The key equity benchmarks ended sharply lower on Monday, as investors turned cautious amid weak global cues. Market sentiment was weighed down by escalating geopolitical tensions following the US-Israel attacks on Iran, keeping risk appetite subdued. Traders remained focused on crude oil and metal price movements for further cues. Nifty ended below the 24,900 level.
The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex tanked 1,048.34 points or 1.29% to 80,238.85. The Nifty 50 index dropped 312.95 points or 1.24% to 24,865.70.
The broader market underperformed the key equity indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index tumbled 1.63% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index slumped 1.98%. The market breadth was weak.
The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, surged 25.01% to 17.13.
Among the sectoral indices, the Metal index (up 0.24%), the Nifty Pharma index (up 0.02%) and the Nifty Healthcare index (down 0.09%) outperformed the Nifty 50 index.
Meanwhile, the Nifty Auto index (down 2.20%), the Nifty Consumer Durables index (down 2.15%) and the Nifty Oil & Gas index (down 2.15%) underperformed the Nifty 50 index.
In the commodities market, Brent crude for May 2026 settlement surged $5.73 or 7.86%, to $78.60 a barrel amid heightened geopolitical tensions. According to media reports, Saudi Arabia’s state-owned oil major Aramco temporarily shut down its Ras Tanura refinery on Monday as a precautionary measure after an Iranian drone strike reportedly sparked a fire at the facility.
The Indian stock market will remain closed on Tuesday, 3 February 2026, on account of Holi.
Economy
The seasonally adjusted HSBC India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI)—a gauge of overall conditions derived from measures of new orders, output, employment, supplier delivery times, and stocks of purchases—rose from 55.4 in January to a four-month high of 56.9 in February.
Goods producers indicated that demand buoyancy, marketing initiatives, and rising client requirements underpinned another expansion in new business intakes. Moreover, the pace of growth was historically elevated and the strongest since last October.
West Asia Conflict:
The United States and Israel have launched major coordinated military strikes on Iran, marking a significant escalation in long-running Middle East tensions. On 1 March 2026, Iran launches missile and drone strikes on U.S. bases across six Middle Eastern countries amid escalating military tensions.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was reportedly killed in the attacks, escalating tensions further. Following his death, Iran appointed Ayatollah Alireza Arafi to its interim leadership council, which will assume charge of the country’s affairs.
Numbers to Track:
The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal paper rose 0.26% to 6.678 compared with the previous session close of 6.661.
In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 91.5300 compared with its close of 91.0800 during the previous trading session.
MCX Gold futures for 2 April 2026 settlement jumped 4.09% to Rs 168,728.
The US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was up 0.58% to 98.18.
The United States 10-year bond yield rose 0.10% to 3.962.
In the commodities market, Brent crude for April 2026 settlement added $5.73 or 7.86% to $78.60 a barrel.
Global Markets:
The US Dow Jones index futures are currently down by 505 points, signaling a weak opening for US stocks today.
European shares declined on Monday after Germany’s retail sales fell 0.9% month-on-month in January 2026, dampening investor sentiment.
Asian markets ended lower after the United States and Israel launched their most ambitious attacks on Iran in decades, killing Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
U.S. and Israeli strikes, and the Iranian retaliation, have sent shockwaves across the Middle East and through sectors from shipping to air travel to oil on warnings of rising energy costs and disruption to business in the Gulf, a strategic waterway and global trade hub.
Most Gulf equities fell on Sunday, though Boursa Kuwait suspended trading and the UAE ordered its stock markets closed on Monday, a sign of the growing economic disruption sweeping the Gulf.
Stock futures tumbled in overnight trading after the weekend strikes in Iran. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 517 points, or 1%. S&P 500 futures lost 1%, and Nasdaq 100 futures declined a little more than 1%.
On Friday, stocks saw a sharp sell-off after the latest producer price index data came in much hotter than expected, adding sticky inflation to a list of concerns that has caused market turbulence this month.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 521.28 points, or 1.05%, to close at 48,977.92. The S&P 500 closed down 0.43% at 6,878.88, while the Nasdaq Composite lost 0.92% to settle at 22,668.21.
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq finished in the red for February amid growing fears about the impact of artificial intelligence on specific industries and the overall economy.
Fueling the downbeat sentiment, January’s producer price index, a measure of wholesale inflation, showed a 0.5% increase for the month. Media reports had suggested that the headline reading could come in at 0.3%. The core PPI reading, which excludes food and energy prices, recorded a 0.8% gain, much more than the 0.3% rise that was widely reported in the media.