US-Iran Conflict Escalation Spikes Global Ports and Logistics Stocks by Up to 10%

Market Update: March 2, 2024

Global Tensions Spark Market Volatility

Global stock markets experienced a sharp decline on March 2, 2024, as tensions in the Middle East escalated into a full-scale conflict. The United States and Israel launched military operations inside Iran, leading to a rush into safe-haven assets and triggering sharp swings across commodities, currencies, and equities.

Stock Performance

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• Gujarat Pipavav Port and JSW Infra declined 4.7% each
• Adani Ports lost 4.6%
• Delhivery tanked 10%
• Blue Dart Express lost nearly 7%
• Container Corporation of India shed 6.8% to its 52-week low of ₹461.85
• TCI was down 5%

Market Capitalisation

The combined market capitalisation of companies listed on the BSE contracted by nearly ₹5 lakh crore, declining to ₹458.60 lakh crore compared with ₹463.50 lakh crore in the previous session.

Sensex and Nifty 50

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The Sensex opened deep in the red, tumbling 2,743 points, or 3.34%, to 78,543.73. However, the panic selling eased as the session progressed, and the benchmark recouped a sizeable portion of its early losses within the first hour.

The Nifty 50 initially plunged more than 500 points, or over 2%, sliding to an intraday low of 24,645. However, buying interest emerged at lower levels, and the index pared part of the decline, hovering near the 1% loss mark later in the morning trade.

Investor Strategy

Investors are advised to refrain from panic selling and watch how things evolve. Historically, events like the present crisis have not had a lasting impact on the market. Instead, investors can use the market weakness to slowly accumulate high-quality stocks in domestic consumption themes like banking, automobiles, capital goods, and defense.