NIFTY50, SENSEX today: Wall Street cues, FII activity, key things to know before markets open on March 12

The Indian equity benchmarks are set to open lower on Thursday, March 12, as indicated by GIFT NIFTY futures. NIFTY futures at GIFT City in Ahmedabad fell 215 points to 23,725 amid weak cues from Asian markets.

The Indian benchmark indices, SENSEX and NIFTY50, closed in negative territory on Wednesday, March 11, amid a sell-off in banking and financial services stocks.

Sentiment also weakened as investors assessed the domestic impact of ongoing tensions in West Asia, as the expanding war disrupted global fuel lifelines, including India's LPG supplies. The government has prioritised domestic cooking gas supply to households, leading to a supply crunch for hotels and restaurants, which use commercial LPG.

Asian markets

Asian markets were trading lower on Thursday after crude oil moved above $100 par barrel. Japan's Nikkei fell 2%, China's Shanghai Composite declined 0.3%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng dropped 1.2% and South Korea's KOSPI tumbled 1.22%.

Crude oil update

Crude oil prices in the global market jumped to near a $100 per barrel (bbl) level in the early trading session on Thursday, March 12, 2026, as tensions loomed over the recent attacks in the Hormuz Strait, while investors weighed the impact of the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) largest-ever emergency oil reserve release.

After a brief cooldown in the energy prices, the rates surged during the early trading hours on March 12 as Brent crude oil futures jumped 6.9% to $99.5 per bbl, compared to $93 per bbl at the previous market close amid the rising tensions.

The West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil also surged by 8.1% to $94.36 per bbl at 5:00 a.m. (IST), compared to the previous commodity market close level of $87.25 per bbl, according to the data collected from Investorgain.com.

Wall Street update

US stocks ended lower on Wednesday as S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.08% and 0.6% respectively while tech heavy Nasdaq advanced 0.08%.

FII/DII activity

Foreign institutional investors sold shares worth ₹6,267 crore on Wednesday while domestic institutional investors bought shares worth ₹4,965 crore, data from the National Stock Exchange showed.

The FIIs have so far this month sold shares worth ₹39,417 crore compared with shares worth ₹22,615 bought by them in February, according to the data from National Securities Depository Limited (NSDL).

Stocks to watch

In a regulatory filing dated March 11, the Bengaluru-based firm stated that it signed the contract for the business and technology modernisation of TruStage’s retirement services business.

Under the partnership, Wipro will transform TruStage’s core retirement services operations and technology stack through an integrated approach that will deliver “seamless digital experiences, business agility, and increased efficiencies”.

The aggregate value under the cancelled order is ₹64.99 crore, plus applicable taxes.

The company held the groundbreaking ceremony for the new battery pack manufacturing facility at Pillaipakkam near Chennai, Ashok Leyland said in a regulatory filing dated Wednesday.

The project would incur an investment of ₹400-500 crore and is part of the Hinduja Group's investments under an earlier Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed in September 2025, it said.

These orders include 380 kV transmission lines, substations, and EHV cabling (composite order) in Saudi Arabia, as well as 132 kV transmission lines in Africa, a company statement said.

According to the statement, orders include the supply of towers in India and the Americas, as well as the supply of hardware and poles in the Americas.

"In view of the above, the production activities at the company's Borosilicate Glass Furnace for Pressware Products and its Opal Glass Furnaces, all located in Jaipur, Rajasthan, have been impacted. While production at the borosilicate glass furnace has been temporarily suspended, the opal glass furnaces have been operating at lower capacities," the company said.

Besides, the aerospace division of Bharat Forge Ltd on Wednesday inaugurated a state-of-the-art landing gear components machining facility in Mundhwa, Pune (India), developed in collaboration with Liebherr-Aerospace & Transportation SAS.

"This milestone positions Bharat Forge among the first companies in India, and one of the first at scale, to operate OEM-approved landing gear component machining capabilities. It integrates advanced machining centres dedicated to high-precision landing-gear components and marks a significant step towards advancing India’s aerospace manufacturing ecosystem and strengthening the country’s role in global aerospace supply chains," it added.

ADSTL already holds 85.76% in Air Works, and this acquisition has increased ADSTL's stake in Air Works to 99.98%.

ADSTL stands for Adani Defence Systems and Technologies.

Relaxo Footwears: Prince Jain, Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and Key Managerial Personnel (KMP) of the company, has tendered his resignation from his position with immediate effect, i.e., from the closure of business hours on Wednesday, March 11, 2026.

Trade setup

On the hourly charts, the NIFTY50 failed to sustain above the hourly 20 EMA levels, which were crossed on Tuesday. The index showed a lower high, lower low pattern, indicating strong selling pressure at higher levels. As indicated previously, the 23,700 remains a very crucial support for the index, beyond which the next best support comes at the 23,500 levels.

On the options data front, the 24,300 calls hold the highest open interest, indicating a strong resistance for the 17th March expiry. On the flipside, the 23,500 puts hold the highest open interest, indicating a crucial support for the index.