Barring Thursday’s rebound, the Nifty declined over 1% on each of the other sessions last week, resulting in a wipeout of nearly ₹15 lakh crore in investor wealth. On the downside, the immediate level to watch will be last week’s low of 24,305.US futures also tumbled as trading resumed on Sunday evening local time, amid rising crude oil prices and no signs of de-escalation in the ongoing US-Iran conflict in West Asia.
Dow futures fell as much as 950 points, while S&P 500 futures declined over 100 points and Nasdaq futures dropped nearly 400 points in early trade.
Both Brent and US crude futures surged nearly 20% as trading resumed after the weekend break, breaching the $100 per barrel mark. The two benchmarks are now trading close to $110 per barrel.Oil prices had already rebounded on Friday evening after an initial decline, following comments from Qatar’s Energy Minister warning that prices could surge to $150 per barrel if Gulf countries are forced to halt production due to the ongoing conflict in West Asia.
Asian equities also declined, led by South Korean and Japanese markets, as escalating Middle East tensions and rising oil prices prompted investors to reduce risk exposure.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index is down nearly 6% in early trade.
South Korea’s Kospi index has fallen 7.4% today after declining 11% last week. Chip heavyweights including Samsung and SK Hynix were among the biggest drags on the index, falling over 8% on Monday.
The US dollar has strengthened against most major currencies this morning as demand for safe-haven assets lifted the greenback, reversing its recent weakness.
The US Dollar Index is currently trading around 99.5, while the Japanese yen has weakened another 0.4% this morning.
The strengthening dollar, coupled with rising crude oil prices, could also weigh on the Indian rupee when it opens for trade at 9 am.
