The Indian stock market experienced a significant selloff during morning trading on Monday, March 2, as rising tensions in West Asia, or the Middle East, negatively impacted already wary market sentiment amid foreign capital withdrawals, geopolitical uncertainties, and lackluster earnings.
The Sensex began the day 2,743 points, or 3.34% lower at 78,543.73, but quickly reduced its losses. By around 14:04 IST, it was down 1,565.13 points, or 1.92 % trading at 79,690.80. The Nifty 50, the NSE’s benchmark index, plummeted by over 500 points, exceeding 2%, reaching an intraday low of 24,645 but quickly regained some ground, trading 462.10 points, or 1.9% lower at 24,724 around 2 PM.
In the initial minutes of Monday’s trading session, investors faced a loss exceeding ₹8 lakh crore, causing the total market capitalisation of companies listed on the BSE to fall from ₹463.50 lakh crore to ₹455 lakh crore.
The rupee fell by 21 paise to 91.29 versus the US dollar on Monday, influenced by rising crude oil prices, a robust US dollar, and heightened global instability stemming from increased tensions in the Middle East.
Traders in the forex market noted that poor sentiment in the equity markets and significant foreign fund withdrawals also put pressure on the Indian currency.
Market Views – Vinay Rajani, Senior Technical and Derivative Analyst, HDFC Securities
Nifty 50 Outlook
Nifty 50 has witnessed a huge gap down today on the back of emerging geopolitical issues. Rising crude and depreciating rupee against dollar weighed on the equity market sentiments. Nifty 50 is now reached below all key moving averages, turning positional trend on the downside. Nifty 50 has reached very near to the budget day (1 st Feb 2026) low of 24,576. Break below 24,576 could drag the index further towards 100-week exponential moving average support placed at 24,060 odd levels.
On the higher side 25,000-25,200 could offer strong resistance in the index. In the current market situation precious metal ETF could protect the portfolio and should have healthy allocation towards it. Apart from the precious metals oil exploration companies which could benefit from rising crude prices should have some allocation towards it in the portfolio.
2 stocks to buy in the near-term
Buy HDFC Gold Exchange Traded Fund (HDFCGOLD) ₹142| Target ₹155 | Stop-loss ₹132
ETF has been forming higher tops and higher bottoms on the weekly charts. ETF has been finding support on its 50 DEMA and maintaining its up trend. ETF is placed above all key moving averages, indicating uptrend on all time frames. Weekly RSI is sustaining above 50, indicating sustained uptrend for the underlying. Trend Line Breakout on Daily RSI has been witnessed. ETF has witnessed healthy consolidation after prolonged uptrend.
Buy Oil India 480| Target ₹520 | Stop-loss ₹450
Oil India share price is placed above all key moving averages, indicating up trend on all time frames. Stock has been showing high relative strength as compared to the benchmark index and the same is likely to continue. Indicators and oscillators have been showing strength on the weekly charts.
Disclaimer: The views and recommendations given in this article are those of individual analysts. These do not represent the views of Mint. We advise investors to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions.
