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Indian equity indices trade firm amid hopes of de-escalation in Middle East conflict
Mar-20-2026

Indian equity benchmarks made a gap-up start on Friday as crude oil prices eased over Israel PM's comments, raising hopes of de-escalation of the Middle East conflict. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly said that Israel would not target Iranian energy facilities in the future, following US President Donald Trump’s intervention. Sensex and Nifty were trading firmly in green with gains of over a percent each in early deals as investors were engaged in buying stocks at lower levels after previous session’s pull back. Traders took note of report that the government rolled out the RELIEF (Resilience & Logistics Intervention for Export Facilitation) scheme with an outlay of Rs 497 crore to provide relief to exporters facing disruptions due to the ongoing West Asia conflict. Some support also came with report that the free trade agreement (FTA) between India and the UK, signed in July last year, is likely to be implemented by early May, as both sides are sorting out a few issues.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mixed amid efforts by leaders of the US and Israel to calm concerns over the Iran war. Investors maintained wait and watch approach ahead of economic data from China, Taiwan and Hong Kong. Meanwhile, stock markets in Japan and Indonesia were close for trading on account of holiday. Back home, power sector stocks were in focus as Union Power Minister Manohar Lal said that India is well prepared to meet the projected peak power demand of 270 GW during this summer season.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 74967.52, up by 760.28 points or 1.02% after trading in a range of 74535.26 and 75204.64. There were 28 stocks advancing against 2 stocks declining on the index.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were PSU up by 2.59%, Utilities up by 2.59%, Power up by 2.54%, Metal up by 2.14% and Energy up by 2.03%, while there was no loser on the BSE sectoral front.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tata Steel up by 3.57%, SBI up by 3.15%, Tech Mahindra up by 2.59%, NTPC up by 2.03% and Power Grid up by 2.02%. On the flip side, HDFC Bank down by 1.46% and Bajaj Finance down by 0.09% were the only losers.

Meanwhile, with an aim to provide relief to exporters facing disruptions due to the ongoing West Asia conflict, the government has come out with the RELIEF (Resilience & Logistics Intervention for Export Facilitation) scheme with an outlay of Rs 497 crore. Commerce Ministry said the scheme, with the Export Credit Guarantee Corporation of India (ECGC) as the implementing agency, includes automatic extension of export obligations, logistical support, and potential financial measures to manage shipping delays and higher freight and insurance costs. The intervention is aimed at supporting Indian exporters affected by extraordinary freight escalation, heightened insurance premiums, and war-related export risks arising from disruptions in the Gulf and wider West Asia maritime corridor.

Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agarwal said ‘We are announcing a new scheme under the Export Promotion mission, especially focused upon exporters exposed to these 17-18 geographies which have been impacted by the conflict to assuage some of the challenges that our exporters are facing.’ He said due to the West Asia conflict, there has been some impact on the trade environment and exporters are facing certain challenges, with a ‘sense of worry’ particularly among those having exposure to countries in the Gulf region. He noted ‘There have been instances where the exports which were meant for some of the countries in the Middle East have not been able to reach their destinations. The future exports are also getting impacted. There is a sense of worry in exporters especially among those who have exposure to the Middle East markets’.

The RELIEF scheme includes automatic extension of export obligations, logistical support, and potential financial measures to manage shipping delays. It mainly covers consignments destined for delivery or transhipment to the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, Iraq, Iran, Israel, and Yemen. The scheme has three key components. Component I includes Export Obligation Extensions: Automatic extension for Advance Authorisations and EPCG authorisations (due between March 1 and May 31, 2026) until August 31, 2026, without penalty. It protects already insured shipments by ECGC in the immediate one-month window from February 14-March 15. 

Component II is aimed at encouraging and facilitating ECGC coverage for upcoming exports consignments over three months from March 16 to June 15. The Component III specifically targets MSMEs to shield them from surcharge shocks and partly reimburses extraordinary freight and insurance costs over one month from February 14 to March 15. It is applicable for MSME exporters who have not taken ECGC coverage. Commerce & Industry Ministry said through RELIEF, the Government aims to mitigate the immediate impact of logistics disruptions, protect exporter confidence, prevent order cancellations and safeguard employment in export-linked sectors.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 23246.90, up by 244.75 points or 1.06% after trading in a range of 23109.90 and 23319.70. There were 43 stocks advancing against 7 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Tata Steel up by 3.88%, SBI up by 3.28%, Coal India up by 3.12%, JSW Steel up by 2.86% and Tech Mahindra up by 2.78%. On the flip side, HDFC Bank down by 1.55%, Shriram Finance down by 0.73%, SBI Life Insurance down by 0.43%, HDFC Life Insurance down by 0.36% and Bajaj Finance down by 0.17% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mixed; Hang Seng declined 165.58 points or 0.65% to 25,335.00, Taiwan Weighted lost 83.26 points or 0.25% to 33,606.42 and Straits Times fell 13.23 points or 0.27% to 4,954.38. On the other hand, KOSPI rose 29.54 points or 0.51% to 5,792.76 and Shanghai Composite was up by 6.61 points or 0.16% to 4,013.16.
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