Market close today: Markets wrapped up Monday’s session on a weak note, although benchmarks staged a modest recovery from their intraday lows. The Sensex fell 1,086 points, or 1.34%, to close at 80,200.97, while the Nifty 50 declined 310 points, or 1.23%, to settle at 24,868.15. For the Sensex this is the lowest close since May. The Nifty has closed at its lowest levels since October. However, this is significantly off early losses that the indices closed.
Speaking on the market performance and the wild swings seen intra-day. Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments said, “Rising geopolitical tensions in the Middle East have unsettled global markets, with concerns over possible extension of the situation given the killing of Iran’s supreme leader. Rising crude oil prices and a weakening rupee reflect concerns over potential disruptions to oil supply, which could increase inflationary pressures in India and impact fiscals and strain margins for energy and chemical-dependent sectors.”
‘Fear’ Index surges 25%
The biggest factor to watch was the sharp surge in the Volatility Index, often considered the measure of fear in the market. It surged a whopping 25%.
“The India VIX has edged higher, signalling increased uncertainty and risk aversion among market participants. Investors are rotating toward traditional safe-haven assets and adopting a cautious stance, awaiting greater clarity. While FII selling has intensified after the spiking of crude prices,” Vinod Nair added.
Sectors that feel the most
The Advance-Decline ratio was sharply skewed towards the losers. However, the sectors that saw the biggest dent include auto, FMCG, consumer durables, realty and media. Some of the big Index losers include stock names like IndiGo down 6%, L&T down 5% and Adani Ports down over 3%.
Markets at pre-open: The market opening today is perhaps one of the most anticipated events. The GIFT Nifty fell 235 points or 0.93% to trade at 25,050, and all eyes are on the escalation across West Asia – the heightened geopolitical tension after US-Israel strikes on Iran and the counterattack.
Several markets across West Asia were trading in the negative zone with deep losses as investors continued to worry. It’s a sea of red across Asia this morning, too.
Earlier on Friday, the NSE Nifty 50 closed the session 318 points or 1.25% lower at 25,178, while the BSE Sensex dipped 961 points or 1.17% to close at 81,287.
Key global and domestic cues to know on March 02, 2025
Tension in West Asia
The US and Israel struck Iran, killing its supreme leader, Khamenei. An Iranian official said, US President Donald Trump crossed “a very dangerous red line” after Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei was killed in US-Israeli strikes, in a statement to CNN. Following this, Israel said it had carried out a fresh attack “in the heart of Tehran,” as Iran made fresh attacks after Khamenei was killed.
Iran has already attacked US military bases, Israel and targets across the region. The conflict has damaged air hubs, shaken heavily populated regions, and disrupted oil deliveries.
V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Investments, said that the medium-term impact on the market will depend on how long the conflict lasts. After crippling Iran, the US and Israel may make a strategic withdrawal. “The market will react very negatively. In a weak market, upstream oil companies and defence stocks will do well,” he said.
Crude oil
The crude oil prices traded on a higher note on Monday morning as US-Iran tensions rise. Brent oil surged 13% to $82 a barrel and later fell to 7%
The US military said it had struck an Iranian warship at a port on the Gulf of Oman that was now sinking, which could rattle global markets, particularly if Iran makes the Strait of Hormuz unsafe for commercial traffic.
“Crude has spiked, and if the crude price remains high for an extended period of time, our balance of trade and balance of payments will be impacted since we import around 85% of our oil requirements,” said Vijayakumar.
OPEC Plus will scale up production and try to stabilise prices if the Strait of Hormuz is closed (there are unconfirmed reports of this), and the crude price can spike further.
Asian Markets
The Asian indices were trading deep in the red on Monday morning as the conflict between Iran and the US-Israel escalates. Japan’s Nikkei 225 tumbled almost 2% on its open, with the Topix fell 2.1%. Hong Kong Hang Seng index futures were at 26,465, below the previous close of 26,630.54. South Korea’s markets were closed for a public holiday.
US markets
The US futures slumped overnight after the attack on Iran and its retaliation, causing oil prices to rise, along with precious metal demand. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 571 points, or 1.2%. S&P 500 futures lost 1% and Nasdaq 100 futures declined a little more than 1%. Gold futures jumped 2% as investors piled into the global safe haven.
Gold rate today
The rate for 24-carat gold today is Rs 1,62,190 per 10 grams. The price of gold has risen by almost 2% from yesterday. The 24 kt gold rate today in Delhi is Rs 1,61,910 per 10 grams. The 18-carat gold price today in India is Rs 1,21,642.5. The 24-carat gold rate in Dubai today is Rs 1,49,590. On COMEX, the precious metal was trading at a price of Rs 5,372.20 an ounce, rising 2.4%.
Silver rate today
In India, the silver rate jumped 7% to Rs 2.8 lakh per kilogram. On COMEX, Silver prices rose almost 1.83% on Monday to trade at $95 per troy ounce. Silver had surged to record highs in January as well amid geopolitical tensions, economic uncertainty, and concerns over the Federal Reserve’s independence, with heavy speculative buying—especially from China—pushing prices higher.
FII, DII data
Foreign institutional investors (FII) were the net sellers of shares worth Rs 7,536.36 crore. On the other hand, the Domestic institutional investors (DII) were the net buyers of shares worth Rs 12,292.81 crore on February 27, 2025, according to the provisional data available on the NSE.
US dollar
The US Dollar Index (DXY), which measures the dollar’s value against a basket of six foreign currencies, was up 0.26% at 97.86. The index evaluates the strength or weakness of the US dollar in comparison to major currencies. The basket contains currencies such as the British Pound, Euro, Swedish Krona, Japanese Yen, Swiss Franc, etc. The rupee depreciated 0.06% to close at 90.97 to the dollar on February 27.
Top sectors in Friday’s trade
The cables sector’s stocks rose the most in Friday’s trade, declinig 1.4% in the market capitalisation. Further, petrochemical stocks were followed by the sugar sector stocks, which were further followed by the electronics manufacturing stocks. However, the glass sector stocks fell the most, declining 2.7%.