West Asia continues to see heightened geopolitical tension. The crisis between Iran and Israel deepens further. The GIFT Nifty is indicating a massive gap-down opening for Indian markets. All eyes are on the escalation across West Asia impacts global markets. Crude spike and gold rates are key triggers to watch.
It’s a sea of red across Asia this morning, after the sharp slide in US markets overnight. Wall Street did recover some losses by the time the trade ended. Several markets across West Asia were trading in the negative zone with deep losses as investors continued to worry.
Earlier on Monday, the Nifty 50 closed the session 313 points or 1.24% lower at 24,865, while the BSE Sensex dipped 1,048 points or 1.29% to close at 80,238.
Key global and domestic cues to know on March 04, 2025
Tension in West Asia
The joint Israeli and US bombing of Iran continues without pause. At the same time, Iran has stepped up its retaliation, firing missiles and drones toward Gulf nations. Iran’s Assembly of Experts has elected Mojtaba Khamenei, son of the late Ali Khamenei, as the country’s next Supreme Leader, according to Iranian media reports. Israeli forces also moved deeper into southern Lebanon, saying they wanted to stop rocket fire from Hezbollah.
“For India – geographically distant but economically exposed – the more relevant question is not whether near-term volatility will rise, but whether such episodes meaningfully alter the country’s long-term investment trajectory. History suggests they rarely do. Wars and geopolitical conflicts typically trigger short-term market turbulence, but they have not resulted in sustained equity underperformance, particularly when conflicts remain regional,” said Axis AMC in a note.
Crude oil
The crude oil prices traded on a higher note on Monday morning as US-Iran tension rises. WTI crude prices were trading at $75.21, rising 0.87%, while Brent crude prices were trading at $81.96, a rise of 5.43%. On COMEX, crude prices rose 1.11% to $75.39 a barrel.
Iran has blocked the Strait of Hormuz, a critical narrow passage through which India’s 50% of oil imports travel. With the closing of this, India’s import bill is likely to rise. Previously, at a port on the Gulf of Oman, a ship was struck by Iran.
Asian Markets
The Asian indices were trading deep in the red on Wednesday morning as the conflict between Iran and the US-Israel escalates. Japan’s Nikkei 225 lost 1.59%, while the Topix declined 1.61%. South Korea’s Kospi declined 7.24%, extending a steep selloff from the day before when the index recorded its worst day in 19 months. Hong Kong Hang Seng index futures were at 25,448, lower than the benchmark’s last close of 25,768.08.
US markets
The US equity markets closed on a lower note, rattled by the prolonged US-Iran conflict. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 403.51 points, or 0.83%, and ended at 48,501.27. The S&P 500 slipped 0.94% to close at 6,816.63, while the Nasdaq Composite shed 1.02% to settle at 22,516.69.
Gold rate today
The rate for 24-carat gold today is Rs 1,61,350 per 10 grams. The price of gold has fallen by almost 3% from yesterday. The 24 kt gold rate today in Delhi is Rs 1,61,070 per 10 grams. The 18-carat gold price today in India is Rs 1,21,012.5. 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 5,138.50 an ounce, rising 0.29%.
Silver rate today
In India, the silver rate fell 5% to Rs 2.65 lakh per kilogram. On COMEX, Silver prices remained flat on Wednesday to trade at $83.445 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 3,295.64 crore. On the other hand, the Domestic institutional investors (DII) were the net buyers of shares worth Rs 8,593.87 crore on March 02, 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 0.09% at 99.16. 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 0.54% to close at 91.47 to the dollar on March 02.
Top sectors in Monday’s trade
The transport sector’s stocks fell the most in Monday’s trade, declinig 6.1% in the market capitalisation. Further, glass stocks were followed by the water management sector stocks, which were further followed by the tourism stocks. However, the defence sector stocks rose the most, rising 1.82%.