Oil prices and West Asia war are likely to keep markets volatile this week. (Express Photo by Ganesh Shirsekar)
The stock markets in India opened about 0.30% lower on Monday, with BSE Sensex falling 278.70 points to 73,040.85, and NSE’s Nifty 50 plummeting 74.75 points to 22,638.35.
Wipro, Hindalco Industries, Titan and Trent are among the major gainers on Nifty, whereas Kotak Mahindra Bank, Interglobe Aviation, Tata Steel, Bajaj Finance are among the losers.
Nifty midcap and Nifty smallcap indices are down about 0.5 per cent each.
According to analysts, the domestic stock market is expected to remain volatile this week as investors track the Reserve Bank of India’s monetary policy decision, key global macroeconomic data and the impact of the West Asia conflict, PTI quoted.
Meanwhile, Asian markets that opened for trading rose on Monday, as investors continued to closely monitor the ongoing war between US-Israel and Iran, soaring oil prices and US President Donald Trump’s next steps, news agency PTI noted.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 rose nearly 1.1 per cent to 53,692.42 in early morning trading. South Korea’s Kospi gained 1.5 per cent to 5,460.24. Trading remained closed in Australia on the occasion of Easter, and in Hong Kong and Shanghai for a traditional Chinese holiday.
Oil prices soar
Oil prices have continued to surge over fears that the Iran war will drag on longer than expected, with Brent crude, the international standard, rising to $110.06, as on 9:15 am on Monday.
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WTI crude, at the same time, jumped to $111.75, even as Trump’s Tuesday deadline to Iran for reopening the Strait of Hormuz looms.
Rupee gains against US dollar
The rupee gained 33 paise to 92.85 against the US dollar in early trade on Monday, PTI highlighted.
This follows RBI’s tightened rules to curb speculative positions, capping banks’ net open positions at USD 100 million, even as global developments risked the currency.
At the interbank foreign exchange, the local unit opened at 93.13, then gained further ground to touch 92.85 against the greenback, up 33 paise from its previous close, the report stated.
