Markets opened sharply lower on Monday morning as a fresh flare-up in US-Iran tensions sent crude oil prices surging and rattled investor sentiment, dragging the BSE Sensex down 921 points and the Nifty 50 below the 24,000 mark.
The Sensex, which closed Friday at 77,328.19, opened at 76,638.09 and was trading at 76,407.18 — down 921.01 points or 1.19 per cent — as of 9.20 am. The Nifty 50, which had closed at 24,176.15, opened at 23,970.10 and slipped further to 23,900.45, losing 275.70 points or 1.14 per cent.
The sell-off was triggered after US President Donald Trump reportedly dismissed Iran’s response to the latest peace proposal as “totally unacceptable,” dashing hopes of a diplomatic resolution and sending Brent crude spiking close to $101 a barrel.
Dr. VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Investments Ltd, flagged a second domestic pressure point: “PM Modi’s appeal to the nation to curb the consumption of petrol/ diesel, gold, chemical fertilisers and edible oil and refrain from avoidable foreign travel is a crisis management response to the current account deficit problem caused by high crude prices. This call for austerity has slightly negative implications for economic growth in FY27.”
Vijayakumar warned that sectors directly tied to that austerity call — petroleum, chemical fertilisers, gold, air travel, hotels and related industries — would face sentiment pressure, while “pharmaceuticals, which will not be impacted in any manner, will remain resilient.”
Among Nifty 50 stocks, the biggest gainer in early trade was , up 3.81 per cent to ₹1,221.00 from its previous close of ₹1,176.20. rose 0.43 per cent to ₹1,016.85, added 0.24 per cent to ₹1,852.40, edged up 0.21 per cent to ₹1,200.90, and gained a marginal 0.09 per cent to ₹1,464.30.
The losers’ board told a harsher story. fell 5.09 per cent to ₹4,279.30 from its previous close of ₹4,509.00, the steepest drop among blue-chips, directly in the line of fire from the government’s advisory against gold purchases. slid 3.74 per cent to ₹4,353.70, consistent with broader aviation sector pressure as jet fuel costs mount. dropped 3.30 per cent to ₹985.70, extending last week’s slide after weak net interest margin data. shed 3.01 per cent to ₹3,230.00, ande declined 2.50 per cent to ₹982.60.
The banking sector was among the hardest hit. Rajesh Palviya, Head of Research at Axis Direct, noted that the Nifty shed 150 points Friday “dragged by a 7 per cent slide in SBI after weak NIMs and renewed US–Iran flare-ups.”
He pointed out that while Wall Street closed at fresh records — the S&P 500 adding 0.8 per cent and the Nasdaq surging 1.7 per cent on an upbeat April jobs report and a chip-led rally — Asian cues were mixed, with the Kospi up 3.7 per cent on SK Hynix but Hang Seng futures and US index futures softer. “GIFT Nifty (–117 points) suggests a negative start,” he said, adding, “one needs to adopt a stock-specific selective approach to play at this moment as earning season is going on.”
GIFT Nifty had indicated a gap-down, trading at 24,050, down around 188 points ahead of the open, according to Aakash Shah, Technical Research Analyst at Choice Equity Broking. “Indian equity markets are expected to open on a cautious negative note,” Shah said, noting that Nifty’s failure to sustain above the 50 per cent Fibonacci retracement level and the 50-day EMA last week reflected underlying caution.
Technically, analysts see 24,000 as the floor bulls must defend. Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Equity Research at Kotak Securities, said “24,000 or the 50-day Simple Moving Average” for Nifty and 76,500 for the Sensex are critical support zones. A break below those levels, he cautioned, could drag the Nifty toward 23,800 and then 23,600.
Gaurav Udani, Founder of Thincredblu Securities, urged restraint: “Traders should avoid aggressive positions at the open and focus on confirmation near support or resistance before initiating fresh trades.”
Globally, the Fed flagged Iran war-driven oil price shock as the top financial stability risk. South Korea’s inflation accelerated to its fastest pace in nearly two years on rising energy costs, while Indonesia’s GDP growth hit a three-year high but analysts warned prolonged Middle East tensions could hurt momentum. Russia, meanwhile, benefited from elevated oil revenues, and Saudi Arabia’s Aramco profits were boosted by the oil windfall.
Gold traded at $4,730, silver at $80 and copper at $6.23 per pound. The India VIX rebounded 1.32 per cent to 16.84 after declining for four straight sessions, reflecting re-emerging caution in options markets. The Nifty Put-Call Ratio slipped to 0.93 from 1.08 in the previous session, signalling reduced confidence among traders.
Foreign institutional investor activity will remain a key variable to watch through the session, with FIIs having been net sellers in recent days. Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money, a SEBI-registered trading and wealth-tech firm, noted that “institutional flows, rupee movement and sectoral participation — particularly within banking and energy-linked stocks — are expected to remain key drivers of market direction.”