Holi Holiday Shuts Indian Markets, Asian Indices Under Pressure

Both the BSE and the NSE will remain closed for trading on Tuesday, March 3. Meanwhile, the Multi Commodity Exchange of India (MCX) will remain closed during the first half of the day. However, trading on the MCX will resume in the evening session from 5 pm to 11 pm today.

In other Asian markets on Tuesday, selling pressure was mounting on major indices. Japan's Nikkei 225 index was down by 1.71 per cent to the 57065 level, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index lost 0.24 per cent to 25985. Singapore's Straits Times index, however, gained 0.94 per cent. Taiwan's Weighted Index was down by 0.36 per cent to the 34967 level and South Korea's KOSPI index declined by 2.42 per cent.

Crude oil prices were also surging amid tensions. Brent crude prices surged further by approximately 1 per cent to USD 78.52 per barrel at the time of filing this report.

In the US markets on Monday, the Dow Jones index was down marginally by 0.15 per cent to close at 48904.78. The S&P 500 index closed with a marginal gain of 0.04 per cent at 6881, while the Nasdaq surged by 0.41 per cent to close at 22761.

Back home, the domestic equity benchmarks experienced a significant sell-off on Monday, 2 March, as escalating military tensions between the US, Israel, and Iran triggered a global "risk-off" sentiment.

The Sensex closed at 80,238.85 points, down 1,048.34 points or 1.29 per cent, while the Nifty ended at 24,865.70 points, down 312.95 points or 1.24 per cent.

Market participants will now track global cues and crude oil price movements when trading resumes after the Holi holiday.

- ANI