Intensified geopolitical tension drags Nifty lower on Monday

23 Mar 2026 Evaluate

Indian equity benchmark -- Nifty -- wiped out previous session’s gains and ended the session near its crucial 22,500 mark on Monday as geopolitical tension intensified following US President Donald Trump’s ultimatum to Iran. US President Donald Trump warned that US would destroy Iran's power plants if the country didn't open the Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours. In retaliation, Iran also threatened to strike energy infrastructure in the Middle East. Index made a gap-down start and remained under pressure throughout the day as traders were cautious with the Confederation of Indian Industry’s (CII) report stating that Indian companies are facing disruptions ranging from shipment delays to shortages of key raw materials due to the ongoing West Asia conflict, and highlighted growing stress across sectors dependent on global trade flows. Further, persistent foreign fund outflows made investors jittery. As per exchange data, foreign institutional investors offloaded equity worth Rs 5,518.39 crore on March 20, 2026. Besides, according to government data India’s production growth in eight core infrastructure sectors slowed down to 2.3 per cent in February 2026 from 3.4 per cent in the same month last year.

All sectorial indices ended in red. The top gainers from the F&O segment were HCL Technologies, Power Grid Corporation of India and Coforge. On the other hand, the top losers were Lodha Developers, Steel Authority of India and Petronet LNG. In the index option segment, maximum OI continues to be seen in the 25900 - 26100 calls and 21900 - 22100 puts indicating this is the trading range expectation.

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