MUMBAI — India’s benchmark stock exchanges remained closed Tuesday in observance of the Holi festival, with trading suspended across major segments.
The Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange halted trading in equities, equity derivatives, securities lending and borrowing, and interest rate derivatives for the day. Commodity derivatives were closed during the morning session but scheduled to reopen for evening trading.
The holiday follows a sharp selloff on Monday, when the Sensex fell 1,048 points, or 1.29%, to close at 80,238. The Nifty dropped 312 points, or 1.24%, ending the session at 24,865, as investor sentiment weakened amid rising tensions in West Asia.
Broader markets mirrored the decline. The Nifty Midcap 100 fell 1.58%, while the Nifty Smallcap 100 dropped 1.75%.
Sectoral indices largely traded in negative territory. Only metal and pharma stocks managed modest gains of 0.24% and 0.02%, respectively. Auto and consumer durables were among the worst performers, falling 2.20% and 2.15%. Oil and gas stocks declined 2.15%, while PSU bank shares dropped 1.84%.
Market analysts said immediate support for the Nifty is seen at 24,600, with resistance near 25,000.
Global cues remained mixed. Oil prices continued to climb after reports that Iran had closed the Strait of Hormuz. U.S. crude futures rose 1.4% to $72.23 per barrel, while Brent crude gained 1.87% to trade at $79.20 in early Tuesday trading. More than 14 million barrels of crude oil passed through the Strait daily on average last year, accounting for nearly one-third of global seaborne crude exports.
Asian markets were under pressure in early trade Tuesday. China’s Shanghai Composite slipped 0.07%, and the Shenzhen index fell 1.05%. Japan’s Nikkei declined 2.48%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng eased 0.26%, and South Korea’s Kospi dropped 5.29%.
U.S. markets ended mostly higher overnight. The Nasdaq gained 0.36%, the S&P 500 edged up 0.04%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.15%.
On March 2, foreign institutional investors net sold Indian equities worth Rs 3,296 crore, while domestic institutional investors were net buyers to the tune of Rs 8,594 crore, exchange data showed. (Source: IANS)
