Markets opened sharply lower on Thursday morning, with both benchmark indices shedding nearly two per cent after US President Donald Trump vowed to intensify military strikes against Iran, sending crude oil prices surging globally.
The BSE Sensex, which had closed Wednesday at 73,134.32, opened at 72,262.05 and fell to 71,765.08 — down 1,369.24 points or 1.87 per cent — by 9.25 am. The NSE Nifty 50, which had ended the previous session at 22,679.40, opened at 22,383.40 and slipped to 22,254.35, a loss of 425.05 points or 1.87 per cent, as of the same time.
Brent crude June futures surged 4.93 per cent to $106.15 a barrel, while WTI May futures rose 4.11 per cent to $104.23, as of 9.16 am Thursday. On the Multi Commodity Exchange, April crude oil futures jumped 5.70 per cent to ₹9,780 against the previous close of ₹9,253, and May futures climbed 5.67 per cent to ₹9,023 from ₹8,539.
The catalyst was Trump’s prime-time address, in which he declared that the US would hit Iran “extremely hard” in the coming weeks. Devarsh Vakil, Head of Prime Research at HDFC Securities, noted that the Strait of Hormuz “remains largely closed, disrupting an estimated 10–15 million barrels per day of supply — the largest oil supply shock in history by volume.”
Dr. VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Investments, warned of compounding pressures on the Indian economy. …”The high crude price, the widening trade deficit, the fear of declining remittances and sustained FPI selling are acting cumulatively to put high pressure on the rupee.”
Foreign Portfolio Investors continued to be aggressive sellers, offloading ₹8,331 crore worth of equities on April 1, the first day of the new financial year. Domestic Institutional Investors, however, stepped in to partly absorb the selling, investing over ₹7,000 crore.
Of the 50 stocks on the Nifty, only four ended as gainers. Technology stocks bucked the broader trend, with HCL Technologies leading with a gain of 0.66 per cent, trading at ₹1,363.30 against a previous close of ₹1,354.40. TechMahindra was up 0.14 per cent to ₹1,406.40, TCS added 0.08 per cent to ₹2,410.20, and Infosys edged up 0.06 per cent to ₹1,276.50.
The heaviest losses were borne by pharma, aviation, and consumer sectors. Sun Pharmaceutical Industries fell 4.29 per cent to ₹1,654.40 from ₹1,728.50. IndiGo parent InterGlobe Aviation dropped 4.09 per cent to ₹4,010.00 from ₹4,180.80. Adani Ports shed 3.59 per cent to ₹1,335.70 from ₹1,385.40, Asian Paints declined 3.55 per cent to ₹2,146.80 from ₹2,225.80, and Shriram Finance fell 3.40 per cent to ₹869.90 from ₹900.55.
Garima Kapoor, Deputy Head of Research and Economist at Elara Capital, offered a nuanced reading of Trump’s remarks. …”By saying core strategic objectives are nearing completion in the Iran war, Trump signals near-term finality to the West Asian crisis. Next two to three weeks, either the escalation could increase substantially, including attack on Iranian power and crude facilities, or some deal could be achieved.” She added that as the conflict concludes, insurance costs for vessels transiting the Hormuz Strait should decline, gradually restoring energy flows through the critical waterway.
Analysts cautioned that with markets closed on Friday for Good Friday, traders were likely to stay defensive, particularly in derivatives, given the risk of holding positions over a long weekend amid geopolitical uncertainty.
Technically, Kamlesh Jain of Choice Equity Broking noted that the Nifty finds immediate support in the 22,250–22,300 range, with resistance at 22,700–22,750. For Bank Nifty, which settled Wednesday at 51,448.65, support lies at 50,000–50,100 and resistance at 51,500–51,600.
Auto stocks showed relative resilience, with Vijayakumar pointing out that strong March auto sales numbers “have the potential to keep auto stocks relatively strong even in an otherwise weak market.” Meanwhile, the broader outlook remains contingent on further signals from both Washington and Tehran, with Kapoor warning that “heightened volatility is likely to persist in the short term.”