NIFTY50, SENSEX today: Wall Street cues, FII activity, key things to know before markets open on March 24

The Indian equity benchmarks are set to stage a gap up opening on Tuesday, March 24, as indicated by GIFT NIFTY futures. NIFTY futures at GIFT City in Ahmedabad surged as much as 343 points or 1.52% to 22,858 amid positive cues from other Asian markets.

The Indian equity benchmarks nosedived on Monday, March 23 and closed at their lowest levels in over 22 months as geopolitical tensions in Middle East escalated and entered fourth week. The SENSEX dropped 1,837 points to close at 72,696 and NIFTY50 index tumbled 602 points to close at 22,513.

Global markets rebounded sharply in afternoon trading on Monday an hour after closing after United States President Donald Trump on Truth Social, announced that the United States will postpone “any and all” military strikes against Iranian power plants and infrastructures for a period of five days.

The GIFT NIFTY in afternoon trading surged 1,000 points to ytrade above 23,500.

Following the development, Brent crude oil futures (for expiry in May) fell 16% to the session’s low of $96 from their intraday high of $114.43 per barrel (bbl).

Asian markets

Asian markets were trading higher following a strong closing of US stocks overnight as Trump's comments on Truth Social signalled that tensions in Middle East might get over soon.

Japan's Nikkei rose 0.8%, Hong Kong's ang Seng advanced 1.15%, China's Shanghai Composite gained 0.15% and South Korea's KOSPI advanced 0.6%.

Wall Street update

Overnight, US stocks ended sharply higher after Trump's comment fuelled a rally on hopes that solution to the tensions in Middle East might come earlier than it was previously anticipated. Trump said the United States has talked with Iran about a possible end to their war. Oil prices eased, and stock prices rose on Wall Street following severe losses taken elsewhere in the world before Trump’s announcement.

Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 1.38%, S&P 500 index gained 1.15% and tech heavy Nasdaq rose 1.4%.

Iran war update

Trump said that US was talking with an Iranian leader and claimed the Islamic Republic was eager for a deal to end the war. He also extended a deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz or face attacks on its power plants, saying it has an additional five days, according to a report by news agency AP.

Trump’s turnaround, which held out the possibility of resolving the war now in its fourth week, served to drive down oil prices and jolt stocks. It offered a reprieve after the US and Iran traded threats over the weekend that could have cut electricity to millions in Iran and around the Gulf, and knocked out desalination plants providing many desert nations with drinking water.

FII/DII activity

Foreign institutional investors sold shares worth ₹10,414 crore on Monday while domestic institutional investors bought shares worth ₹12,034 crore, data from the National Stock Exchange showed.

The FIIs have so far this month sold shares worth ₹93,730 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

The appointment comes at a time when the airline is undergoing a leadership transition following the recent resignation of its Chief Executive Officer Pieter Elbers.

In a regulatory filing to stock exchanges, IndiGo said Singh will lead the company’s long-term strategic planning and drive enterprise-wide transformation initiatives focused on accelerating growth, enhancing operational efficiency and strengthening competitive positioning.

The IT company stated that it launched the innovation lab as part of the Wipro Innovation Network (WIN) and its continued investment in “local talent to support South Korean clients locally and globally”.

The Bengaluru-based firm noted that the Seoul innovation facility will serve as a space for close collaboration with South Korean clients and ecosystem partners, “enabling co‑creation, rapid experimentation, and solution development.”

The appointment is effective March 23, 2026, for a term of three years.

The appointment follows the sanction accorded by the Reserve Bank of India on February 3, 2026, South Indian Bank said in a statement.

Kattoor brings over three decades of distinguished experience with the Reserve Bank of India, where he served from 1991 to 2023, it added.

This 'LPG ATM' has been launched at Central Park Flower Valley society in Sector 33 of Gurugram's Sohna area. The ATM's most notable feature is its use of 'composite cylinders' instead of traditional heavy iron cylinders.

These cylinders are made of fibre and weigh about half (approximately 15 kg) compared to iron cylinders.

Replying to supplementary queries during Question Hour, Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs Manohar Lal said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had, on August 16, 2023, announced the PM e-Bus Sewa scheme to provide mobility in smaller cities and tackle rising pollution.

Since states were unable to provide adequate finance for e-buses, a target of a total of 10,000 buses was put under the PM e-Bus Sewa scheme for towns with a population between 3 lakh and 40 lakh, he said.

The minister said states were told to give their demands, and a selection criterion was laid down, and buses were sanctioned on the recommendations of coordination committees.

Speaking on this occasion, Manoj Kumar Dubey, Chairman & Managing Director, IRFC, said, "IRFC is actively expanding its footprint by supporting critical infrastructure sectors that have strong linkages with the railways. This refinancing transaction with HURL reflects our whole-of-government approach, where we bring cost-effective, long-term financing solutions to strategically important sectors such as fertilisers. By enabling financial efficiency, we are also contributing to agricultural sustainability while strengthening logistics with railways at the core.”

The bank, in an exchange filing on March 24, said that Chakraborty, in his resignation letter, did not mention any happenings and practices which were "not in congruence with his personal values and ethics".