Sensex Falls 360 Points as Trump Threatens Iran Escalation
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- Sensex reversed early gains to fall more than 360 points to ~72,958 while Nifty 50 dropped ~96 points to ~22,617 by 9:30 am, after opening higher
- Trump on Sunday threatened 'Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day' massive strikes on Iran on Tuesday unless Tehran opens the Strait of Hormuz, in a profane Truth Social post
- Iran's Parliament Speaker Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf warned Washington would be 'dragged into a living HELL' for following 'Netanyahu's commands'
- Brent crude futures gained ~1% to $110/barrel and WTI hovered near $111.5/barrel on escalation fears, with prices first crossing $100 in March after the Strait's earlier closure
- FIIs extended their selling streak to a 23rd consecutive session, offloading ~Rs 9,931 crore of Indian equities on Thursday
- Rupee opened 0.1% higher at 93/$ after the RBI barred banks from offering rupee non-deliverable forwards and blocked rebooking of cancelled forward contracts
- Geojit's VK Vijayakumar flagged IT and banking as opportunities, saying private banking stocks are 'attractively valued' despite the FII-driven correction, with strong deposit and credit growth intact
Why it matters: Indian markets are being squeezed from two sides — oil above $110/barrel on Trump's Iran threats amplifies energy-cost pressure, and a 23-day consecutive FII selloff has pulled down banking stocks that Geojit calls fundamentally strong. With Trump's Tuesday deadline to escalate strikes on Iran still live and negotiations reportedly ongoing, the CIO expects continued volatility around crude price moves.
