Stock Market Today March 20 LIVE: The Indian stock market benchmark indices Sensex, Nifty jumped over 1% on Friday, March 20 following gains in Asian peers, and amid short-covering after steep losses in the previous session. Sentiment was also aided by some fall in crude oil prices and well as a softer dollar.
Sensex surged 977 points or 1.3% to day’s high of 75,184 while Nifty rallied 302 points or 1.3% to intra-day high of 23,303.85. All sectoral indices were also in the green led by Nifty PSU Bank, Nifty Metal, Nifty IT and Nifty Auto.
Broader markets also rallied, with both midcap and smallcap indices rising around 1.5% each.
The gains came on the back of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying that the country would refrain from targeting energy infrastructure going forward, adding that the conflict could end sooner than expected as Iran no longer has the capability to enrich uranium or produce ballistic missiles.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump said he has no plans to deploy ground forces, stating that he is “not putting troops anywhere” when asked about the possibility of sending troops.
Asian Markets Today
Asian equities edged higher on Friday after US markets recovered from intraday lows and oil prices eased, as efforts by the US and Israel helped calm concerns around the Iran conflict.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 0.2%, following a sharp 2.6% decline in the previous session when strikes on energy infrastructure in the Middle East raised fears of prolonged economic fallout. US equity sentiment also improved, with S&P 500 futures ticking higher after the benchmark index ended the prior session down 0.3%, rebounding from an earlier 1% fall.
Meanwhile, Japanese markets remained closed for a holiday, resulting in no cash trading in US Treasuries during Asian hours.
Gold Rate Today
Gold prices traded higher, but were headed for a third consecutive weekly decline, weighed down by a firm dollar and a hawkish US Federal Reserve. Spot gold price rose 0.2% to $4,657.50 per ounce. US gold futures for April delivery rose 1.1% to $4,657.90. Gold prices have declined more than 7% so far this week. Spot silver price gained 0.1% to $73 per ounce.
Crude Oil Prices
Crude oil prices fell from its highest close since July 2022. Brent crude oil price declined 1.01% to $107.57 a barrel, while the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures dropped 1.74% to $93.89.
Brent crude rose as much as $119.13 a barrel on Thursday on attacks on energy infrastructure in the Middle East, triggering a global market rout.
Stay tuned to this segment for the latest news on the Indian stock market today.
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