The Indian stock market benchmark indices, Sensex and Nifty 50 opened lower on Friday after global markets declined sharply. The fall comes as tensions in the Middle East, particularly the ongoing war involving the US, Israel and Iran, pushed crude oil prices higher and increased concerns about inflation.

Asian markets were trading lower on Friday, following overnight losses in the US stock market. The rising oil prices and geopolitical tensions have created uncertainty in global markets.

However, the Indian market had closed higher on Thursday after recovering from three straight sessions of losses. The rally was mainly driven by short-covering despite ongoing concerns over the Middle East conflict. The Sensex gained 899.71 points, or 1.14%, to close at 80,015.90, while the Nifty 50 rose 285.40 points, or 1.17%, to settle at 24,765.90.

“In the current environment of heightened volatility, we reiterate our cautious stance and advise participants to remain selective while maintaining disciplined risk management when initiating fresh positions,” said Ajit Mishra – SVP, Research, Religare Broking Ltd, as per a report of The Mint.

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Global cues influencing markets

Asian markets traded lower on Friday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.24% and the Topix dropped 0.42%. South Korea’s Kospi declined 0.87%, while the Kosdaq index rose 2.45%. Futures for Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index also pointed to a weak opening.

Gift Nifty was trading around 24,605, about 249 points lower than the previous close of Nifty futures, indicating a weak start for Indian markets.

On Wall Street, US stocks closed sharply lower on Thursday as the Middle East conflict entered its sixth day and oil prices surged. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 784.67 points, or 1.61%, to 47,954.74. The S&P 500 declined 0.56% to 6,830.71, while the Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.26% to 22,748.99.

Among major US stocks, Nvidia rose 0.16%, Microsoft gained 1.35% and Amazon added 0.98%. Meanwhile, AMD fell 1.3%, Apple dropped 0.85%, Tesla eased 0.09%, and Southwest Airlines plunged 6.9%. Chevron rose 3.9% and Broadcom rallied 4.8%.

Oil, gold and currency movements

Tensions in the Middle East intensified after Iran launched attacks across the Gulf in response to US and Israeli operations that killed its supreme leader last weekend. In one of the latest incidents, an Iranian missile strike caused a fire at Bahrain’s state-run oil refinery on Thursday, though the blaze was later brought under control.

US Treasury yields continued to rise for the fourth straight day. The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield climbed 5 basis points to 4.132% after touching a three-week high of 4.15%. The 30-year bond yield rose to 4.743%, while the two-year note yield reached 3.60%.

Japanese government bond yields also moved higher, with the 10-year yield rising to 2.170%.

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Meanwhile, the US issued a general license allowing certain Russian oil sales to India amid disruptions in the Persian Gulf supply routes. The license applies to Russian crude and petroleum products loaded before March 5, provided they are delivered to India and purchased by an Indian company. The measure will expire on April 4 at 12:01 a.m. Washington time.

Crude oil prices are heading for their biggest weekly gain since 2022 due to supply concerns caused by the conflict. Brent crude slipped 0.67% to $84.84 per barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell 1.02% to $80.18.

Gold prices stabilised after dropping more than 1% in the previous session. Spot gold rose 0.2% to $5,093.63 an ounce, while silver increased 0.3% to $82.47 an ounce.

The US dollar remained steady and is on track for its biggest weekly gain in over a year. The dollar index was slightly lower by 0.06% at 99.00, but still set for a 1.4% weekly rise. The euro traded at $1.1612, the yen strengthened slightly to 157.5 per dollar, and the British pound edged up to $1.3361.

{News Ei Samay does not provide investment advice anywhere. Investment and trading in the share market or any field involve risk. Proper study and expert advice are recommended beforehand. This news is published for educational and awareness purposes.}