Indian Markets Closed For Holi

(RTTNews) - Indian stock markets remain closed today on account of Holi. Trading in derivatives, securities lending and borrowing (SLBs), currency derivatives, and interest rate derivatives will also remain shut for the day on both the BSE and the NSE.

Benchmark indexes Sensex and Nifty tumbled by 1.3 percent and 1.2 percent, respectively on Monday as the possibility of prolonged turmoil in the Middle East and the ripple effects of higher oil prices spooked investors.

The Indian rupee fell past 91 per dollar for the first time in a month due to concerns about imported inflation and continued foreign institutional investor outflows amid heightened geopolitical uncertainty.

In a social media post, Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Hardeep Singh Puri, has said that the government is continuously monitoring the evolving situation in West Asia and will take all necessary steps to ensure the availability and affordability of major petroleum products in the country.

India imports nearly 85 percent of its crude oil needs and therefore a sharp surge in crude prices to their highest level in four years reignited investor concerns over inflation and India's external balances.

Foreign investors net sold shares worth Rs 3,296 crore on Monday, while domestic institutional investors net bought shares to the extent of Rs 8,594 crore, according to provisional exchange data.

Oil prices continued to rise, with Brent crude futures trading up over 1 percent a tad below $79 a barrel in early Asian trade today after Iran's Revolutionary Guard says it has closed the Strait of Hormuz — a crucial waterway for the movement of oil.

Asian markets were broadly lower this morning as regional bond yields ticked higher on inflation and interest-rate concerns.

The dollar held gains from the prior session while gold traded above $5,350 an ounce on safe-haven demand.

Yields on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury edged up to 4.04 percent as investors trimmed expectations for Federal Reserve rate cuts.

Overnight, U.S. stocks recovered from an early slide to end mixed following joint U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran and Tehran's subsequent retaliation.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 0.4 percent as Nvidia announced a $4 billion investment into two U.S. photonics players.

The S&P 500 finished marginally higher after a federal court rejected the Trump administration's efforts to delay legal proceedings linked to tariff refunds.

The narrower Dow dipped 0.2 percent as a survey showed U.S. manufacturing activity expanded at a slower rate in February.

European stocks tumbled on Monday after U.S. President Trump said the conflict with Iran will likely last four to five weeks and that the U.S. has the "capability to go far longer than that", raising concerns about a significant widening of hostilities in the region.

The pan European Stoxx 600 fell 1.6 percent. The German DAX slumped 2.6 percent, France's CAC 40 plummeted 2.2 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 shed 1.2 percent.