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Informist, Friday, Mar. 6, 2026                                      Tel +91 (22) 6985-4000

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Equity Alert: Indices may open sharply lower as oil surges over $118/barrel

 

MUMBAI--0815 IST--Benchmark equity indices are expected to open sharply lower Monday as oil prices surged past the crucial $100-per-barrel level amid the escalating conflict in West Asia. Equity markets across the Asia-Pacific region opened lower Monday as a rapid rise in oil prices exacerbated fears of accelerating inflation and faster pace of interest-rate increases by central banks across the globe. 

 

The May futures contract of Brent Crude Oil soared 28% to $118.73 a barrel Monday, as the widening conflict between Iran and the US-Israel combine fuelled fears of tighter supply and prolonged disruptions to shipments through the Strait of Hormuz. The $100-per-barrel mark has been widely seen as a key psychological threshold for oil prices. A prolonged stay above the level is expected to raise concerns of macro deterioration and higher inflation. Since the start of the conflict on Feb. 28, oil prices have surged over 60%. 

 

The hostilities in West Asia entered their tenth day Monday, with no signs of abatement. Pakistan and India face the highest economic risks among major emerging markets from the Iran conflict, Bloomberg reported, citing BMI, a unit of Fitch Solutions. The BMI analysts calculated relative risk scores based on total trade through Strait of Hormuz, foreign exchange reserves coverage, energy subsidies and budget balance, giving Pakistan the highest tally of 68.8 out of 100, followed closely by India at 66.9, the report said. 

 

The GIFT Nifty indicates a sharp gap-down open for the Nifty 50. At 0803 IST, the March contract of GIFT Nifty traded at 23729.50 points, over 700 points lower than Nifty 50's previous close. "Nifty 50 should open 2-3% gap down due to sharp rise in crude oil prices," Sunny Agrawal, head of research at SBICAP Securities said. He expects oil marketing, tyres, paints, and airline companies to remain under pressure. (Arya S. Biju)

 

 

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Equity Alert: US futures down 2% as crude oil prices breach $100/bbl

 

MUMBAI--0745 IST--US futures fell nearly 2% as the war in West Asia pushed crude oil prices over $100 per barrel for the first time in years. Futures contracts of the Dow Jones industrial average, S&P 500, and Nasdaq 100 were down over 2?ch at 0704 IST. On Friday, all three indices had closed in the red, with the Nasdaq Composite witnessing the steepest fall at 1.6%.

 

As hostilities between the US-Israel and Iran entered its 10th day, investors on Wall Street weighed its impact on energy supply across the world. On Sunday, US President Donald Trump said the rise in "short-term oil prices" was a "very small price to pay" for destroying the nuclear threat in Iran. At 0736 IST, Brent crude May futures were at $113.82 per barrel, up more than 23%.

 

Major West Asian oil producers cut their output due to the shutdown of the key Strait of Hormuz, leading to the jump in oil futures Sunday night, CNBC reported. On Friday, Qatar's energy minister told the Financial Times that oil prices could hit $150 per barrel if the coflict in West Asia continues, further spooking the sentiment on Wall Street. 

 

Further, disappointing data on non-farm payrolls in the US stoked anxieties of a slowdown in the economy. The data showed the US lost jobs in February and the unemployment rate increased to 4.4%, higher than the expectations of 4.3%. Investors will closely monitor data releases on inflation, employment and gross domestic product, due this week.

 

Following are the closing levels of US indices Friday:

 

Index	Level	Change in %
S&P 500	6704.02	(-)1.33
NASDAQ Composite	22387.68	(-)1.59
Dow Jones Industrial Average	47501.55	(-)0.95

 

(Shruti Nair)

 

US$1 = INR 91.74

IST, or Indian Standard Time, is five-and-a-half hours ahead of GMT

 

Edited by Tanima Banerjee

 

All prices from National Stock Exchange, unless otherwise specified.

All percentage changes for share prices are rounded off to the nearest whole number; percentage changes for index values are rounded off to one decimal place.

All times are Indian Standard Time.

 

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