Indian benchmark indices have seen last-minute buying and selling ever since the US-Israel conflict with Iran started. A similar trend was observed on March 19, when markets moved in a narrow range and swung sideways following a gap-down opening.
But the surge in Brent crude prices quickly caused the Sensex to drop by about 500 points in just 15 minutes, to be exact. On March 19, at 2:45 p.m., the Sensex was trading at 74,549.7. Within 15 minutes, the benchmark index had dropped to 74,023.73, a staggering 500 points, or 0.7%.
In their worst session since June 2024, Indian equity indices fell more than 3% on Thursday due to a spike in petroleum prices following strikes on Middle Eastern energy facilities and heavyweight HDFC Bank following the unexpected departure of its chairman.
During the final hour of trade, Brent crude oil increased as much as $119 per barrel before returning to values nearer $114l. Furthermore, European natural gas futures traded as high as €74 per MWh on Thursday morning, a price level not seen since the end of 2022, after rising by more than 30%.`
Global central bankers are already concerned about pricing pressure due to the spike in oil prices. Following a hold by the Federal Reserve on Wednesday, the Bank of Japan maintained interest rates constant on Thursday, indicating that the conflict had obscured the outlook for policy.
