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Trade Setup for March 2: Nifty braces for Monday chaos after US, Israel attack IranBefore the markets open here in India, the bigger reaction will be seen on other asset classes beyond equities. Crude oil prices, Gold prices, moves on the US Dollar, the Yen, all of which will be significant and keenly monitored by the street. In fact, Barclays has already written in a note to clients that oil prices could go up to as high as $100 per barrel.By Hormaz Fatakia   March 1, 2026, 9:27:06 AM IST (Published)3 Min ReadThe markets had an inkling of what was to transpire over the weekend. The price action seen during the last 30 minutes of Friday's trading session is testimony to that. The Nifty, trying to protect 25,300 for a better part of the session, slumped to 25,150, all in a matter of two minutes, and could not recover from that fall by close.

Global markets will only react to all of the developments over the weekend on Monday. This includes the US futures, who will resume trading on Sunday evening local time, while Asian equities, Indian equities, and other markets will also react to these developments on Monday morning.

Before the markets open here in India, the bigger reaction will be seen on other asset classes beyond equities. Crude oil prices, Gold prices, moves on the US Dollar, the Yen, all of which will be significant and keenly monitored by the street. In fact, Barclays has already written in a note to clients that oil prices could go up to as high as $100 per barrel.

In case that does happen, it will be negative for the Indian downstream oil refiners, but beneficial for upstream companies such as ONGC and Oil India. Any potential rise in oil prices could also pressure the currency and that will also be one aspect that the street will closely monitor.

More than the attack on Iran, there could be a bigger ramification on Indian companies that have a significant exposure to the middle east, particularly after Iran's retaliation, that has hit regions across the GCC, including Dubai, Kuwait, and Abu Dhabi. Stocks like L&T, Kalyan Jewellers, Welspun Corp, KEC International, all have exposure to the Middle East.

The Nifty is already below the 200-Day Moving Average. Part of the accelerated sell-off on Friday could also be attributed to that. That now opens up levels on the downside, first of course being 25,000. Then come the January 21 swing low of 24,919 and the brief, budget-day intraday lows of 24,571 and 24,679 on February 2.

Any potential strengthening in the US Dollar could have ramifications for Metal stocks. The Nifty Metal index was the third-best performing sectoral index in February.

"The underlying trend of Nifty is sharply down. The overall negative chart pattern signals further downside to 24,700 levels in the near term. Immediate resistance is placed at 25,400," Nagaraj Shetti of HDFC Securities said.

The Nifty Bank had defended the 60,800 mark all through the week, but failed to do so on Friday. The index has closed at a very important support level of 60,500 and further downside could not be ruled out, particularly so if the markets open gap down on Monday.

"Immediate support is placed around 59,800, followed by a stronger base near 59,000. Resistance is seen around the 61,000 zone," Ajit Mishra of Religare Broking said.Continue ReadingTagsBrent Crude Oil PricesBSE Sensexdollar-rupee ratesGold PricesNifty 50Nifty Bankshare market todayTrade setupUS-Iran