Indian Stock Markets Closed For Holi As Sensex And Nifty Slide Over West Asia Tensions

Indian stock markets remained closed on Tuesday on account of the Holi festival. Both the Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange suspended trading across segments for the day.

Equities, equity derivatives, securities lending and borrowing, and interest rate derivatives were not traded. Commodity derivatives were closed in the morning session but scheduled to reopen for the evening session, according to exchange notifications.

In the previous session on Monday, benchmark indices witnessed a steep decline amid investor concerns over tensions in West Asia. The Sensex dropped 1,048 points, or 1.29 per cent, to close at 80,238. The Nifty fell 312 points, or 1.24 per cent, settling at 24,865.

Broader markets mirrored the weakness. The Nifty Midcap 100 declined 1.58 per cent, while the Nifty Smallcap 100 fell 1.75 per cent.

Most sectoral indices ended in the red. Only Nifty Metal and Pharma managed marginal gains of 0.24 per cent and 0.02 per cent, respectively.

Auto and consumer durables were among the top losers, declining 2.20 per cent and 2.15 per cent. Oil and gas stocks and PSU banks also fell 2.15 per cent and 1.84 per cent, respectively.

Analysts indicated immediate support for the Nifty at 24,600, with resistance placed at 25,000.

Oil prices extended gains after reports that Iran had closed the Strait of Hormuz.

US crude futures rose 1.4 per cent to $72.23, while Brent crude climbed 1.87 per cent to $79.2 per barrel in early Tuesday trade. The Strait handled more than 14 million barrels daily on average last year, nearly a third of global seaborne crude exports.

Asian markets traded mixed in early sessions, with declines seen in Shanghai, Shenzhen, Nikkei, Hang Seng and Kospi indices.

US markets ended largely higher overnight, with the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 posting modest gains, while the Dow Jones slipped slightly.

On March 2, foreign institutional investors net sold equities worth Rs 3,296 crore, whereas domestic institutional investors were net buyers of Rs 8,594 crore.