The war shows no sign of easing, and shipping disruptions through the Strait of Hormuz continue to keep oil prices elevated. Crude is hovering near $103 a barrel, while the average price of India’s crude basket has surged past $142. Elevated energy costs are emerging as a key risk to India’s growth outlook.
Shortages in natural gas and cooking gas are beginning to affect hotels and industrial units. Rising prices and tight availability of plastics are also turning into a concern for FMCG companies, where packaging plays a critical role.
Against this backdrop, markets may see subdued trading today. Several global agencies have warned that the Nifty could correct 15–20 percent if geopolitical tensions persist. Foreign institutional investors continue to sell, and volatility is expected to remain high until there is clarity on the war trajectory.
Asian markets opened strong this morning, while US futures are also trading higher.
Gift Nifty closed at 23,552 on Tuesday night and moved up to 23,670 this morning, indicating a positive start for domestic markets.
The US Federal Reserve will announce its policy decision tonight. Markets widely expect no change in interest rates. The Bank of England and the European Central Bank will announce their decisions tomorrow, with expectations also pointing to status quo.
US markets were choppy on Tuesday. Indices that rose more than 1 percent in early trade gave up most gains to end marginally higher, as investors remained cautious ahead of the Fed decision and amid unchanged war conditions.
Dow Jones rose 46.85 points (0.10 percent) to 46,993.26
S&P 500 gained 16.71 points (0.25 percent) to 6,716.09
Nasdaq climbed 105.35 points (0.47 percent) to 22,479.53
US futures are trading higher this morning:
Dow futures up 64 points
S&P 500 futures up 12 points
Nasdaq futures up 77 points
European markets ended about 0.70 percent higher on Tuesday.
Asian markets are trading firmly higher today.
Japan’s Nikkei jumped 1.90 percent after exports rose 4.2 percent in February, beating expectations
South Korea’s Kospi gained 2.8 percent
Australia’s index edged up 0.25 percent after its central bank raised rates by 0.25 percent to 4.1 percent
Hong Kong and Chinese markets also opened higher
Indian markets rose for a second straight session, though they failed to hold intraday highs as crude oil prices rebounded.
The average price of India’s crude basket jumped to $142.69 from $136.56 the previous day.
Sensex rose 567.99 points (0.75 percent) to 76,070.84
Nifty 50 gained 172.40 points (0.74 percent) to 23,581.15
Bank Nifty climbed 462.60 points (0.85 percent) to 54,876.00
Broader markets also advanced:
Midcap 100 up 1.02 percent
Smallcap 100 up 0.65 percent
Market breadth remained positive:
BSE: 2,332 stocks advanced, 1,930 declined
NSE: 1,928 gained, 1,288 fell
Foreign investors continued selling, with net outflows of ₹4,741.22 crore, while domestic institutions bought ₹5,225.32 crore.
Metal stocks rallied strongly. MOIL surged 20 percent after announcing plans to significantly increase manganese ore production. Steel and aluminium stocks also gained:
Nalco up 6.41 percent
SAIL up 5.74 percent
Tata Steel up 4.42 percent
Defence-linked stocks such as Data Patterns and MTAR Technologies also posted gains.
Gold continues to show resilience, holding above the $5,000 mark for a third straight day.
Gold closed at $5,007 per ounce after touching $4,974 earlier
Prices briefly rose to $5,014 this morning before easing
Silver remains volatile, closing at $79.41 per ounce after wide intraday swings.
In Kerala, 22-carat gold rose ₹480 to ₹1,15,920 per sovereign.
On MCX:
Gold (24 carat, 10g) closed at ₹1,56,100
Silver ended at ₹2,53,470 per kg
Industrial metals showed mixed trends:
Copper fell 0.65 percent
Aluminium declined 0.52 percent
Nickel and lead gained
Tin and zinc slipped
Rubber prices rose 0.41 percent in global markets. Synthetic rubber also edged higher.
Other commodities:
Cocoa fell 2.72 percent
Coffee rose 0.68 percent
Palm oil declined
Polymer prices (polyethylene, polypropylene, PVC) rose up to 2.22 percent
The dollar index slipped to 99.58 and edged lower to 99.53 this morning.
Euro strengthened to $1.1537
Pound rose to $1.3354
Yen strengthened to 158.91 per dollar
Yuan firmed up to 6.89 per dollar
US 10-year bond yields eased to 4.204 percent, reflecting expectations that the Fed will hold rates steady.
The rupee strengthened by 5 paise to close at 92.37 against the dollar, supported by RBI intervention.
In the offshore NDF market:
Dollar stood at 92.39
Euro at ₹106.62
Yuan at ₹13.42
Oil prices continued to fluctuate amid uncertainty over the Strait of Hormuz.
Brent crude closed at $103.42 per barrel
WTI at $95.49
UAE’s Murban crude at $110.93
Prices eased slightly in early trade today.
Cryptocurrencies are trading lower:
Bitcoin fell below $73,700
Ether dropped below $2,320
Solana slipped below $95
(March 17)
Sensex: 76,070.84 (+0.75%)
Nifty 50: 23,581.15 (+0.74%)
Bank Nifty: 54,876.00 (+0.85%)
Midcap 100: 55,174.40 (+1.02%)
Smallcap 100: 15,912.90 (+0.65%)
Dow Jones: 46,993.26 (+0.10%)
S&P 500: 6,716.09 (+0.25%)
Nasdaq: 22,479.53 (+0.47%)
Dollar: ₹92.37 (-₹0.05)
Gold (ounce): $5,000.30 (-$6.90)
Gold (sovereign): ₹1,15,920 (+₹480)
Brent crude: $103.42 (+$3.21)
