with an “extremely strong sense of urgency.” Israel attacked Lebanon in response to strikes by Hezbollah, and Tehran kept up its missile and drone attacks on Gulf states. Qatar halted its production of liquefied natural gas on Monday, prompting precautionary ‌shutdowns of oil and gas facilities across the Middle East.

Europe and Japan are more exposed to higher energy costs than the U.S., which is a net energy exporter.

Concerns that higher inflation will delay ⁠the Federal Reserve’s next cut in interest rates also boosted the dollar.

A rate cut is no longer fully priced in until September, compared to previous expectations of July, based on pricing in the Fed funds futures market. Traders continue to price in two 25-basis-point cuts by year-end.

The Swiss National Bank said it was more willing to intervene in foreign currency markets after the conflict in the Middle East pushed the Swiss franc to its highest level against the euro in more than a decade.

The Australian dollar strengthened 0.21% to $0.7106. The kiwi added 0.1% to $0.5946.

In cryptocurrencies, bitcoin fell 0.78% to $68,889.68 and ether declined 0.6% to $2,031.20.

Indian equity markets BSE and the NSE, will remain closed today on account of the Holi holiday. Although the exchanges have declared the holiday for today, the festival of colours will be celebrated across large parts of the country on Wednesday, March 4.

The country’s largest non-agricultural commodity exchange, the Multi Commodity Exchange of India (MCX) is shut for trading in the first session between 9 am and 5 pm, but will resume trading in the evening session from 5 pm to 11:30.

Meanwhile, the largest agricultural bourse, the National Commodity & Derivatives Exchange (NCDEX), will remain shut for both trading sessions.

The frontline indices Nifty and the BSE Sensex ended with deep cuts on Monday amid selling pressure across the board. Sectorally, financials, auto and consumer stocks were the worst hit. In a volatile session, the broader Nifty plunged 313 points, or 1.24%, to close at 24,865.70, while the 30-share Sensex plunged 1,048 points, or 1.29%, to settle at 80,238.85.

The fear index India VIX shot up 25% in the previous session to settle at 17.13.

Decoding the technical charts, Ajit Mishra, Senior Vice President – Research at Religare Broking said the sharp decline has pushed the Nifty closer to its swing low around the 24,600 level, and a decisive break below this could extend the correction towards the 24,400 mark. “On the upside, the 25,000–25,250 zone is likely to act as an immediate hurdle in case of any recovery. Given the heightened volatility and global uncertainty, we reiterate our advice to maintain a cautious stance, keep position sizes light and focus on disciplined risk management,” he said.
2026 holiday list
In the holiday calendar released last year, the exchanges had initially announced 15 trading holidays but later added January 15 as an additional holiday on account of the Mumbai BMC elections. After this, the domestic markets were closed on January 26 on account of a Republic Day.
The equity markets are closed on two other occasions in March. They will be closed on Thursday, March 26 for Shri Ram Navami and on Tuesday, March 31 for Shri Mahavir Jayanti.

The next holiday will fall on Friday, April 3 which will be a Good Friday. Markets will also be shut on Ambedkar Jayanti on April 14, Maharashtra Day on May 1 and Bakri Id on May 28.

The second half of the year includes Muharram on June 26, Ganesh Chaturthi on September 14 and Gandhi Jayanti on October 2. Dussehra falls on October 20, followed by Diwali Balipratipada on November 10 and Guru Nanak Jayanti on November 24. The final trading holiday of the year will be Christmas on December 25.

The small surprise in the circular is that there is no mention of holiday for Diwali as it is falling on a weekend (Sunday). The Muhurat Trading will be conducted on Sunday, November 08, 2026 and the timings of Muhurat Trading will be notified subsequently.

The exchanges may alter any of the above holidays, for which a separate circular shall be issued in advance.

(Disclaimer: The recommendations, suggestions, views, and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times.)

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U.S. stocks finished steady on Monday, clawing back early losses during a volatile session after U.S. and Israeli air strikes on Iran roiled global markets.

Investors bought the dip with some enthusiasm and a strong bid emerged for AI-focused shares.

Gains in energy, tech and defense stocks offset losses in other sectors. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.15% to 48,904.78 points, while the S&P ‌500 gained 0.04% to ⁠6,881.60 points ⁠and the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.36%, to 22,748.86 points.

Investor confidence in U.S. markets, and optimism about productivity gains tied to artificial intelligence, offset worries about surging oil prices and geopolitical turmoil, said Alex Morris, CEO of F/m Investments.

“The overall action in the Middle East does not have a tremendous impact on the average American stock the way we measure,” said Morris, noting the U.S. market’s heavy concentration in technology.

“I just don’t think the average market participant is that moved by the conflict until the price of oil gets to $100 a barrel, which would be an emotional trigger.”
Coordinated U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran over the weekend killed Tehran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and sent shockwaves through global markets. Oil prices jumped and most ⁠overseas stock ‌indexes closed lower. Bargain hunting emerged among U.S. investors after the early selloff, showing an expectation that the disruptions from the conflict will be limited.

“Market participants think this is all just temporary and that the problems in the oil patch will disappear,” ⁠said Bill Smead, founder and chairman of Smead Capital Management. The clash initially boosted defense shares and energy prices and pressured travel and interest-sensitive sectors. Later, investors ran to tech and weighed how long the Middle East conflict could run and what the conflict means for inflation and Federal Reserve policy.

Smead said investors were reverting to familiar, high-performing stocks like Nvidia, the Magnificent Seven technology stocks and defense sectors.

“When people get scared, they go back to what is comfortable,” he said.

Nvidia gained 3% and Microsoft climbed 1.5%, recovering from sharp declines last month. The gains helped the S&P 500 and Nasdaq cut losses after both briefly hit two-week lows earlier in the session.

In Europe and Asia, stock markets sank under the weight of surging oil prices and war-driven uncertainty.

The French and German ‌stock markets fell more than 1%. Japan’s Nikkei 225 slid 1.73%, having plunged as much as 2% at the open. Energy companies, whose profits rise alongside oil prices, outperformed, while travel and airline stocks sank due to flight cancelations, higher jet-fuel costs and widespread Middle East airspace closures.

Delta and United Airlines fell ⁠more than 2% each, while crude-price-sensitive cruise stocks such as Carnival lost 7.6% and Norwegian Cruise fell over 10%. Several oil and gas facilities in the Middle East stopped production. U.S. crude prices settled up 6% at $71.23 a barrel after being up twice as much during the session. Brent settled at $77.74 per barrel, up 6.68%.

Defense stocks also got a boost, with the main U.S. defense equity benchmark, the Dow Jones U.S. Defense Index, trading up. President Donald Trump also told CNN the “big wave” is yet to come, although some Middle Eastern countries were lobbying U.S. allies to persuade a swift end to the war. AES Corp fell 17.8% after a consortium led by BlackRock-owned Global Infrastructure Partners and private equity firm EQT AB agreed to acquire the utilities company for $33.4 billion at a discount to its last close.